Is it worth holding informational interviews with recruiters/HR personnel?

Hello all,

I'm currently a student at a Top 5 school studying abroad. Because I'm doing this semester abroad, I'm not on campus and haven't been able to attend the many informational and networking events that have been taking place over the past few weeks.

I've managed to get the contact information for some of the recruiters from the BBs and have been told that I should email them to express interest and get my name out there.

My question is -- in my email, should I request an informational interview with them? I'm hesitant because I'm not quite sure what I could talk about with HR/recruiters other than the standard questions that you can find easily online in the FAQ section. I don't want to set up a phone conversation only to have it last two minutes. What kind of questions should I direct at them? Since they work in HR I cant exactly ask them about their experiences in investment banking, how they got there, etc -- basically a lot of the questions that are generally asked in informational interviews.

What do you all suggest I do?

6 Comments
 

Actually, I know people who made contacts with HR and the HR person was able to see which groups were hiring and get them interviews directly with that group.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

I second Gekko's comment, particularly in Corporate Finance, I know at least 4 people that got interviews/jobs based on their relationship with recruiters and hiring managers. While it certainly isn't the most efficient way, it is certainly doable.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

What should I talk to the HR personnel about? I dont really want to ask them a bunch of mundane questions that can easily be answered through google...but at the same time, I dont know what other insight HR can provide me other than answer questions about the application process, etc.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

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