Tonight as I was finally reading an email from mid-February I found my new dream job. A nonprofit policy center in my research State. It has ties to Brookings Institute, which has long been another dream job.
Next week is Spring Break. I will be spending the whole week in the very city this center is located in. I will be moving to said City this summer and living there until I get a real job. In other words, I would be a complete idiot not to do an informational interview.
Okay, so I've been trying to figure out this whole alt-academic job search thing for a bit. And I'll say right here, I have no idea what an informational interview is. Okay, I kinda know what they are. And in fact I did one in November. But they are still complete mysteries to me. [after writing this I realized how lame an excuse this is. Fear should not equal inaction. Here's an awesome step-by-step, sample questions and reminder to write a thank you note, more questions and discussion about length of query letter]
So although I hate to practice informational interviewing with this totally awesome sounding policy center, I'm going to.
Here's the basic rules I know about informational interviews.
Do not ask for a job.
The Bible claims that this is the #1 unspoken rule about informational interviews. My question is how many people outside of college career centers actually know what I'm asking for when I request an informational interview. Whatever, even if they don't know career center lingo, we can clearly explain--"I'm not looking for a job yet, I'm just trying to gather information about this field."
Keep it to 30 minutes. Or less.
The Bible says this. My fieldwork experiences with busy, VIP, mover and shaker people also confirms this.
Ask open ended questions about the interviewee's experiences.
Ethnography at its best! Here's some suggested questions from the Bible that I am totally going to use (if I get an interview).
-How did you get started in this field? (this field being nonprofit policy work in State)
-What does your typical day look like?
-What do you like most about this job? Are there things you dislike?
-What's the future outlook for policy/small centers/research programs in State?
-What skills are important to have in this field?
-What would you see as the best way to get the skills and experience to best qualify me for this kind of job?
-What do you suggest as the best way for someone with my experience to approach prospective employers?
-How should someone with my lack of experience approach prospective employers?
-Who might be a prospective employer?
-What makes resumes go to the top of the pile?
-Can you suggest any other people in City I should talk to?
Depending on the type of work, you might ask questions about the field more generally (there are some examples above).
This website is aimed for the $100K+ job seekers (ha, in my dreams) but it was recommended by Leaving Academia for its good job searching/job interviewing advice. I like the high roller's suggestion to have four or five insightful questions--that way you show you know how to do basic research. So for example, when I did some casual job searching among the academic publishers at my last conference, I asked how the financial situation was at X school and what kinds of web 2.0 programs they were implementing. I already knew from my hourly gig that most publishers are broke and that the future of publishing is electronic or perish. I got so much juicy good insider info because I demonstrated that I knew these were the two biggest concerns within academic publishing right now.
At my info interview I'll ask how to get into policy work. My "big picture question" will be how to get into the nonprofit scene in City.
I'm going to send my query email to the Associate Director because I think she will have the best info for me all around--she has ties to the state government, her background with economic development offices is closest to mine. Also she's responsible for day-to-day operations (perhaps that means hiring?), and is more likely to be in the office than the executive director.
Here's what my email is going to look like (pending final edits tomorrow).
Subject: Informational Interview
Dear Associate Director:
I read your recent publication XX and have found it incredibly timely as I finish writing my dissertation on social changes in Site. I am a graduate student in cultural anthropology and have been conducting research in Site for over five years. Upon graduating, I hope to find a policy job where I can practically use my knowledge of small cities in Region. I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about how one breaks into policy work.
Would you be willing to meet with me for thirty minutes to discuss how you got started in policy and State government? I'd appreciate any advice you can offer--I'm not officially job hunting just yet. I will be in City March 21-27 and can meet in your office if that is most convenient for you.
Sincere regards,
Leadfoot.
signature line with my university info, etc.
Stay posted. I'll let you know what my final email looks like, what the response is, and (hopefully!!!) how the interview goes.
Exciting!!! Good luck on your mission!
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