INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWING

JobHuntersBible.com: Newsletter Archive

How To Research Companies or Places When You're Off the Internet



INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWING

Before you walk in the door of an organization, you want to know something about it. The Internet, and your local library, are good sources for finding out some of this information.

But sometimes the Internet (and libraries) just aren't going to tell you what you need to know. Most specifically, they are not likely to tell you what the problems of that organization are; and that information is important.

You want to have some idea of what an organization's problems, challenges, needs, etc. are, in a broad and general way, because you need to be able to present your skills in terms of their needs or problems.

So, you're going to have to go out and find the information yourself, face to face. This is called "informational interviewing" – and what it means, quite simply, is that you need to go talk to everyone you know, who may know people inside the organization that interests you.

And you need to do this before you go in there for an interview with that all-important person (there): the person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you-for-the-job-you-are-interested-in.

So, here are Four Rules for finding out the information you're looking for.

RULE NO. 1:

IF IT'S A LARGE ORGANIZATION THAT INTERESTS YOU, YOU DON'T NEED TO DISCOVER THE PROBLEMS OR NEEDS OF THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION. YOU ONLY NEED TO DISCOVER THE PROBLEMS, OR UNMET NEEDS, THAT ARE BUGGING THE-PERSON-WHO-HAS-THE-ULTIMATE-POWER-TO-HIRE-YOU.

Conscientious job-hunters always bite off more than they can chew. If they're going to try for a job at the Telephone Company, or IBM or the Federal Government or General Motors or – like that – they assume they've got to find out the problems facing that whole organization. Forget it! Your task, fortunately, is much more manageable. Find out what problems are bugging, bothering, concerning, perplexing, gnawing at, the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you. This assumes, of course, that you have first identified who that person is. Once you have identified her, or him, find out everything you can about them. The directories will help. So will the clippings, at your local library. So will any speeches they have given (ask their organization for copies, of same).

If it's a committee of sorts that actually has the responsibility (and therefore the power) to hire you, you will need to figure out who that one individual is (or two) who sways the others. You know, the one whose judgment the others respect. How do you find that out? By using your contacts, of course. Someone will know someone who knows that whole committee, and can tell you who their real leader is. It's not necessarily the one who got elected as Chairperson.

RULE NO. 2:

IN MOST CASES, YOUR TASK IS NOT THAT OF EDUCATING YOUR PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER ABOUT A NEED THEY'RE NOT AWARE OF; YOU'RE ONLY TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT NEEDS THEY ARE AWARE OF. THIS IS MIND-READING, NOT EVANGELISM.

Sure, if you're real good at finding out stuff, you may have uncovered – during your research – some problem that the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you is absolutely unaware of. For example, in your research you may have uncovered the fact that, "Gosh, this firm has a huge public relations problem; I'll have to show them that I could put together a whole crash P.R. program." That's the problem that you think the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you ought to be concerned about. And you may be convinced that this problem is so crucial that for you even to mention it will instantly win you their undying gratitude. Maybe. But don't bet on it. Our files are filled with sad testimonies like the following:

"I met with the VP, Marketing, in a major local bank, on the recommendation of an officer, and discussed with him a program I devised to reach the female segment of his market, which would not require any new services, except education, enlightenment, and encouragement. His comment at the end of the discussion was that the bank president had been after him for three years to develop a program for women, and he wasn't about to do it because the only reason, in his mind, for the president's request was reputation enhancement on the president's part ... "

Interoffice politics, as in this case, or other considerations may prevent your prospective employer from being at all receptive to Your Bright Idea.

In any event, you're not trying to find out what might motivate them to hire you. Your research has got to be devoted rather to finding out what already does motivate them when they decide to hire someone for the position you are interested in. In other words, you are trying to find out What's Already Going On In Their Mind. In this sense, your task is more akin to a kind of mind reading than it is to education. (Though some people-who-have-the-power-to-hire are very open to being educated. You have to decide whether you want to risk testing this.)

RULE NO. 3:

DON'T ASSUME THAT THE PROBLEMS, OR UNMET NEEDS, OF THE ORGANIZATION HAVE TO BE HUGE, COMPLEX AND HIDDEN. THE PROBLEMS BOTHERING THE-PERSON-WHO-HAS-THE-POWER-TO-HIRE-YOU MAY BE SMALL, SIMPLE, AND OBVIOUS.

Often what's bothering this person is the day-to-day friction he or she had with the people they have to work with. If the job you are aiming at was previously filled by someone (i.e., the one who, if you get hired, will be referred to as "your predecessor"), the problems that are bothering the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you may be uncovered simply by finding out through your contacts what bugged your prospective boss about your predecessor.

Samples:
"They were never to work on time, took long lunch breaks, and were out sick too often"; OR
"They were good at typing, but had lousy skills over the telephone";
OR
"They handled older people well, but just couldn't relate to the young";
OR
"I never could get them to keep me informed about what they were doing"; etc.

Sometimes, it's as simple as that. You may think they should be bothered by much larger issues. But, in actual fact, what they may be mainly concerned about is whether (unlike your predecessor) you're going to get to work on time, take assigned lunch breaks, and not be out sick too often. Don't overlook the Small, Simple, and Obvious Problems which bug almost every employer.

