Going where the contacts are

One of the purposes of informational interviews is to gather information about what jobs are out there, and to let others know that you're interested in those jobs.  Making contacts in your field is one of the best ways to become employed.  If people in your field have already met you (and you make a favorable impression), your name sticks out when you apply for future positions.

The thing about informational interviews is that they take a long time.  You've got to set up the interview in advance, drive to the location, wait for your contact to be free, talk to them, drive home again, etc.  While I was in Oregon, it sometimes took me 3 hours for one 20-minute interview.  And that's when the interview didn't fall through at the last minute.  Wouldn't it be nice if all these contacts would come together in one place so you could meet them all at the same time?

One option is professional conferences.  This is where people in your field get together to listen to presentations, hold training meetings, etc.  These are generally for those who already have jobs, which means that if you don't, you have a good chance of being the only one in your situation there.

At least, that's what happened to me.  Through my informational interviews, I learned that there was a statewide advising conference coming up, and it would be a good way for me to meet a lot of people.  I signed up, and went to the 2-day conference with 200+ other participants.  It was a great experience.

Because of confusion about parking, I arrived late for the keynote speaker on the first day.  As I was waiting outside the room, I started up a conversation with another latecomer, and we spent 20+ minutes discussing her job, my situation, the hiring situation at her school, and general getting-to-know-you information.  You don't usually have time to really get to know people in informational interviews, but since we were just waiting, there were no time constraints to worry about.

Throughout the two days, I tried to get to meetings early, find someone that was sitting by themselves, and start up a conversation.  I learned more about a number of schools, and have a list of names I will contact in the upcoming weeks.  During the course of the conversations, I found out which schools were hiring or were about to list positions (quite a few), and the advisors' appraisals of my chances to get a job (pretty good).

I also learned that my Master's degree has prepared me well to be on par with the latest trends in academic advising.  I had taken classes or read articles on most of the concepts being discussed, and was even able to add my 2 cents to the conversation.  I may not have the daily experience of other advisors, but I can hold my own when discussing theory!