You may want to speak with accountants, stockbrokers, bankers, and others who may have access to the kind of information you need. With an inquiring approach and a well-planned list of two or three questions, you will be amazed at how often you can get people to share their knowledge with you.
When you do talk with others, you will want to limit your use of their time to questions to which they are likely to know the answers or on which they have sound views. Here are some of the questions you might want to consider. As I have said frequently when providing such lists, these are only thought-starters. By all means, expand the list to include the questions that you feel would elicit the most useful information for your particular needs.
About the Field:
- How does this field look right now?
- What are the long-range prospects?
- Is this a good field to try get in to the moment?
- Are organizations in this field hiring or scaling down?
- What specific career areas are likely to be hot?
- What the field's opportunities stem from?
- What seems to be the problem?
- What are the company's long- and short-range outlooks?
- Where do you see this company headed?
- Where are its opportunities? What are its problems?
- What is its turnover like?
- How would you describe the organization's climate?
- What kind of leader is Sylvia Bradley, the CEO?
- What can you tell me about her style?
- What does her track record show?
- How would you describe her?
- Would you want to work for her?
People In The Know
Also try to speak with people who have worked in the particular field and those who have worked for the employers you want to know about. When you talk with them, be sure to keep the door open for follow-up calls. Later, when you have scheduled interviews, you may want to speak with them again.
You would be especially fortunate if your contacts included people who have worked in the department that would be most likely to hire you or in the offices of the city where you would be working. Even better would be to speak with individuals who have reported directly to those for whom you would be working.
Advantages of Seeking Information
Although you will need to be prudent in your use of it, the technique that follows can help you connect in the job market even before you send out a letter or resume. It is related to the technique of interviewing for information. Here's how it works:
As you develop your list of people to call for information, create a list of heads of departments within organizations where you might like to work. Call each of these individuals; give your name; and say you are calling because you believe he or she may be able to help you by answering a question or two. You will have prepared some key questions, being careful to choose only those that will elicit an enthusiastic response.
If the people you call are in your area, ask if you might stop by for a few minutes to chat about the questions. Emphasize that you are not applying for a job. The odds are good that you will be welcomed. After all, you're not asking to be hired: You're appealing to that person's desire to help others, and you are complimenting him or her by asking for help.
When you meet, get your questions answered and make a favorable impression. Before you close, and only then, ask if you may leave a copy of your resume in case your contact happens to hear of any openings that fit your background. Invariably the answer will be yes and you will have taken two positive steps: You will have provided more information about yourself ("just in case"), and you will have said, in yet another way, that you value your informant as an individual who is well connected.
The odds are good that your name will often come up when someone either inside or outside the organization mentions job openings to this person in the near future. It's one way to gain access to jobs that are filled without advertisements ever being run in the newspapers. I have worked with executives who received major invitations to interview for employment from such initial contacts.