LESSON 4:
BUILDING CAREER COMMUNITY
Building career community is the most direct path to finding a career that is aligned with your personality and it job that is more fulfilling. It’s important to create a career strategy to find good people who can support you along your career path and help you find a job that matches your career personality. The reason for building career community (rather than just applying for jobs on job boards) is to put in extra effort, time, and energy toward finding a job you want - rather than passively accepting the jobs that appear.
INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS
There are two types of informational interviews:
1. The first is meeting with someone in an industry that you want to align your career path with or who works at a company that you’re curious about to find out more information as you transition to a different career path.
2. The second is informational interviews for the purpose of networking and landing a job. This type of meeting is designed to help you get a job at one of your desired companies. You’ll want to meet people to learn more at the company on your top 10 list, how to best find out about jobs at that company, and find out if they have any companies or people that they suggest you meet with.
LESSON 4: HOMEWORK
HOMEWORK 1: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW EMAIL
Even if you’re nervous about reaching out to strangers for informational interviews, all you really have to do is send an email. Here’s an Informational Interview Email Template to guide you with what to say in the email. Keep it short and simple. Instead of saying, “Can I pick your brain?” (Please, never write that!) you’ll want to explain what specifically inspired you to reach out to them. Make sure you’re only reaching out to people who seem interesting - the more inspirational, the better.
HOMEWORK 2: YOUR CAREER STORY
Your Career Story is a better version of what some people call an “Elevator Pitch” but it’s much more authentic and the goal is to connect with people and build what could potentially be grown into a professional relationship. There are two types of Career Stories (choose one below):
1. Career Story (Career Change): This is when you’re pivoting in your career path and exploring a new job title or new industry for your career. In this type of Career Story, you might be meeting with people for informational interviews to learn about a new career path and understand how to get support for this career transition. Use this template to write your
Career Story (Career Change).
2. Career Story (Same Career Path): This is when you’ve had the same job title or career path within the same industry and are scheduling informational interviews with people to find a job in that career. Use this template to write your Career Story (Same Career Path).
RESOURCE: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW CHECKLIST
This Informational Interview Checklist can help you prepare for an informational interview and guide you step-by-step through the process of meeting with someone about your career.