| Topic Name: |
Informational interviews - advice needed |
| Message Name: |
i tried it... |
| Date Posted: |
12/17/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
During winter break I plan on setting up informational interviews with some strategy firms. Given the hectic schedules of ACs and consultants, will firms be receptive to informational interviews? Keep in mind I'm trying to set up these interviews by cold-calling them. I've used this strategy with I-banks before and had no problems.
Do you think these interviews will be helpful in my quest to land an interview for summer internships? The firms I want to meet with don't recruit at my school, so I'm using these interviews both as a way to help get my foot in the door and to learn more about the industry.
I'm an undergrad, if that makes any difference.
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| Message: |
I'm not sure how much they help at the larger firms... you'd need to network with someone through a friend or thought your school's alumni base before they'd spend their time on a random recruit. For smaller firms that can't afford big recruiting operations, they might be very effective.
The key to success is to be very on-the-ball so that you don't waste the person's time. If you're annoying and ask the wrong questions, you've killed your chances of an interview. If you're personable and ask the right questions, you might help yourself slightly. Read the Journal, read their website, read their publications, read their profile on vault, etc. before the meeting.
I tried this tactic when I was recruiting and it didn't help much except at firms where I already knew someone.
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