Week 8 - OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

I enjoyed the suggestions that Naivenet.pdf gives to help us to get the most out of  ours personal interviews.

“The suggestions below will help you get the most out of personal interviews:

 1 Do your personal soul searching and industry homework first.

Take a personal inventory. Take aptitude tests. Ask those who know you well what you do better than most. Do whatever it takes to narrow your search to a few industries. Read about these industries and the leading companies and people. Personal interviews with teachers, entrepreneurs and executives should not be used to narrow your search or learn about jobs or industries. A stranger or casual acquaintance doesn’t know you well enough to map out your career. This is a very inefficient use of a busy person’s time. A great resource to guide you through your own soul searching is at Acton-Life-of-Meaning.org.

2 Be specific about what you need.

Make sure the other person understands how a little effort on their part can make a big difference in your life. Be clear about what you want. People are more likely to help you if they understand what you need, why it matters and how they can help with a minimum of time and effort. If you can’t explain this in a few sentences, you don’t need a meeting. The first rule of “networking” is that you must put yourself in the shoes of the other person.

3 Always put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

 Whenever you contact anyone, stop and put yourself in their shoes. Why would they want to talk with you? How can you make it easy on them? How can you demonstrate that talking with you would be entertaining or educational? At the very least, be humble and appreciative.

 4 Make it easy.

Never ask for a lunch if a short meeting will do. Never ask for a meeting if a phone call will suffice. Never ask for a phone call if an e-mail will get the job done.

 5 Don’t pester.

If the other person isn’t interested, back off. Ask if there’s someone else they suggest you could talk with or something they suggest you read. Perseverance is a great character trait if you are pursuing a worthy goal, but an empty meeting is not a worthy goal.

 6 Start at the bottom.

Once you have narrowed the list of industries, make your first contacts with people who are helping serve real customers. Look for people who have recently joined the company. These are the people who can tell you the most about what your experience will be like with a company or within an industry. You can learn about an industry’s history by reading biographies of industry pioneers.

7 Show up prepared.

 If you do need a phone call or meeting, be prepared. Make sure you have read all the important books about the industry and the biographies about its pioneers in advance. Thoroughly research the company and the individual with whom you are meeting.

 8 Send a list of questions in advance.

A short list of questions helps set the agenda and shows that you’ve done your homework. Sending your questions in advance makes the most of a short meeting.

9 Ask questions.

 Your goal in a face-to-face meeting is to establish a relationship. Use your time in a personal interview to learn about the other person. How did they get to where they are today? What mistakes have they made? What do they cherish or regret? Once you understand the other person, and they believe you are sincere and dedicated to their industry, and perhaps following in their same path, they are more likely to see you as a younger version of themselves, and are more likely to want to help. Perseverance is a great character trait if you are pursuing a worthy goal, but an empty meeting is not a worthy goal. 4 Your goal in a faceto-face meeting is to establish a relationship.

 10 Give something unexpected in return.

 What can you give in return? Does the entrepreneur have a favorite charity where you can volunteer? Is there some other way you can give them an unexpected gift? Will you at least pledge to help someone like yourself in the future? Being willing to give of yourself without being asked is a sign of maturity and character. A busy entrepreneur can make up to several million dollars each year. That means an hour of his or her time is worth a thousand dollars or so on average, and a marginal hour of time is worth much more. By comparison, as a newly minted MBA, an hour of your time is worth $50 or so, meaning that you should be willing to volunteer ten hours of your time in return for a half-hour meeting. Sound too expensive? Then you really don’t need the meeting.

 11 Be nice to the gatekeepers too.

 Remember, executive assistants run most companies. They can be your most valuable source of information about a company or an entrepreneur. See them as a resource, not a barrier.

 12 Follow up.

Always, always, always write a handwritten thank you note. Let the entrepreneur know how their advice or recommendation helped. Show them your gratitude by offering something unexpected. Summary Entrepreneurs are busy. Every moment of their time already is committed. People who use social contrivances or relationships to gain access for meaningless meetings take time away from more important tasks. If you want to learn about an industry, read books or surf the internet for information. Interview line personnel who have more time and can give you a perspective on what working in an industry at an entry level is like. Save face-to-face meetings with entrepreneurs for that rare moment when there is something specific they can do, at a very low cost in time and effort, that will make a big difference to your life. Above all, remember that it’s not about you. People will help you if they sense that you are on an important mission to help others and have the character and drive to make a difference. You can demonstrate this by doing your homework up front, and always putting yourself in the shoes of the other person.”