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How To Research Companies or PlacesWhen You're Off the Internet

By Richard Bolles

Informational Interviewing

Before you walk in the door of an organiza-

tion, you want to know something about it.The Internet, and your local library, aregood sources for finding out some of thisinformation.

But sometimes the Internet (and libraries)just aren't going to tell you what you needto know. Most specifically, they are notlikely to tell you what the problems of thatorganization are; and that information isimportant.

You want to have some idea of what an

organization's problems, challenges, needs,etc. are, in a broad and general way, be-cause you need to be able to present yourskills in terms of their needs or problems.So, you're going to have to go out and findthe information yourself, face to face. Thisis called "informational interviewing" andwhat it means, quite simply, is that youneed to go talk to everyone you know, whomay know people inside the organizationthat interests you.

And you need to do this before you go in

there for an interview with that all-impor-tant person (there): the person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you-for-the-job-you-are-interested-in.

So, here are Four Rules for finding out theinformation you're looking for.

RULE NO. 1:

if it's a large organization that interests

you, you don't need to discover the prob-lems or needs of the whole organization.You only need to discover the problems, orunmet needs, that are bugging THE-PER-SON-WHO-HAS-THE-ULTIMATE-POWER-TO-HIRE-YOU.

Conscientious job-hunters always bite offmore than they can chew. If they're going

to try for a job at the Telephone Company,or IBM or the Federal Government or Gen-eral Motors or like that they assume

they've got to find out the problems facingthat whole organization. Forget it! Yourtask, fortunately, is much more manage-able. Find out what problems are bugging,bothering, concerning, perplexing, gnawingat, the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you. This assumes, of course, that you havefirst identified who that person is. Once youhave identified her, or him, find out every-thing you can about them. The directorieswill help. So will the clippings, at your locallibrary. So will any speeches they havegiven (ask their organization for copies, of

same).

If it's a committee of sorts that actually hasthe responsibility (and therefore the power)to hire you, you will need to figure out whothat one individual is (or two) who swaysthe others. You know, the one whose judg-ment the others respect. How do you findthat out? By using your contacts, of course.Someone will know someone who knowsthat whole committee, and can tell you whotheir real leader is. It's not necessarily theone who got elected as Chairperson.

RULE NO. 2:

In most cases, your task is not that ofeducating your prospective employer abouta need they're not aware of; you're onlytrying to find out what needs they areaware of. This is mind-reading, not evange-lism.

Sure, if you're real good at finding out stuff,

you may have uncovered during yourresearch some problem that the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you is abso-lutely unaware of. For example, in yourresearch you may have uncovered the factthat, "Gosh, this firm has a huge publicrelations problem; I'll have to show themthat I could put together a whole crash P.R.program." That's the problem that you think

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the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-youought to be concerned about. And you maybe convinced that this problem is so crucial

that for you even to mention it will instantlywin you their undying gratitude. Maybe. Butdon't bet on it. Our files are filled with sadtestimonies like the following:

"I met with the VP, Marketing, in a majorlocal bank, on the recommendation of anofficer, and discussed with him a program Idevised to reach the female segment of hismarket, which would not require any newservices, except education, enlightenment,and encouragement. His comment at theend of the discussion was that the bank

president had been after him for threeyears to develop a program for women, andhe wasn't about to do it because the onlyreason, in his mind, for the president'srequest was reputation enhancement on thepresident's part ... "

Interoffice politics, as in this case, or otherconsiderations may prevent your prospec-tive employer from being at all receptive toYour Bright Idea.

In any event, you're not trying to find out

what might motivate them to hire you. Yourresearch has got to be devoted rather tofinding out what already does motivatethem when they decide to hire someone forthe position you are interested in. In otherwords, you are trying to find out What'sAlready Going On In Their Mind. In thissense, your task is more akin to a kind ofmind reading than it is to education.(Though some people-who-have-the-power-to-hire are very open to being educated.You have to decide whether you want torisk testing this.)

