The Informational Interview

I went on an interview with a leading NY sports franchise yesterday. I got the interview because I wrote the President of the company a personal letter that explained my interest in developing a career similar to his. I told him that I understand how competitive it is to get an opportunity within professional sports, but that if given the chance I would succeed. He was kind enough to forward my information to HR (One great thing about an HR department getting your resume from the company President – they get back to you immediately. For all they know, I am the President’s nephew).

I knew going into the interview that it was informational (AKA: not for any open position). I usually hate informational interviews and I know they are a waste of time for the most part (I know from direct HR recruiters that the majority of informational interviews are done just to appease senior management. The HR team sees them as a waste of time and after the interview is over they wash the memory from their minds). But I have the time and I have no job, AND beggars can’t be choosers. And who knows, maybe I will impress them and they will remember me for the next available opportunity.

The interview went well. They usually do when your skills aren’t being challenged. The 45 minute conversation consisted of explaining my resume to the recruiter (who had not even looked at it prior (how rude)), indicating what department I would like to work in if given the opportunity (tricky question in my opinion. I have my preferences, but I just want to get my foot in the door of this industry and therefore, would be willing to do anything), and what it was like to work with my old company (from her level of interest here, I thought the recruiter was going to ask for a referral (the grass is always greener I guess)).

That was it. The interview ended, the recruiter thanked me for coming in and said they would keep me in mind. Nothing more, nothing less. You could say the interview was pointless and that I wasted an afternoon, a clean dress shirt and an opportunity to write a better blog post for today. What I like to think is this: the next time my resume comes into their office, the HR department won’t think “Oh great, another resume.” They will think “Oh, sweet. This is Job Seeker’s resume. You know, the tall, funny guy with the coordinated style of dress and pleasant body odor. He seems like a potentially awesome colleague. We should call him in and try to get him hired so we can hear more of his Gossip Girl recaps. Who cares if it is the VP of Marketing position and he is underqualified? Job Seeker is the coolest.”

Sometimes, it helps to shine yourself to keep morale up.