need help with PHONE conversations for SA

So taking the board's advice, I've starting haggling lots and lots of alums and have set up appointments to chat on the phone. Is this an "informational interview"? Alot has been said already but basically this is just a casual chat, ask them about themselves, etc right? Has anyone successfully guided the conversation for the alum to say "Yes, I will go to bat for you and push for your resume"?

4 Comments
 

Unless you are more charismatic than a movie star, it will take a lot more than a brief chat on the phone for someone to go to bat for you, especially if you have no prior relationship.

You can and should ask (at the end) if there are any openings they know of or any places looking to hire, but you will need to develop an actual relationship with the alumni for them to really push for you.

Use this as a chance to learn more about the job, find out about them, introduce yourself and see if there are any jobs you can apply for.

I would neither ask nor expect them to go to bat for you after 1 quick chat.

 

i'm going to assume that all the alums will know why I'm calling. But would you suggest then to just not mention the elephant in the room and just wholly focus on "chatting" without going into regards about "How Do I get an internship at your firm?"

 

Yes, this is an "informational interview." I have to disagree a little bit with dosk17 here. I think you definitely should ask if they can help you get in the interview process (if you're recruiting from school) or flat out get an interview (if you're not). As long as you are polite and not too forceful, what have you got to lose? If you don't ask, you don't get.

When I was still in banking, I helped prospective analysts and associates get interviews who I had only spoken with on the phone, especially if they were fellow alums. Perhaps I'm arrogant but I think I can usually tell enough based on a 15 minute phone conversation (plus I usually asked them to send me their resume in advance) to decide whether or not they warrant an interview.

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