Because getting
the right INFORMATION is the key to making
sound decisions, when it comes to deciding on or developing your career.
Therefore,
learning how to ask the right questions
will assist you in all aspects of career design, development and execution!
In addition
to the most obvious: job searching activities
… it’s equally as essential for effective:
- Networking
- Informational Interviewing
- Researching companies, schooling, career directions and professions etc.
- Finding out about jobs while you have a job, both Internally or externally
- Career change or adjustment (highly essential usually for this kind of move)
- Pre-Retirement – to discover then secure more flexible but still income-earning opportunities
- Full on retirement, as well
- Volunteering
opportunities that will enhance your career and/or life, in general
Career and
life go hand in hand so everything you do in your life to gather information,
then make decisions carries over seamlessly into career development activities.
And while
it may sound easy, I know from the
hundreds of clients I see every year, that it actually isn’t.
It takes
time and self-awareness to develop this high level skill. And once you get the gist of it, it will help
you cut to the chase quickly, but politely, with people/contacts and allow you
to navigate a huge subject field which can so easily go off track if you’re not
steering the conversation adroitly.
And, to
steer that conversation, it’s equally essential to know beforehand where you
want to go. With some flexibility to
take some side-roads, should something interesting pop up along the way.
So, imagine
you’re going on a road trip. You’ve
decided to drive to Las Vegas but there are many different routes you could
take. You pull out the old map (so much
more fun than Mapquest) and research the many roads and states you could drive
through enroute. Then you probably do a
bit more research online to figure out what cities you’d like to visit, then
make a plan and go.
This is
exactly what you want to do when starting an information gathering conversation
with anyone.
In essence,
start having different types of
conversations.
I had a
client recently who was about to start her MA in a specific counselling
area and was also looking for a new job.
During her interview preparation, I’d suggested she use the forthcoming
degree thesis as a potential carrot for employers. Given that this might give her a possible
opportunity to align her, as yet, undecided study subject to the needs of her potential
new employer could prove to be a win-win-win opportunity for her, the
organization and those people the organization served.
As our
session unfolded, it became clear that she already was pursuing a certificate
in another counselling discipline, around which she was very
passionate. It also turned out that she
had, just the previous weekend, spent innumerable hours in the company of a principal
from that very organization, while they commuted to attend a weekend workshop. And, in the longterm, she was very interested in becoming an employee or associate of
this organization.
I asked if
she’d discussed this win-win-win idea with the person in question but, unfortunately, it hadn't occurred to her.
Oh no -- a
missed opportunity? Yes, maybe. But it is never too late to turn it around!
I gave her
a gentle nudge to reach out and ask those questions now.
And I can
hear you saying: But if I don’t think of asking how can I get the information?
That’s
where planning ahead and preparation comes in. Here are a
few ways you can take instant action, even if you haven’t quite figured out yet
what your connection points are with a potential questionee.
1)
Prepare
a 60 Second Sell (or elevator speech) that encapsulates a few of your key areas of expertise, interest and/or
enquiry. Obviously, you want to change
this up for different avenues of enquiry.
2)
Sit
down and look at the list of attendees, or exhibitors prior to heading out to a
tradeshow, conference, workshop or any other networking-likely event. Most of these events publish a list on their
websites well before the date of the event.
3)
Ask
for business cards from anyone you meet and -- this is KEY -- Follow-Up
with them!
4)
Prepare
questions and research as much as you can on the behind the scenes info related
to this person (check out their LinkedIn profile, research their company’s
website and do your due diligence to find as many “connection points” to YOU,
as possible. Or areas you’re good at,
interested in, or seeking to develop!)
a.
Even
if you have a quick Informational Interview with someone, it’s okay to ask if
you might reach out to them again at a later date, if you have any more questions. (In fact, it’s a great way to do Step 5…)
b.
It
can also be a good idea to ask that person for a referral to someone else who
may have some deeper or more relevant information for you as you move through
your decision-making process.
5)
Maintain
communication with anyone that you deem as having the potential to be a good
connection for you now, or in the future.
a.
Build
the connection by keeping in touch, or sending updates when you complete
something they advised you to do. Send a
quick thank you email when they’ve passed you along to another colleague. Reciprocate whenever possible and -- always always always -- offer to pay
when you end up going for coffee!
This kind
of awareness raising endeavor merely requires that you sit down every once in a
while and “plan” a bit as to what you might say to people you encounter in your
travels.
A simple “So
where do you work?” or “What kind of work do you do?” can open up lines of
conversation you never would have imagined.
You’ll be amazed at how few people really ask this with any kind of real
interest. And people also love to give
advice so, if you can find a way to ask something that will make someone else
feel good about that conversation, you’re more than half way to building a
memorable moment for someone else!
Even if you’re
not great on the spot, if you have your 60 second sell ready to go, then ask
for their contact info, you really don’t have to say too much until the
follow-up conversation, when you’ll have already prepared your questions and
have mapped out what you want to ask.
All in all,
this is a skill you can develop, just like your career, through a little trial
and error and by just working on it until you get some traction.
But thinking
ahead is always going to be the prerequisite to having more substantial
conversations and to building that muscle so you just naturally flow into this
type of information gathering exchange no matter where you are or who you’re with.
So go on out
there and make an effort to have more relevant
conversations. You never know what cool new
thing you might learn!