RULE NO. 3:

Don't assume that the problems, or unmetneeds, of the organization have to be huge,complex and hidden. The problems bother-ing THE-PERSON-WHO-HAS-THE-POWER-

TO-HIRE-YOU may be small, simple, andobvious.

Often what's bothering this person is theday-to-day friction he or she had with thepeople they have to work with. If the jobyou are aiming at was previously filled bysomeone (i.e., the one who, if you gethired, will be referred to as "your predeces-sor"), the problems that are bothering the-person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you maybe uncovered simply by finding out throughyour contacts what bugged your prospec-tive boss about your predecessor. Samples:"They were never to work on time, tooklong lunch breaks, and were out sick too

often";

OR "They were good at typing, but hadlousy skills over the telephone"; OR"They handled older people well, but justcouldn't relate to the young";

OR "I never could get them to keep meinformed about what they were doing"; etc.Sometimes, it's as simple as that. You maythink they should be bothered by muchlarger issues. But, in actual fact, what theymay be mainly concerned about is whether

(unlike your predecessor) you're going toget to work on time, take assigned lunchbreaks, and not be out sick too often. Don'toverlook the Small, Simple, and ObviousProblems which bug almost every employer.

RULE NO. 4:

if the needs are not small and simple, thereare six ways of finding out what is going onin their mind; don't try just one way.

A. Analyze the Problems Of An Organiza-tion That Interests You, By ThinkingAbout It's Future:

1. If the organization is expanding,then they need:

a. More of what they already have;OR

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b. More of what they already have,but with different style, addedskills, or other pluses; OR

c. Something they don't presentlyhave: a new kind of person, withnew skills doing a new functionor service.

2. If the organization is continuing asis, then they need:

a. To replace people who quit (findout what was prized aboutthem); OR

b. To create a new position. Yes,this happens even in organiza-tions that are not expanding, dueto:

1) Old needs which weren'tprovided for, earlier, but nowmust be, even if they have tocut out some other functionor position.

2) Revamping assignmentswithin their present staff.

3. If the organization is reducing itssize, staff, or product or service,then they

a. Have not yet decided which staffto terminate, i.e., which func-tions to give low priority to (inwhich case that is their problem,and you may be able to helpthem identify which functions are"core-functions"); OR

b. Have decided which functions orstaff to terminate (in which casethey may need multi-talentedpeople or generalists able to doseveral jobs, i.e., functions,instead of just one, as formerly).

B. Analyze the Problems Of The PersonWho Has The Power To Hire You, There,By Talking To Him Or Her:

It may be that your paths have acciden-tally crossed (it happens). Perhaps youattend the same church or synagogue.Perhaps you eat at the same restaurant.In any event, if you do ever have achance to talk to her or him, listencarefully to whatever they may sayabout the place where they work. Thegreatest problem every employer facesis finding people who will listen and takethem seriously. If you listen, you mayfind this employer discusses their prob-

lems giving you firmer grounds towhich you can relate your skills.

C. Analyze the problems of the person whohas the power to hire you, by talking totheir 'opposite number' in anotherorganization which is similar to the onethat interests you..

If, for some reason, you cannot ap-proach at this time the organizationthat interests you (it's too far away, oryou don't want to tip your hand yet, or

whatever), what you can do is pick asimilar organization (or individual)where you are and go find out whatkind of problems are on their mind. (Ifyou are interested in working for, say, asenator in another state, you can talk toa senator's staff here where you are,first. The problems are likely to besimilar.)

D. Analyze The Problems Of The PersonWho Has The Power To Hire You, ByTalking To The Person Who Held The JobBefore You Or, Again, Their OppositeNumber:.

Nobody, absolutely nobody, knows theproblems bugging a boss so much assomeone who works, or used to work,for them. If they still work for them,they may have a huge investment inbeing discreet (i.e., not as candid as you

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