STEP 6

Advanced Preparation—Turning Career Conversations into Interviews, Recommendations, and Referrals

One month before the start of her senior year, Sonya had to make a decision. The accounting company where she had recently interned had offered her a full-time position after graduation. However, ever since she was a sophomore, her heart had been set on working for Cornerstone Research. Unfortunately, Cornerstone Research chose not to display its entry-level jobs on her school’s online job posting platform, nor did Cornerstone attend her school’s career fairs or host information sessions, because her school was not one of the company’s “target schools.” Now Sonya had less than four weeks before she needed to accept or decline her accounting offer.

As a sophomore, Sonya had felt confident in choosing finance as a major, but she wasn’t sure what career her interests would lead to. She figured she would explore career options online and ask professionals about their experiences. She attended conferences and information sessions hosted by larger accounting firms. She conducted career conversations with professionals from a variety of industries, asking to learn more about their career paths.

Now, as a senior applying to Cornerstone, she sent initial emails to current and former professionals at the organization, but no one responded. Next, Sonya sent the “Day 3” follow-up emails. This time she got a response from someone who turned out to be a hiring manager, and she scheduled a career conversation for the following week. By asking the right questions during her conversation, Sonya was able to turn this new relationship into a formal interview.

Was Sonya surprised? No, she was shocked! She hadn’t expected her plan to work out. The interview process went well, and Sonya received a full-time offer from her dream company before the decision deadline for her other offer!

Sonya told me that the key breakthrough was her decision to put her full effort into creating relationships with employees at her desired organization. Although she knew the odds weren’t in her favor with such a short timeline and not being from a target school, her proactive approach paid off.

“You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone and be proactive, even if you think it won’t succeed,” she said. “The common route won’t work for most people. The odds are stacked against most students. If I hadn’t learned the Career Launch Method, I wouldn’t have pursued Cornerstone or gotten the interview, let alone land the job.”

One reason for Sonya’s success is that she engaged in career education and exploration throughout her time in college. Early on, her goal was simply to learn about job types and industries to help with discernment. As a sophomore and junior, her goal was to land internships. As a senior, her goal was to get a job she really wanted. Importantly, Sonya understood how to effectively structure the endings of career conversations based on her desired outcome for each conversation.

KEY TAKEAWAY #1: KNOW YOUR DESIRED RESULT FOR EACH CONVERSATION

Before conducting a career conversation, consider what you hope to get out of the conversation. For example, you may simply want to learn more about an industry, an organization, or a job function. You may want to learn about someone’s career path to help with your exploration and discernment process. You may be looking to develop a mentor/mentee relationship. Perhaps you want an internal recommendation for a posting you saw online, or a referral to someone else in the organization. Or you might be looking to be invited to a formal interview for a job or internship.

Career conversations are effective for all these goals. However, you need to know your goal before conducting the conversation, because it will influence the questions you ask near the end and it will determine your follow-up strategy.

Note: For all career conversations it is a best practice to offer to be a resource to the professional. This gesture expresses your gratitude for their time and says you are willing to help out as a thank you for the conversation. You can simply say, “If there is a way I can be of help to you or the organization, please keep me in mind.” Most of the time there will not be any follow-through, but I have had students participate in surveys and focus groups as a result of making the offer. Either way, your offer will reflect positively on your personal brand.

If your goal is to get a formal job interview, use this proven four-question sequence. Many professionals expect that you want a job or internship simply because you have set up the career conversation, so it’s not a huge leap to ask about future job opportunities. But you want to adhere to some norms. It’s like bringing dessert to a dinner party at someone’s home. The guest brings dessert because the host is providing dinner, but it would be awkward for the guest to explicitly say, “I bought you this dessert because you paid for the groceries and made the dinner.”

Similarly, professionals will expect that you asked for a conversation because you are interested in an internship or job, but you shouldn’t explicitly talk about wanting the job at the beginning of the conversation. After all, you set up the meeting by asking to learn about their career path. However, it is totally acceptable to inquire toward the end. In fact, most professionals expect it. It’s a social norm, like bringing dessert to a dinner party.

It is very important, then, to be strategic with your timing and transition into asking questions about internship or job opportunities. If you ask about a job at the beginning of the conversation, you look insincere and selfish. But the right questions near the end of the conversation can lead the professional to invite you to a formal interview or to refer you to the appropriate person.

In some cases, people will bring up job opportunities even if you don’t ask. But don’t count on it. Ask these four questions when you are ready to transition from the questions on your list to asking about a formal internship or job opportunity.

