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A: Same thing. You go out talking and doing informational interviewing at places that look the most interesting to you. I know a woman who used to go out on informational interviews every Friday on her lunch hour. She would make a list of companies to target from the yellow pages on Thursday night. She would walk in and say, "I would like to talk to someone who really knows what it's like to work here." No one has a manual for that. They will probably need to talk to you to answer that.
Q: That seems a little hard to do in places like New York and Chicago where no one has any free time. Plus, there's so much security these days, at least in the bigger cities, that it's hard just to stroll into a building a talk to someone without an appointment.
A: It's uncanny how many people will say "Sure" or "I'll see if there's someone who you can talk to you." It's perfectly true that these monoliths that have 38 floors don't pay off so well. But smaller companies are filled with people who are very interested in taking the time to talk to you.
Q: What do you do if you've been jobless for a while but want to come off as a hot candidate. Aren't companies wary about hiring the unemployed?
A: That's the kind of myth I've combated for 30 years. Some companies are leery of hiring the unemployed, and others are not. So you really have to develop contacts within the company. You sit down with your grapevine and say "I'm looking for this kind of work. Do you know anybody who works at this company or has worked there in the past?" If you ask different people you know every day, by the end of the week, you'll probably find someone who actually knows somebody at that company.
Ask that person in the company if you can speak to someone who's doing the kind of work that you're actually interested in. I'd rather talk to them rather than to a hiring authority. I'll find out exactly what's required. Then when I actually talk to the person who has the power to hire, I can be introduced by a person who's already in the company. So I have an inside track. You're not coming at them as some unemployed person off the street. If you've done your research, you can approach them as someone who's offering a lot of skills and experience.
Q: How has your advice changed since when you first started writing the book in 1970?
A: My advice hasn't changed very much in 30 years. When you get right down to it, job hunting is exactly like dating. It's all about human nature. If you go out on a date and you've learned a lot about the person you are dating and you use that information in the conversation, they're flattered to death.
People still like to hire people who are like the people they already have. If you know yourself and you have spent time inventorying your skills, you will greatly increase your mobility in the job market and also greatly increase your chances of finding a job.
Q: Your book has had quite a run.
A: I pretty much watched my career go through the following stages. In 1970, when the book first came out, I would be introduced as an author. People then would ask me "What did you write?" When I told them the name of the book, they would say "Never heard of it." Five years later, I would be introduced, and people would say, "Oh, you're an author? What did you write?" I would mention the title, and they would say, "Oh, I've heard great things about that book. But I've never read it."
Some years later, I was introduced, and they'd say, "You're the author of that book? I never thought I'd meet you." A few years ago, it was "Oh, my, you're a legend. I'm so pleased to meet you." Now, they say "Oh, I didn't know you're still alive."
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