When I started developing and running career development workshops in 2019, I spent hours researching content, crafting activities and creating powerpoints. Yet, my workshops often fell flat. No-one really participated, and I felt like I was doing acrobatics to generate minimal engagement. I was nervous, scared and intimidated by process and practice.
My pain point? Actually generating engagement.
Here is what I've learned along the way!
· Connecting informally first: Using the first few minutes to just connect, say hi, and greet folks is a game changer. I let my curiosity lead me – what brought my attendees here, what work they are engaging in, and how their days are going? This gives all of us in the room a chance to see each other as people, not just facilitator or attendee.
· Fostering connection throughout: It’s helpful for me to gauge my audience with informal questions over the course of the workshop. How do they feel about Personal Branding? What are some myths they’ve heard about Networking? Do they even like writing resumes (not really loll)? What’s worked or not for them?
I’m noticing that the more I look to my audience for their input, the more they begin to participate in the experience. This type of informal connection leads to more participation in everything else.
· Conversations: It’s a gift to be able to turn workshops into conversation spaces where dialogue and differing opinion are welcome. Asking people to expand on their answers, and getting curious about their experiences helps.
Does it work every time? No - sometimes folks are tired or stressed out and don’t really feel like talking, and that’s ok too.
· I am not the expert: students are connected to flows of information in ways greater than ever imagined. Respecting all knowledge and wisdom in the room goes a long way. For me, this means allowing space for others to counter what I am facilitating, or offer different opinions, tactics or solutions.
· Give people space to answer: Facilitation can feel so vulnerable. When I ask a question or implement an activity and there is little or no response, it is very easy to think ‘oh I’m doing a bad job’ or ‘oh maybe this workshop sucks’. But it’s not really about me.
Allowing myself to be vulnerable enough to stand in silence while the room takes it time to reflect, think and choose to respond (or not) – this has been perhaps the biggest learning of all.
Different groups require different adjustments. Some groups are simply more participatory and expressive, others quieter. I’m learning to respect the dynamic and needs of the group above my tightly-designed workshop plans!
Designing Enabling Economies and Policies (DEEP) 2017
On October 11 and 12 2017, OCAD hosted it's 6th annual conference titled Designing Enabling Economies & Policies (DEEP) . The conference spanned several key areas, with a mission to explore possibilities and strategies around inclusion. Below are my notes and impressions around the sessions that I attended.
On Learning Difference and Cognitive Access
On the morning of October 11, 2017, at 9:16 am, I hurried my way into OCAD, up a winding staircase, and onto the second floor. Upon reaching the conference auditorium, Jutta Treviranus informed us all that some of the panelists needed a bit more time to arrive.
I took a moment to settle in and look around. I was in a small-ish auditorium, which was full by a third. DEEP was yet to begin, and I was grateful for a moment to catch my breath. To my right was a screen set up, waiting to transcribe each word spoken by panelists and speakers. To my left, a TV screen, and in front, a table set with chairs and mikes. The room was set.
When Michael Bach, Managing Director of the Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society, kickstarted the morning panel, the whole room stood to attention. Speaking on behalf of those who live with significant intellectual and cognitive disabilities, Bach said, "We don't have any research into perception". We do not know how to interpret perception, and we do not understand how people perceive and exercise choice. This becomes very difficult when products and services are designed for those who cannot express choice in conventional ways, such as through speech and gesture.
Shea Tanis, Associate Director of the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities noted that we significantly lack meaningful feedback from those with cognitive access differences.
As I listened to the panelists, I realized that DEEP was fundamentally about thought leadership, and about changing discourses around disability. Here are some of the questions that served to re-wire my own perceptions around what it means to live differently than others:
How might we move from the test of inclusion to the experience of inclusion?
What is it that makes someone feel included?
Is it not just about who is sitting at the table. Instead, taking a step back, how is the table designed?
Choice as a theme came up frequently throughout the conference, and found its way into the breakout session following the first panel. 'Access paves the way for choice - you cannot have choice without access'.
The notion of Platforms of Economic Inclusion was also discussed at length. Uber came up as an example of a platform with incredible potential, but poor execution. The difficulty of creating platforms that are truly accessible and inclusive was also emphasized: how do you get started? How do you come to serve a critical mass, when it comes to thinking through platforms that can be inclusive of everyone?
Procurement and Innovation-Supportive Regulations
The afternoon panel on procurement was by far the best attended, and left us all wishing we could have had more time with the panelists. Some highlights include Canadian lawyer and disability advocate David Lepofsky's key question: "The core issue is what will change behaviour? Where can we get ideas that we can borrow, steal and modify?"
Nicole Cormier, Accessibility consultant with the City of Toronto, offered some excellent process-oriented strategies around intersections between access and innovation:
The key to innovation is open dialogue and breaking experiences down into stories. A meeting of minds is tremendously important.
Currently, accessibility legislation only applies to the public sector, not private. Legislation provides a starting point. Innovation can only happen with the user in mind. We have to interact with the user.
