Your Progress
Week 7: Setting Up the "First Date"
Take Your Connections Out on a "First Date"!
Video Time: 9 Minutes Action Time: 30 Minutes
Setting up the ‘First Date’!
Have you reached out to anyone in your top 3-5 companies? Have you connected with them and started having conversations? Did you set up any meetings? If you have, go to our Private LinkedIn Membership Community and share with us what you did and said so everyone can learn from your experiences! And if you are getting stuck, let us know, so we can un-stick you! The topic for this week is Setting up the “First Date”.
But Wait... I'm Terrified of People!
Meeting new people can be intimidating at first. You may be worried they may judge you or your personalities won’t match up. But you can’t let this fear stop you from reaching out! It’s like when you first start talking to that person sitting next to you in class. It may be a bit awkward at first, but the next thing you know you guys are best friends. And if not, at least you have a study partner, right? It’s the same idea for the person working within your target company.
Meeting new people can be intimidating at first. You may be worried they may judge you or your personalities won’t match up. But you can’t let this fear stop you from reaching out! It’s like when you first start talking to that person sitting next to you in class. It may be a bit awkward at first, but the next thing you know you guys are best friends. And if not, at least you have a study partner, right? It’s the same idea for the person working within your target company.
Once you get to know them better and learn their personality style, you will start to feel more comfortable. And if it’s not a match you can always use them as a connection to find new opportunities.
So, why do we call this a “first date”? It may sound weird at first, but we use the analogy of a first date for the informational meeting because it’s different than an interview. On the “date” you are gathering info about the other person and the company. It also gives you a better understanding of if you want to pursue that company or not. Similar to a first date, you get to find out, “do I have enough interest to actively pursue this relationship/person or not?” If you end up getting the job; it’s like a marriage proposal! Your career is similar to any other kind of long-term commitment. We use ‘the marriage’ as our analogy to explain how important of a decision this is. And I’m sure you know all about important decisions, since you may be making a lot of them within the near future!
Getting That Insider Information
Even though reaching out can be intimidating, there are so many benefits to setting up the first “date.” When you set up your “first date” or “first meeting”, you’ll get firsthand stories about working in a certain field, the company, and what happens in a key role. This will help you figure out if the company/role is right for you, especially if you’re unsure of your career path.
You get to learn about new career paths because when you are talking with folks, you’ll find out about their career journey. This will help you narrow down your career options. You will get insider knowledge about what the company is looking for, which is huge. This is the information not usually posted on job websites.
So, set up your “dates” and get the inside scoop! It’s just like the more time you spend with a professor outside of class the more you learn about what they expect from their students.
Finally, you’ll begin to build your professional relationships! Those folks are the ones who are going to help you get your interviews! It’s all about building those connections. You may feel like a small fish in a big pond, but you can use your connections to help open doors for you.
Even though reaching out can be intimidating, there are so many benefits to setting up the first “date.” When you set up your “first date” or “first meeting”, you’ll get firsthand stories about working in a certain field, the company, and what happens in a key role. This will help you figure out if the company/role is right for you, especially if you’re unsure of your career path.
You get to learn about new career paths because when you are talking with folks, you’ll find out about their career journey. This will help you narrow down your career options. You will get insider knowledge about what the company is looking for, which is huge. This is the information not usually posted on job websites.
So, set up your “dates” and get the inside scoop! It’s just like the more time you spend with a professor outside of class the more you learn about what they expect from their students.
Finally, you’ll begin to build your professional relationships! Those folks are the ones who are going to help you get your interviews! It’s all about building those connections. You may feel like a small fish in a big pond, but you can use your connections to help open doors for you.
The next episode is all about how to set up that “first date.” See you there!