You in 30 seconds

So you've made contacts in your field.  You've networked with the right people, and they've set up an interview for you with the vice president of the company.  You're wearing your nicest clothes, you are introduced to the vice president, you sit down with him and he asks, “what can I do for you?”  You then spend the next two minutes babbling about nothing, never get your point across, and the vice president thinks, “what a waste of my time!”

When I was in Oregon, it took me a few tries, but I figured out a way to explain to people quickly who I was, and what I was doing there.  I then memorized the key points, and was able to sum up me in 30 seconds or less.  Why is this important?  For one, it gives a good first impression --you come across as intelligent, easy to understand, and well-prepared.  The conversation is also more likely to go where you want it to if you can steer it in that direction immediately.  And finally, you want to make sure that you have sold your good qualities from the beginning, whether that be education, experience, or motivation.

So what goes in a 30-second introduction?  This is what I recommend –

Your Past
This is where you give your background, and also sell your abilities.  What experiences have lead you to the point where you think you could get hired in this company or field?  Do you have applicable education?  Have you worked in the field?  If not, do you have education or work experience that could transfer?  Who are you, professionally, that this person could help you find a job?  This will help the person tailor their answers to your specific situation.

Your Purpose
What are your ultimate goals?  What are you trying to accomplish?  Are you looking for a job in this specific company, or just this specific field?  Are you looking for a job immediately, or are you just considering a move sometime in the future (say, after you finish your degree)?

Your Expectations
Why are you here in this specific office, talking to this specific person?  What are you expecting this person to do for you?  Are you looking for names of higher-ups in the company?  Are you trying to learn more general information about the company?  Or are you learning how to be competitive in the field?  Each one of these will steer the conversation in different directions; you need to know which way you want it to go, or you may end up wasting this opportunity.

No matter what your purpose or expectation is for the interview, you've made a new contact.  If you've made a good impression through your introduction and the remainder of the interview, they will remember you.  When it comes time to hire, or if they hear of an opening, you will be in an ideal place to take advantage of the situation.

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!

Stay Tuned . . .

Coming up in the next 24 hours:  A rundown of my experiences going to a statewide 2-day Academic Advising conference!  Spoiler: It has been great!

More details coming tomorrow.

Day 6,7, 8 . . .

The End

If you've been following my blog, you may have noticed that I haven't written much lately.  Frankly, Oregon kind've burned me out.  I was putting in 12-hour days or longer, with many of those hours spent in my car.  So by the time I was done, I was really done!

Not to worry.  After two weeks of break from the blog, I'm back.  And there is plenty to talk about.  But first, a wrap-up of my trip.

What I Did
The last few days consisted of me calling every company on my “cold-call” list, and having everyone say they aren't hiring at the moment.  Not a big surprise with the 10% unemployment rate, but it didn't take long, so no big loss.

I also had a number of job applications to fill out.  Those take a bit of time and had to be in by the end of the week, so I spent the majority of my days working on those.

Additionally, I met with another friend, and updated him on my job hunt.  Who knows if it will lead to anything, but you never know.  Plus, it was good to see him again.

And finally, I went to the Department of  Workforce Services and met with one of the career advisors there.  As a professional in a related field, I was interested in what she had to say.  It would be something to look into as an alternate to working in higher education.  From our conversation, it looks like I'm on the right track; I just have to keep with it.

What I Learned
This is just a quick wrap-up of my journey.  Stay tuned tomorrow for my discussion of what I learned on this trip!


How it went
Interviews – 2
Cold Calls – Around 20
Friend Reunions – 1
Mood – Recovering

Day 5

A long drive for . . . whoops!




A word to the wise: when setting up an interview, think of the unintended impressions you may be giving.  I ran into a situation that didn't turn out as nicely as I would have hoped.

What I did
After 15 months, I don't have much faith in getting an interview just by sending in a resume.  When I discovered an opening at a school I hadn't talked to yet, I figured I might as well talk to them, as well as send in an application.  I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?  Maybe they would be impressed when meeting me in person and seeing that I was serious about wanting to work in the advising field, in that office.