If you don’t get the opportunity to ask these questions during the career conversation, you can ask about job opportunities or connections to hiring managers in your follow-up emails. But your success rate is maximized if you do it in the concluding moments of your live conversation.

If your goal is to develop a mentor/mentee relationship . . . career conversations are great ways to develop relationships with professionals who can be advisers and help you make important career decisions. Many students believe that to qualify as a mentor, someone has to be meeting with you frequently (like once a month) and discussing a whole range of life issues. This isn’t true. You can have a variety of mentors with whom you speak only when you have an important decision, opportunity, question, or transition. And ironically, one of the best ways to build relationships with mentors is to avoid explicitly asking them to be your mentor.

If someone is a busy professional and you ask them “Will you be my mentor?,” they might be hesitant because they believe it will require a large time investment on their part. But if you ask them about a specific and relevant topic (for instance, “I am pursuing internships in two different industries. Could I ask you a few questions for some advice?”), they are more likely to want to help you. By following up periodically over time, you can build trust and develop a mentoring relationship.

If your goal is to get a referral . . . almost all organizations have some method for employee referrals. Large companies often have online systems where employees can easily refer a candidate who has applied through their internal job portal. Most small and medium-size organizations operate without such formal structures, but they still encourage employees to make referrals to hiring managers or human resources.

Unless you feel like the professional you’re meeting with is disinterested or the conversation is not going well, you should consider asking some or all of the following questions at the end of the conversation:

A study of more than two thousand employees indicated that, once interviewed, the chances of getting hired are twelve times higher for a candidate with a referral than for someone who only completed an online application.¹ This is why asking the question Would you be willing to recommend me as a candidate for an internship (or job)? can make such a major impact.

If your goal is simply to explore and learn about new career options . . . such as to learn about a particular career path, industry, company, or organization, there is little downside (and nearly unlimited upside) to asking for connections to other people. Try to be specific in your request. For example, perhaps you have a conversation with a teacher and you’re also interested in becoming a principal down the road. Rather than asking whether the person knows anyone who could help you, you might ask if they would be willing to introduce you to the principal at their school for a conversation. Also, you can say, “Would you mind if I stay in touch periodically?” You will likely receive an affirmation and will open the door for future communication.

You have to be explicit and clear in asking for what you want. During career conversations, some professionals may proactively offer to refer you to colleagues for further conversations, or even ask you to apply for an internship or job. But these cases are more the exception than the norm. Most of the time, you will need to ask for what you want. Many professionals will only help you if you explicitly ask, not because they are testing you or withholding anything but just because they aren’t sure what you want.

If you use the recommended outreach templates given in step 4, you will be saying that you have an assignment to conduct a career conversation. Although this improves your odds of getting a response, the person you speak with may think that you are just trying to complete your assignment. They may not realize you have a great interest in securing an internship or job, an ongoing relationship, or a referral. Again, therefore, you must explicitly ask for what you want.

I’ve had many students over the years follow 90% of the Career Launch Method and then fail to ask for a connection or to inquire about internship or job opportunities before ending the interaction. You don’t want to be part of this group, because that means you are not maximizing your chances for success. It’s your responsibility to ask about next steps and who else would be good for you to speak with. The questions presented here will put you in the best possible position to turn a career conversation into something more.

KEY TAKEAWAY #2: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

You should be prepared for a wide variety of outcomes during your career conversation. Although some of these scenarios are rare, it’s always best to be prepared. My first tip is to visualize the conversation the night before. Start by thinking about how you want the professional to feel about you when conversation is over. How will they perceive you? Consider what kind of energy, emotion, and state of being you’ll embody during the chat. What can you do, verbally and nonverbally, to give yourself the best chance for the conversation to turn into something more? Taking just a few minutes to close your eyes and visualize your intended outcome can work wonders to make you more focused and effective.

Now, certainly, not all career conversations will be life changing. But as you can see from the student stories in this book, it happens more often than you might imagine. It’s part of the reason why 80% of jobs are never advertised. In general, professionals like to help students who reach out, so they likely already have a positive impression of you before your meeting. Then, when you create an authentic connection, you cultivate job search gravity, making positive outcomes more likely.

Here are some scenarios for which you should prepare.

The bottom line from all these scenarios is that you should go with the flow and be flexible. Most times, these unexpected circumstances will benefit you if you are prepared and adaptable. All these scenarios can serve as a bridge between a career conversation and a formal interview, if that is your desired outcome. Regardless of your goal, though, mental preparation can give you a greater shot at success.

REVIEW AND REFLECT