How to prepare for a Career Chat (part 2/3)

Welcome to Part 2 of my Series on Career Chats.

Last week I told you how to ask for a Career Chat. 

This week, let’s talk about how to prepare for the chat if you get a ‘yes’! 

Now the preparation is an incredibly crucial part of the Career Chat.

You don’t want to go to all the hard work of securing a Career Chat, only for you to mess it up by not being prepared.

Remember, this person's time is very valuable. So you want to respect that.

But also, they are likely to give you some incredibly helpful guidance on your career - personalised to you! 

So failing to prepare really takes away from this incredible opportunity.

How to Prepare

So, how do you prepare?

There are 4 key areas you need to prepare in advance that will ensure your chat goes as well as possible. 

1. Research the Person

One of the most important things you need to do in advance is research the person you are going to be talking to. Thankfully the internet has made this task very easy. 

Even if they don’t have a huge public profile, they are likely to have a Linkedin page. So getting their career history should be easy.

As a minimum, check out their Linkedin profile and note their career history. Write down areas of their career that you might like to ask about. For example, if they made a big career move, ask them about how they did it.

If the person you are speaking with has a bigger public profile, you might also find them on podcasts, other social platforms or more mainstream media. Make sure you search and see what you can find.

Like with their Linkedin profile, note things they have shared publicly that you’d like to dive deeper into.

2. Prepare questions

You don’t want to be too rigid in your conversation. It should flow naturally and go off in different directions. However, you absolutely should prepare questions in advance.

You can use the research you have done to prepare questions.

Make sure they are insightful and based on what you have learnt about the person.

But also link it back to what you want to get out of the chat. 

Ask enough questions about them that you can learn from their experience and show them you have done your homework.

But have enough ‘selfish’ questions that you are able to get the information that you need from them.

An example of a ‘selfish’ question might be ‘if you were in my situation looking to advance your career, what areas of Marketing would you be focused on?’

I’d aim to have 8-10 questions ready to call on if you need them.

3. Know what you want to get out of it

In order to get what you need out of the Career Chat, you must know in advance what it is you want. What is the point of this chat?

People often waste Career Chats by not knowing what the point of the chat is.

So make sure you go in knowing what this is. 

Note: the point of the chat should NEVER be to ask for a job. Even if you want someone to help you find a job, you should never ask directly. Build the relationship first. If they like you, trust me, they will offer. You don’t have to ask.

4. Be clear on your ask

It’s absolutely OK to have an ask of the other person as part of your Career Chat. For example, asking if there is anyone else in their network that they might be able to introduce you to.

But, like the above point, it’s important you know in advance what your ask might be.

Too many people miss the opportunity to ask for help by not thinking it through in advance.

Whatever your ask is, make sure it is proportionate to the relationship you have with this person. For example, if they are a relative stranger, asking for an introduction to their network might have to wait until the 2nd time you meet.

But if you know them well, asking to shadow them in their business, might be entirely ok.

Just make sure to read the room.

Now you are good to go! 

Once you have prepared these 4 key areas, you are good to go! 

But make sure you absolutely do this prep. 

You don’t want to miss this opportunity. 

Career Chats are one of the best things you can do for your career. 

Make sure you make the most of it.

Next week, I’ll share how to execute a successful Career Chat.