Well, I think I blew my chances with that school.  I'd set up an interview with the advising office before I applied for the job, but my interview wasn't until the application end date.  No problem.  I just applied, and waited for the interview date.

So the morning came, and I started driving to my appointment, which was 2.5 hours away.  Unfortunately, Google Maps was off in its estimate of how long it would take to get there.  From my house to the campus, including finding a parking spot, finding the building, and then finding the office, took closer to 3 hours.  Consequently, I was about half an hour late.  Not the first impression you want to send.

The person I was interviewing was gracious, though, and we started off the interview.  About five minutes in, the supervisor called the person I was interviewing out of the office.  When she returned, she told me that since I was a candidate for the position, she couldn't actually talk to me.  Uh-oh.

I had no idea that this was a policy.  I wasn't trying to be sneaky or unethical; I just wanted to know if I would be a good fit for that office.  But I think it came across as me trying to pull a fast one.  So, after 3 hours of driving, I sent the message that I was unreliable and underhanded.  Oh yeah – they're going to want me on their staff.

So, after talking to one other person on campus for five minutes, I started heading home.  On the way back, I stopped in at a community college and had a pleasant chat with someone in an office I hadn't applied for, and she was very pleasant and encouraging.  So it ended nicer than it started.

What I learned
Be mindful of setting up an interview after applying for a position.  You may send the wrong impression.

Double and triple check how long it takes to drive from point A to point B.  Give yourself extra time.

If you're going to set up an interview 3 hours away, don't make it too early in the morning.

How it went
Interviews – 1 positive encounter, 1 neutral, and 1 negative
Cold Calls – 0
Friend Reunions – 0
Mood – A little frustrated and shaken confidence in my approach.

Day 4

The good, bad, good day.



This was an interesting day.  Despite waking up late, I had two great conversations with two different people at a local community college, and spent the evening catching up with a good friend from high school.  It was the middle part that didn't go as well.



What I did
In the morning, I had an interview scheduled with a part-timer at a community college.  She could tell me a lot about her job, and some about the other jobs on campus.  But after talking to her for a while, she did something even better.  She walked me across the hall to one of the full-time staff members and introduced me to a full-time staff member.  The conversation with the part-time staff was helpful.  The conversation with the full-time staff was even better.

She had been on hiring committees before, so she had a very good idea of what they were looking for.  She told me about different ways of getting my foot in the door, and answered questions about my specific eligibility for different positions.  If I hadn't made the appointment with the part-time staff member, I wouldn't have met this other person.

Then in the afternoon, my confidence was shaken.  After making a few phone calls to try and set things up for the next week, I decided to start working my cold-calling list.  The first place I went to, they told me that just walking in to talk to someone wasn't the way things were done.  For some reason, that really shook me.  I think it's because I'm already way out of my comfort zone on this, and for someone to shut me down this directly, I started to question my entire approach.  Fortunately, this was late in the day on Friday, so I could quit and start up again on Monday morning.

But my day wasn't over yet.

Friday evening, I went out with one of my good friends from high school and her husband.  It was great to see her after 14 years and meet her family.  I felt like I hit it off immediately with her husband, which is one more incentive to move here (free friend!)  As nice as it was to catch up on life, I also now have two more pairs of eyes looking for jobs for me, and because these friends share many microcultures with me, they are likely to hear of jobs I could do.

What I learned
Get an interview with anyone in a company that will listen.  They may just introduce you to the most important contact you'll make.

Not everyone will be happy to see you, but most people are very nice.

Catch up with old friends, especially ones you haven't talked to in years.  They have entire lives (and connections) that you would have no access to otherwise.  Besides, it's great fun!

How it went
Interviews – 2
Cold Calls – 1
Friend reunions – 1
Mood – Feeling better now, but shaken at the time