Informational Interviews: How One Spartan Landed a Job
“There isn’t a single better thing to do when you are looking for a job,” says Marissa Hayes (’08, pictured at right) about informational interviewing. “That’s how I got my job.”
Informational interviews are similar to job interviews, except the roles are reversed: rather than being asked questions about your qualifications for a particular position, you ask an employee at an organization questions. You can use informational interviews to gain knowledge about a particular industry, organization, or position. As Hayes says, “Informationals are basically just to go in and meet the person. When I went in for specific interviews to positions I had applied, I felt there was more pressure. During informationals I was able to convey my true self and had more control over where the interview went by the questions I asked.”
Hayes graduated from the professional writing program at MSU and currently works as a manager of online magazine integration at Condé Nast, a major magazine publisher. She knew early on that she wanted to work with magazines. She expressed this interest to Courtney Chapin, Field Consultant in the College of Arts and Letters, who gave her some contacts to start with. “Without an email address or any contact information for the professionals she gave me, I researched and found out how to get in touch with them,” says Hayes. “It took some time to get a response but, when I did, I set up time to come in or chat over the phone.”
In order to gain more contacts and experience, Hayes signed up for the NYU Summer Publishing Institute. There is a reason Chapin calls Hayes “the Queen of Networking” though. When asked how she found out about informational interviewing opportunities, Hayes says, “I literally tried everything I could. I cold-called every HR department in New York [at a company] that I would consider working for. I also emailed my contacts I had met at NYU and the people I had networked with and asked for advice. I cold-emailed a TON of people. I would go pick up a magazine and search the masthead, and then google them to find out what they did, and then guess their email address.”
Hayes estimates that she has gone on “at least 15 to 20″ informational interviews. “Or more.”
“Not all of them were [with] companies I thought I would work for or areas that I thought would interest me, but I was willing to find out,” says Hayes. “I made sure I was honest about what I thought I wanted to do but told them how important I thought it was to understand the industry as a whole. So even if they didn’t have my dream job, they knew someone that may. I stayed in touch with all of the people I met with, emailed them to keep them up-to-date on my graduation date, my move to New York, my job search, my interviews, and finally, my job! They were a tremendous help. They sent my résumé along to people that they thought would be looking for candidates, and I did get interviews and calls from people that I hadn’t even reached out to.”
Don’t underestimate the power of networking. “I know that no one wants to hear the phrase ‘it’s not what you know but who you know.’ It’s true though,” says Hayes. “I recently went on an informational within my company (yes, even though I have a job I am still meeting people to find out about what they do and how they got there).” When she searched for his email address to let him know that she was at his office she found that “ironically, he was one of the people I cold-emailed through a former boss’ recommendation. When he arrived to get coffee, I told him how I had emailed him over the summer for an informational. I caught him off guard, but he remembered me and was floored when he asked me when I graduated and I told him it’d been less than a year. He offered me a ton of advice. That just goes to say, that even if you don’t hear back right away, you will probably cross paths again.”
Hayes has one last piece of advice for students: “There is nothing to lose but someone saying they are too busy to talk. One thing I was afraid to do was be so aggressive when it came time to get the job I really wanted. I finally decided that I had nothing left to lose so I picked up the phone and expressed my desire for the position—it worked.”
Take action: If you are interested in setting up an informational interview but need some help getting started, contact Paul Jaques, the Career Services Network Internship Developer. He works with students one-on-one to help them find a good match. His email address is jaques@msu.edu. Or set up an appointment with the Field Career Consultant in your college. Click here for more on how to conduct informational interviews.
The best way to beef up your resume while making some extra cash and maintaining the flexibility necessary to be a college student: get a part-time job.
When asked what one piece of advice she would give students who are looking for a part-time job, Htang says, “Keep looking. This school is huge and there are a ton of opportunities out there, you just have to find them. A job will not come find you.”