User Guidelines

The Career Network database lists names and addresses of of alumni and parent advisors who are currently working in your career field(s) and/or locations of interest and who are willing and eager to answer your questions.

Before approaching Career Advisors, please read the guidelines outlined below. If you have any questions at all, please contact a Career Services staff member before proceeding.

1. After running your list of Career Advisors, note whether the advisor wants you to reach out to them at home, at work, by email only, or has no preference (this is determined based on the contact data listed, e.g., if the only data listed is home contact info, the advisor prefers you contact him at home; if only employer data is listed, the advisor prefers you contact her at work; if both are listed, the advisor has no preference). 
   
   
2. Send a note to the Career Advisor, outlining your background, introducing what you want to discuss, and indicating that you will be calling to arrange an appointment.** Proofread your email or letter for grammar and spelling (do not trust spell check software). Remember, this is your chance to make a critical first impression; even an emailed note needs to be professional and error-free. ** If the advisor only provides an email address, you obviously won’t indicate that you’ll call. Instead, ask how the advisor prefers to handle the informational interview (in person, by phone, or through email only).
   
   
3. If a phone number is provided and you email your outreach note, call the next day to arrange a mutually convenient day and time for your informational interview, which may be conducted by phone or in-person; if you use postal mail, call within a week. If you call a Career Advisor at home, do not call later than 8pm.
   
   
4. See our Samples for proper formats and suggested approaches.
   
   
5. Do a little preliminary investigation of the Career Advisor’s field and organization before conducting your Informational Interview.
   
   
6. Prepare your list of Informational Interview questions; the more specific your questions, the more helpful Career Advisors can be. Review our suggested questions.
   
   
7. Be punctual, and take the lead during your scheduled informational interview (remember, Career Advisors have volunteered to respond to your questions). If you conduct your informational interview in person, dress professionally.
   
   
8. Follow up with a timely thank-you note (try to send it within 24-48 hours). This correspondence may be brief but should, again, be professional.
   
   
9. Please notify Career Services of any Career Advisor contact information changes or errors that you encounter.

HELPFUL HINTS

Here are a couple of tips you’d rather not learn the hard way:

1. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to reach out to too many advisors at once. Don’t neglect the critical follow up and let people fall through the cracks.
2. Make sure your email address/screen name has a professional tone.
3. Make sure your telephone answering system message is professional in nature.

Feel free to speak with a member of the Career Services staff about setting up, preparing for, and conducting informational interviews.

Sample Notes for Requesting an Informational Interview

Emailing your Request Example #1

Dear Ms AdvisorLastName,

I got your name from the Skidmore Career Advisor Network, and am grateful that you have offered to respond to my job search questions.

My goal is to secure an entry-level editorial position in book publishing. I interned last summer at a major NYC magazine publisher, have started my own fairly successful e-zine, and have worked with the Skidmore News for the last three years. I would appreciate hearing your advice on conducting an effective job search, and uncovering job leads.

I will follow up tomorrow to arrange a mutually convenient date for an informational interview. I look forward to speaking with you.

Sincerely,

YourFirstName YourLastName 'XX

Emailing your Request Example #2

Dear Mr. AdvisorLastName,

I am a first-year student at Skidmore College, and found your name and contact information on our Career Advisor Network. I am hoping that you will be able to help me learn more about options in law. I have been encouraged to consider the field by family and professors, alike, and would like to determine if it would be a good match for me.

I am interested in hearing about how and why you entered the field, the pros and cons of working in law, classes and co-curricular activities I should consider if I were to decide to move in this direction, and your advice on how I might test the waters, experientially, over the next few summers.

I appreciate your willingness to advise me, and look forward to contacting you tomorrow to set up an telephone informational interview.

Sincerely,

YourFirstName YourLastName 'XX

Postal Mailing your Request Example

YourFirstName YourLastName 'XX Address Address

Date

AdvisorFirstname AdvisorLastname Title Organization Address Address

Dear Mr. AdvisorLastName,

I was so pleased to find you on the Skidmore Career Advisor Network since I am trying to break into the entertainment industry.

I would love to hear about your career development, and what you know now that you wish you knew when you were in my shoes. I am a junior, music major, and business minor. I had a great marketing internship last summer, and am hoping to find an internship for this summer that combines my music and marketing skills and interests.

I will call early next week to see when you might be available for a telephone informational interview. Any insights you can share on accessing the industry, and conducting an effective internship search, will be very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

YourSignature

Example for Advisors who Only List Email Contact Info

Dear Ms AdvisorLastName,

I got your name from the Skidmore Career Advisor Network, and am grateful that you have offered to respond to my job search questions.

My goal is to secure an entry-level editorial position in book publishing. I interned last summer at a major NYC magazine publisher, have started my own fairly successful e-zine, and have worked with the Skidmore News for the last three years. I would appreciate hearing your advice on conducting an effective job search, and uncovering job leads.

I would very much appreciate being able to conduct our informational interview in person or by telephone, but if you prefer to communicate via email I will send you more detailed questions. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you in advance for your effort.

Sincerely,

YourFirstName YourLastName 'XX

Thank-You Notes

It is important to extend the professional courtesy of thanking, in writing, everyone who helps you on your career development journey. Try to send your thank-you note within 24-48 hours of your informational interview.

The note may be handwritten on a small, professional, thank-you note card (if you have extremely neat handwriting and only a brief message to convey), word-processed, or emailed (if you've already communicated with your Advisor by email). Again, any correspondence should be professional and error-free.

Example 1

Dear Ms AdvisorLastName,

Thank-you for speaking with me today. Your insights were truly helpful, and have confirmed my decision to gain additional work experience in the field before applying to graduate school.

I will regularly check the website you suggested for job leads, and have already contacted the XYZ professional association regarding student membership.

I will touch base in a month to let you know about my progress. Thank-you again!

Sincerely,

YourFirstName YourLastName 'XX