Objective
In this activity you will learn how to connect with Yale alumni and others to learn more about career paths of interest. Go beyond reading and begin to make some connections!
Individual Activities
Informational interviews are an important way to establish a new professional connection and learn more about a particular career path, an alum’s career transitions, skills that are valuable to a job, or any other topics that will help you make informed career decisions. When you are searching for a job or internship, these relationships can help you tap into the “hidden” job market, where positions are filled through referrals and connections.
This activity is useful to students and postdocs at all stages of their career development, from early stage PhDs curious about diverse career paths to PhDs and postdocs approaching a job search.
- Learn tips and advice on networking effectively:
- Sign up for platforms to connect with alums and other professionals:
- Create/update your LinkedIn account with your current role, interests, and career goals.
- Join Cross-Campus, Yale’s alumni networking platform. Be sure to sign up for the GSAS discussion group to connect with PhD alums!
- Identify alumni to contact:
- Select 3 alumni in interesting careers from the LinkedIn’s Yale Alumni page, Cross-Campus or the OCS Alumni Spotlights . You may be able to find their work email address on CareerShift.
- Write an outreach email to the alumni (find ample emails here.) Your email should:
- Introduce yourself
- Explain why you are contacting them (to set up an informational interview) and why you selected them (they are working in a job you are interested in learning more about!)
- Ask if there is a time they are available to chat on the phone for 20-30 minutes about their career
- Thank them for their time.
- Double-check grammar and make appropriate edits!
Optional Reading
- At Home Networking Strategies, Inside Higher Ed Carpe Careers blog
- What do you mean when you say “PhD”? Or, how to make a career fair work for you, MLA Connected Academics
- Networking Tips for International Students, Vault (free for Yale students and postdocs)
Group Activities
- Discuss tips and strategies for effective networking. We know that networking is an essential part of career development, but it can often be a challenge. Do you have any strategies that have helped you in the past?
- Has anyone previously conducted an informational interview? If so, what was this experience like for you? What questions did you ask? What did you learn?
- Brainstorm questions to ask the alumni when you speak with them.
- Discuss who you chose to email and why you chose them. Is there something specific you are hoping to learn from each individual? Are you exploring multiple career paths?
- Leverage your own personal networks to suggest other people for your group members to connect with. Aim for every member of the group to leave the meeting with one new contact!
