Page 306 - Keys to College Success

On the day of the informational interview, dress professionally and arrive early.
Have a copy of your résumé in case the person you are interviewing wants to see it.
Take notes during the interview, and consider writing by hand so you do not distract
the interviewee by typing. When you finish, express appreciation and ask if you can
keep in touch. Provide your contact information (or a business card, if you have one)
and ask for his or her card. Follow up with a personal thank you note and send it by
mail—handwritten notes get remembered. Then type up your notes and think about
what they tell you about the job or career area you are investigating.
Through informational interviewing, you tap the “hidden job market”—unadver-
tised jobs that are filled through networking. More than 80% of new jobs are unadver-
tised. Most companies would rather find a qualified person through word-of-mouth
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or a referral, and one of the best ways to get referred is to meet some of those employees
through informational interviewing. Plan for Career Success

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is one of the strongest draws for today’s employers, and some-
thing that you can build in any job that brings you into contact with other people.
As he gained experience as an RA, Dan built an extraordinary amount of emotional
intelligence.
Consider this scenario: You arrive at work distracted by a personal problem
and tired from studying late the night before. Your supervisor is overloaded with a
major project due that day. The person you work most closely with is coming in
late due to a car problem. Everyone is stressed out. What does an emotionally intel-
ligent person do?
■ Tune in to everyone’s emotions first. You: Tired and distracted. Your co-worker:
Worried about the car and about being late. Your supervisor: Agitated about the
project.
■ Pinpoint the thoughts that arise from these emotions. People are likely to think
that the deadline is in jeopardy.

talk risk and reward . . .

Risk asking tough questions to be rewarded with new insights. Use the following ques-
tions to inspire discussion with classmates, either in person or online.
■ As one saying goes, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” Do you agree
that this risk will bring financial reward, or disagree? Support your opinion with
examples.
■ Freelance workers make their own schedules but need to be careful money man-
agers in order to save, pay for health insurance, and pay taxes. People who are
employed by companies may have less freedom but are more likely to enjoy ben-
efits such as insurance, savings plans, and having taxes taken out. Which suits
you better?
■ Have you had a job application rejected, failed to get a job after an interview, or
been fired from a job? How did you cope? What reward resulted from your risk
taking?

CONSIDER THE CASE: While in college, Dan could not perceive a way to both fulfill his
passion and earn a good living. For him, at that time, a Venn diagram of those two items
seemed to have no overlap in the center. What do you love to do that you can’t imagine
could translate into a career? Once everyone in the group has named a passion, see if
another student has an idea for you, and offer ideas to others about their passions.

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