RULE NO. 4:

IF THE NEEDS ARE NOT SMALL AND SIMPLE, THERE ARE SIX WAYS OF FINDING OUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN THEIR MIND; DON'T TRY JUST ONE WAY.

A. Analyze The Problems Of An Organization That Interests You, By Thinking About It's Future:.

1. If the organization is expanding, then they need:
a. More of what they already have; OR
b. More of what they already have, but with different style, added skills, or other pluses; OR
c. Something they don't presently have: a new kind of person, with new skills doing a new function or service.
2. If the organization is continuing as is, then they need:
a. To replace people who were fired (find out why; what was lacking:); OR
b. To replace people who quit (find out what was prized about them); OR
c. To create a new position. Yes, this happens even in organizations that are not expanding, due to:
1) Old needs which weren't provided for, earlier, but now must be, even if they have to cut out some other function or position.
2) Revamping assignments within their present staff.

3. If the organization is reducing its size, staff, or product or service, then they –
a. Have not yet decided which staff to terminate, i.e., which functions to give low priority to (in which case that is their problem, and you may be able to help them identify which functions are "core-functions"); OR
b. Have decided which functions or staff to terminate (in which case they may need multi-talented people or generalists able to do several jobs, i.e., functions, instead of just one, as formerly).

B. Analyze The Problems Of The Person Who Has The Power To Hire You, There, By Talking To Him Or Her:.

It may be that your paths have accidentally crossed (it happens). Perhaps you attend the same church or synagogue. Perhaps you eat at the same restaurant. In any event, if you do ever have a chance to talk to her or him, listen carefully to whatever they may say about the place where they work. The greatest problem every employer faces is finding people who will listen and take them seriously. If you listen, you may find this employer discusses their problems – giving you firmer grounds to which you can relate your skills.

C. Analyze The Problems Of The Person Who Has The Power To Hire You, By Talking To Their 'Opposite Number' In Another Organization Which Is Similar To The One That Interests You..

If, for some reason, you cannot approach – at this time – the organization that interests you (it's too far away, or you don't want to tip your hand yet, or whatever), what you can do is pick a similar organization (or individual) where you are – and go find out what kind of problems are on their mind. (If you are interested in working for, say, a senator in another state, you can talk to a senator's staff here where you are, first. The problems are likely to be similar.)

D. Analyze The Problems Of The Person Who Has The Power To Hire You, By Talking To The Person Who Held The Job Before You – Or, Again, Their Opposite Number:.

Nobody, absolutely nobody, knows the problems bugging a boss so much as someone who works, or used to work, for them. If they still work for them, they may have a huge investment in being discreet (i.e., not as candid as you need). Ex-employees are not necessarily any longer under that sort of pressure. Needless to say, if you're trying to get the organization to create a new position, there is no "previous employee." But in some identical or similar organization which already has this sort of position, you can still find someone to interview.

E. Analyze The Problems Of The Organization Or The Person Who Has The Power To Hire You, By Talking To Every Contact You Have, In Order To Find Someone Who:.

1. Knows the organization that interests you, or knows someone who knows;
2. Knows the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you, or knows someone who knows;
3. Knows who their opposite number would be in a similar/identical organization;
4. Knows your predecessor, or knows someone who knows;
5. Knows your "opposite number" in another organization, or knows someone who knows.

F. Analyze The Problems Of The Organization Or The Person Who Has The Power To Hire You, By Reading Everything You Can Lay Your Hands On:.

DO research in the library, on the organization, or an organization similar to it; research on the-individual-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you, or on their opposite number in another organization, etc. – using the resources listed throughout this section, as well as in the Internet section.

POSTSCRIPT:

Ultimately, this business of figuring out the problems that bother the person who has the power to hire you for the position you want, in the organization that most interest you, boils down, in the end, to a language-translation problem.

You're trying to take your language (i.e., a description of your skills), and translate it into their language (i.e., their priorities, their values, their jargon, as these surface within their concerns, problems, etc.).

As I have emphasized, most of the-people-who-have-the-power-to-hire-you for the position you want do not like the word "problems." It reminds them that they are mortal, have hang-ups, haven't solved something yet, or that they overlooked something, etc. "Smartass" is the street-word normally reserved for someone who comes in and shows them up. (This isn't true of every employer or manager, but it's true of altogether too many.) Since you're trying to use their language, you should probably speak of "an area you probably are planning to move into" or "a concern of yours" or "a challenge currently facing you" or anything except: "By the way, I've uncovered a problem you have." Use the word problems in your own head, but don't blurt it out during the interview with your prospective employer, unless you hear them use it first. But in your own private thinking, your goal is to be able to speak in the interview of Your Skills in terms of The Language of Their Problems.

These are the keys to researching an organization. It just takes a lot of hard work, and some good luck.

Good luck!
Copyright©1996-2009 by Richard N. Bolles
All rights reserved. No part of this site may be quoted or reproduced without written permission.
For any suggested additions, updating or corrections to this site, please e-mail the Webmaster.