**Networking: Next steps - informational interview**
Backstory
I recently made a solid connection with a VP at a regional IB who plays a large part in recruiting at his firm. I reached out via LinkedIn (I don't do this anymore, don't rip my networking strategy just yet). He followed up the morning of the call and asked for my resume. I had a mini panic attack because I thought he might try to grill me on fit or something but it actually went really well and he could relate coming from a non-target with no OCR. Despite voicing my interest in working with his firm in my initial LinkedIn invitation, I didn't directly ask for a SA position.
My Plan
I hope to follow up within the next month and ask more directly about a SA position at his firm. If he entertains the idea, I will ask to meet with him in person for an interview when I visit the city he's based in (I'll be visiting in March for networking purposes). If he does not entertain the idea, I will ask to take him our for coffee and contact him again next fall.
My Questions
- Did I make a mistake by not directly discussing jobs up front during the informational interview?
- Do I have the correct next steps planned?
Always close with next steps questions. That may or may not have been an SA spot but it needs to be something. "If you were me, what would you do to move this forward, who should I speak to, what are the next steps, etc?" "How does recruiting work at this firm,etc?"
It's great you made that contact. He can likely help you (and will want to).
That's definitely something I'll do in the future. I've been closing these type of calls with something similar to "If I have questions in the future, is it okay to contact you again... blah blah" but most of the time they make it clear that its okay to contact them before I ever ask that. Thanks for the input.
Regarding my next steps, is this the best plan?
I'd let him know you'll be in the area and would love to meet him if he has time (he does - early morning coffee, whatever). Assuming you meet, close with next steps towards getting SA spot. He knows the right people to drive this thing. I'm assuming you sent him a thank you note after your last conversation. If so, just follow up and set the stage. If not, definitely do that ASAP.
About networking: a few different types of people out there. Some don't care and / or won't go out of their way to help anyone. That's unfortunate but they're out there. Others will absolutely help whenever they can but are looking for indicators from you that you are worth helping (they have reputation capital at stake). More than the content of your resume. They want to see what actions you take. You don't want to be over aggressive. But certainly aggressive enough for them to think, "This kid is sharp, he's confident, a "doer", etc. He'd be a good representative of our firm". That's really what they care about.
Just having a nice conversation and not closing for next steps leaves them kind of empty. Either they or someone they know can help. They just need to be properly asked.
That helps quite a bit. I did send a thank you email the day after with specific things that we talked about. So you recommend waiting until March to ask directly about SA positions, rather than via email prior to that?
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