Engage with your CMC Community

• Get insider information that is hard to find via web-based research
• Learn about company culture and career paths you didn’t know existed
• Discover opportunities that may not be posted online
• Make connections that will advocate for a recent or pending application
• A first step in building a relationship and your professional network

The informational interview is not a job interview (although it may turn into one in some instances) or the time to ask for an internship or job. Your focus should be on ADVICE and INFORMATION. You are trying to EXPLORE, not put the person in the uncomfortable position of trying to recommend you for an opportunity.

• Engage.CMC is the perfect place to find alumni who are willing to help
• Click on Directory, then Get Involved, then Offering Help to find the type of help you are looking for. You can filter results by work experience and CMC attributes (major, athletic and club sports team, research institute affiliation, alumni chapter, dorms, and social activities/affinity groups)
• When you find someone who can help you, click on their name and send a message on the platform
• Be clear but concise about what you hope to learn/what high level questions you have
• Suggest a few dates for connecting, but remain flexible. Remember that professionals have competing priorities!
• Let them know you’re open to whatever works best for them in terms of meeting: in person, telephone, skype, etc.
• Be patient and allow several days for a reply
• We recommend not scheduling a meeting until you hear back from the alum

Questions for the individual:

1. How did you get started in your career, and what path did you take to get where you are?
2. What led you to this position?
3. What kind of projects do you work on?
4. How would you describe a typical week in terms of the percentage of time spent on the different aspects of your job?
5. Do you more often work individually or as part of a team?
6. How much contact and what kinds of interactions do you have with individuals or groups outside the office or organization?
7. What do you like most and least about your work?
8. Can you describe the typical work/life balance in this field?
9. What do you wish you had known about your position or field before you started?
10. If you could go back and do anything differently on this career path, what would you do?
11. Were there courses or experiences at CMC that you feel really helped you get started in this field?

Questions about the company:

1. What kind of backgrounds do people in this organization have?
2. What are the most pressing needs and issues for your department within the overall organization?
3. What kind of initial training is provided for new staff?
4. What kind of professional development is available for staff?
5. How is performance evaluated? What is rewarded?
6. What other people do you recommend that I talk with?
7. What separates your company from the competition?
8. What are the biggest challenges affecting your company?

Questions about the industry & advice for getting started:

1. What are the typical career paths in your field?
2. Where do you see this industry going in the next 5-10 years?
3. What are some resources that you use to stay up to date on industry trends?
4. What current issues and trends in the field should I know about/be aware of?
5. What are the personal qualities of people who are successful in this field?
6. What type of professional and personal skills does it take to succeed at this type of work?
7. What do you think is the best academic preparation for this profession?
8. How would you advise me to get started in building experience in this field?
9. Are there conferences which might be useful to attend? Professional associations I could join as a student?
10. Are there certain classes or training programs you would recommend for building experience for this type of position?
11. What books or journals would you recommend that I read?
12. What are the most effective strategies for seeking a position in this field?
13. What advice would you give me about being successful in your line of work?

While the main goal of an informational interview is to truly learn more about an organization or person’s background, an informational interview can be helpful in developing a relationship that can help you throughout the application process. It can be daunting at the end of a call to transition the call to “ask for something” - and how do you even know what to ask for?

In an ideal world, your goal should be to ask your contact for help/guidance for the next steps in your application process. You should NEVER outright ask them to hire you! Included below are some phrases you can use to make this transition:

Sample language

• “I enjoyed hearing about your experience and learning more about the company.”
• “I spent some time on your website, and found a position/internship/team that looks really interesting.”
• Then:
  • “What does your internship program look like?”
  • “Can you provide any guidance on the recruiting process?”
  • “What advice do you have about applying for a position here?”
  • “Are there a few other companies in the industry that you suggest I research?”
  • “Given my background and interests, are there other organizations you might suggest I explore?”
• “This has been so interesting. I’ve learned so much from this conversation. Is there anyone else that you recommend I speak to?”\

• After the informational interview, follow up promptly via email
• Personalize your thank you email and reference one or two things you learned and how you plan to move forward
• If you offered anything in the interview (to pass along a resource, to make an introduction, etc.), follow through
  Invite the person to connect via LinkedIn (if you haven’t already)
• Keep in touch with the person moving forward and let them know how you followed up on their advice and the outcome. You can also let them know about your news and achievements as an excuse to keep the relationship alive!

