Keep track of the info interviews you do. At first, you’ll feel like you can keep it all in your head, but especially if you’re looking for a bigger change to your career path, the information you take in is going to get very muddy very quickly. I use a simple tracker in Excel, but…
The etiquette of the informational interview can be a little confusing. They’re not just coffee with a friend, and they’re not an actual interview, so what to do? The informational interview is definitely its own unique thing, but the good news is that it’s informal enough that the rules are pretty simple: 1. Be…
What questions should you ask in an informational interview? I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten stuck at this point many a time. I have found a fabulous person to talk to, and even scheduled a time, and suddenly I’m panic-stricken because I don’t know what to ask. First of all, don’t…
Finding people to have informational interviews with can feel overwhelming and intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. As with most things, I encourage people to start with what’s easy. Who do you know already, and who do they know? Most of us have vague ideas of what our loved ones do, but we…
I’ve talked a lot about how important networking is when you’re looking for a job or growing in your career, so this I want to talk about my favorite kind of networking, the informational interview. You may or may not be familiar with the term, so today I’ll talk you through what it means and…
Now that you have a sense of the kinds of values to be aware of as you look for what’s next, you’re probably wondering how to identify what’s really important to you. So today I bring you a simple quiz! There are lots of similar quizzes and questionnaires available online, so if this one doesn’t…
Your values are so important to finding career satisfaction!
Lifestyle values are the ones that often aren’t directly related to the job, but can come about (or not) as a result of the job. In other words, they’re things like if you live in a big city, the suburbs, or in another country. Whether you own a home or rent. If you have time…
External work values, or extrinsic, are the real tangible rewards you get from the job itself: the paycheck, the vacation time, benefits, autonomy, and so forth. These rewards often include things like the ability to set your own schedule and pay that feels good for what you do, as well as sufficient time away from…
Internal work values, or what we career folks call intrinsic values, are things keep us feeling excited about the work we do, ready to get up and have a go at the day. Examples include work tasks, who you interact with, and the built-in structure of your day. For example, if you’re happy in your…