Example Follow Up: Email Template

Introductory Paragraph – 3-4 sentencesInclude the last time you spoke with the contact. Ask how they’re doing OR bring something up that is relevant and timely (recent news, an article you’ve read, etc.,). This can be personal OR professional.

Second Paragraph – 4-6 sentencesGive an update about your current situation (school, work, interviews you have completed, or internships you have started). This paragraph should reference a takeaway from your initial conversation – did you implement advice the contact gave to you? Did you work on developing a skill that you discussed with this person? Did you read a book they recommended?

Final Paragraph – 3-4 sentencesClosing out the message, thanking them again, and reference any next steps or follow-up you will be doing.

Example email:

Hi John,

I hope you are doing well! I realized that we have not connected since June and I would love to hear about how your summer went and how you are adapting to this new virtual world?

Since we last spoke, I completed a summer internship with Google! It was a great experience and I remain so grateful for your advice about how to navigate large companies. It really helped me build the confidence to reach out to new contacts this summer while I was just an intern. I also wanted to let you know that I read Atomic Habits at your recommendation and absolutely loved it! Again, I am so grateful to have connected with you and really appreciate the advice you’ve shared with me thus far.

Heading into fall, I hope you and your family stay safe and healthy. I’m looking forward to keeping in touch as I begin my full-time job search in early 2021. If I can ever be a resource to you in any way, please let me know!

All the best,

Jennifer Smith CMC Class of 2022

This very much depends on the individual pairs. It is entirely your choice how frequently you meet and for how long. We recommend that you discuss this upfront and set down some guidelines at your first meeting. However, as a rough guide, we predict that pairs may want to meet for around 30 – 45 minutes every couple of weeks, at least at the beginning of the relationship.

At the first meeting, we recommend that the pairs introduce each other, discuss goals and expectations, and set clear time boundaries. Every meeting should have a clear purpose and agenda. We recommend that every meeting should end in some agreed next steps.

At subsequent meetings, we recommend that the mentor and mentee should review what is going well and to plan, as well as what is not going to plan and causing frustration, concern, or lack of progress. Explore these areas of concern and look for ways to improve the situation. The mentor should offer constructive as well as challenging feedback to their mentee and check to see how this feedback is being received.

The mentor-mentee relationship develops over time and often goes through several stages. Together you will need to consider how best to establish the relationship, then consolidate and maintain it, then, when it has run its course, withdraw from it.

We ask that mentees take responsibility for making the first contact with their mentor and arranging a meeting. If you made initial contact but then hear nothing, let us know at Career Services and we can do some investigating.

These things happen, although being part of a mentoring relationship means making time for mentoring meetings. Your mentor will most likely understand about time pressures and your lack of contact – they’ve very likely been in your shoes before. If you’d rather than someone at Career Services break the ice on your behalf, just let us know.

Mentoring relationships do not have to be open-ended. In fact, there may be little purpose to meeting once the mentee goals are met. We predict that most relationships will run for about 4 months. Some pairs may wish to continue their relationship beyond this time if mutually desired. Alternatively, some pairings may wish to terminate their relationship sooner if both parties have achieved their objectives.

Mentoring relationships are typically driven by the mentee. It is up to them to arrange the mentoring meetings, prepare the meeting agenda, and take responsibility for completing any actions between meetings.

Being a mentor is not about solving problems for other people, but to listen and offer insight to your mentee, or to challenge them to think about issues in a different way. If you are in a position where you feel that you are not equipped to deal with the topics your mentee is raising, please seek help. You can contact Career Services in the first instance and we can redirect to the appropriate resource on campus.

We would love to hear any suggestions for improvements of changes! Send them direct to Career Services.

1. Each individual is responsible for themselves in the mentoring process. This means setting high expectations of yourself in relation to what you can contribute to the meeting, rather than having such high expectations of the other person. If you create expectations for yourself and work on achieving them, you allow the other person to develop and set their own expectations instead of having to react to yours.
2. Mentoring is venture in collaboration. This means that the mentor and mentee will seek to work together through giving and openly receiving feedback, joint negotiation, decision making and consistent support. Making changes and moving out of comfort zones will always be stressful, so the supportive yet challenging climate created by the mentor will be crucial in determining the value of the process. Growth and development occurs best within nurturing and supportive conditions and relationships.
3. The mentoring relationship is confidential. You must be able to trust each other and to develop a safe, non-judgmental relationship where you can both be open. Mentoring relationships have little value if they are not based in truth.
4. Meetings allow time for discussion and reflection. One of the special benefits of mentoring is the luxury of uninterrupted time to focus on development issues. The meetings provide the opportunity to tease out difficult issues and think creatively about solving problems.
5. A holistic mindset is essential. Progress and development in one area of professional life and work is likely to impact positively on other parts. While the mentoring meeting provides an opportunity to air frustrations and positive and negative feelings, it is important also to focus on actions and results.
6. Underpinning all people development is a supportive approach. This helps to ensure that individuals are listened to, understood, respected, and valued, and that interpersonal skills are recognized, used, and reviewed as effectively as possible.
7. Mentoring benefits both mentees and mentors. Mentoring is essentially about learning – identifying, facilitating, supporting, and celebrating learning. The roles of both mentor and mentee can benefit from the mentoring process in terms of personal and professional development.

• Establish goals. While your mentor can also learn from you, it is expected that you brainstorm your goals before picking a mentor. Your mentor wants to support you in what you need. The more specific you are about what you need, the more your mentor can help you.
• Drive the mentor-mentee relationship. This means reaching out to your mentor to schedule meetings, communicating expectations for each meeting, and sharing challenges and successes.
• Be kind and respectful of your mentor’s time and boundaries. Respond to your mentor within the agreed amount of time. Mentors may not always have the answer, but they can provide you with guidance and a perspective from someone who has “been there”.
• Provide the Engage.CMC team with feedback. Need more to talk about with your mentor? Not hearing from your mentor? Do you have a great story about how your mentor supported you? Let us know at careerservices@cmc.edu.

• Be prepared. Approach each meeting with questions or topics to discuss.
• Be accountable. Respond to your mentor and complete any action that you agreed with your mentor.
• Be professional. Your mentor is taking the time to share their experiences with you and help with a job or internship search. Demonstrate interest and enthusiasm.
• Be able to receive feedback. Feedback, no matter how much we ask for it, can be difficult to receive, even though it is an effective tool for personal and professional growth. Take a step back and consider what is being said before dismissing.
• Be grateful. Be sure to thank your mentor for their time and advice! They are taking time out of their day to be a resource for you

• Approach your mentorship with respect, professionalism, and an open mind.
• Respond to communications from your mentee in a timely manner.
• Listen and ask open-ended questions.
• Send the Engage.CMC team feedback about suggestions and improvements. We greatly appreciate your candid feedback. Do you have a great story about how your mentoring relationship is going? Let us know at careerservices@cmc.edu.

• Be patient.
• Meet your mentee where they are at – mentees may be at different stages in their education or career.
• Give direct, honest feedback – mentees will be looking for either positive feedback or practical advice that they can apply immediately. Ask your mentee what kind of feedback they want

Mentees can find their own mentor matches via the Engage.CMC platform. For those mentees who need more help or support in finding mentors, the Engage.CMC team can help. We are your main source for any support or guidance you might want or need as part of the program. Here are some (but not all) of the things we can support with:

• Suggesting a mentoring relationship
• Non-responsive mentor or mentee
• Complications and/or concerns with the mentor/mentee relationship
• Being a successful mentor or mentee
• Questions and actions to discuss in mentoring meetings