To the question - How can legislation innovate itself? - Nicole urged us to look at standards and best practices. In order to innovate well, there needs to be a process that is standardized, repeatable, measurable and trackable.
Perhaps the most insightful contribution for me came from Richard Donovan, CEO of the ROD-Group. Donovan's assertion drove the mission DEEP home:
"Standards don't regulate outcomes, they regulate process. Standards cannot give us a clue as to outcomes. We're only trying to make things accessible, but we're not actually innovating new tools. We have to trust in new creative ways to get a start.
The question is how to re-design the process"
_ _ _
DEEP 2017 was insightful. Though small in numbers, the conference was very well attended by prominent disability activists and others who have generated excellent research and initiatives in the realm of cognition and disability.
I could not help but notice while DEEP was socioeconomically diverse, it was not racially diverse. Most of the panelists, if not all, where white, and I heard many more male than female voices. While the conference offered breakthrough thinking in areas that are not mainstream, I see that there is more work to be done in representing racialized and gendered lived experiences of disability. DEEP must work to become truly inclusive. All the same, DEEP's existence is revolutionary in its own way, as is its ability to attract attendees who do not identify with or work in contexts of disability, for but whom access is top of mind.
Courage
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. -Maya Angelou
The most authentic expression of courage is to walk the earth as your whole true self.
To engage in the world with your genuine interest.
To be proud of your laugh and brave enough to walk an older person across the street.
To reach out and extend your help to another person, while also, at the same time, making sure that you are following your own self.
To stand up to your friends, and express your true opinions.
To be brave enough to meet someone's eyes, endorse another person's journey, and walk with your head high. To not avoid or discount, but turn toward and embrace.
You can bring more generosity of spirit, more enthusiasm, more kindness, more resilience, more positive energy, more bravery and more magic to the room that anyone else, at least right now, because you choose to. -Seth Godin
Your Life is a Work of Art
Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It's your masterpiece after all. - Nathan W. Morris
Around the corner from my house is Jal Gua Cafe, on Queen Street, in between Jarvis and Sherbourne. The cafe lies across the street from Toronto's Moss Park. To the south of Jal Gua, an assortment of boutique condos. To the north, one of Toronto's more precarious neighbourhoods. Moss park is one of few remaining havens for those with no homes. Jal Gua is a gateway between both worlds, it seems.
On my way to meet a friend one sunny spring day, I came across a crowd of people in front of Jal Gua. I stood, momentarily shocked. I can't remember the last time I saw a crowd of people gathered, laughing and joking, outside of a cafe. At least not in my neighbourhood. The Market area in Toronto is lovely, but residents generally keep their distance. Curious, I looked around and recognized my friend Kim in the crowd. "This is the meditation class I was telling you about,".
Kim's smile and energy echoed through my day. Class? It looked more like a marvellous tribe.
It's been three weeks since I began Emmanuel Jal's class called My Life is Art. Jal's classes are a combination of meditation, gratitude practices and strategizing your own potential. In the first 15 minutes of the first session, I was thrust into a space of expression and sharing that I had not encountered in many years. I could feel a solid part of me dissolve, and I sat back in disbelief.
We in North America are surrounded by self-help books, theories on how to be better, craft better insights, listen more deeply to ourselves. And each one of these resources can offer something to you and to me.
Yet I've never been privy to such a clear strategy on how to actually program yourself, each day, each morning, each night, until you change the fabric of your being, and become the person who so often remains out of reach to you.
This must be the ultimate innovation, the ultimate human-centred design - that we can, by sheer virtue of our desire, our vision and Grit, re-do our own hard-wiring. As a first step in my own re-programming, I've chosen to focus on Focus. Each morning, and each night, for 30 days, I sit down for a few minutes, and I tell myself that I am Focus. That I can in fact become focus. I can decide where to project my energy. Next up will be Discipline, and following that, Being Enough.
Each person has their own recipe for accessing their potential. However, unlike other self and personal development resources, Emmanuel's class does not keep you waiting, hooked, counting down the days to the next meditation or the next lecture. He gives you the tools. It's up to you to create a life reflective of your innermost goals.
A post-smartphone, post-Snapchat world is one which yearns for connection. We need and want to connect with ourselves, alongside of connecting with others. We want to live our best selves, we're just not sure how to do so. Toronto is so often a powerplay between connection and disconnection, proximity and space. We all negotiate how much we can give to others, what we can or should give to ourselves, and how to keep this seeming binary in balance. But sometimes, we become so good at the space game, that we end up locking down the lines that border our inner and outer relationships. We tell ourselves that we cannot do that thing, travel there, make that happen...because, well, we can't.
This is where My Life is Art is a true gem. Emmanuel's life experiences as a South Sudanese Child Soldier deepens his curriculum. In very little time, he brings you to your own truth. His steadfast commitment to perseverance and passion leaves you with actionable strategies and tools to create an incredibly meaningful life.
Flow and Social Impact
I am halfway through Mihaly Csikszentmihaly's Flow, and I've already flagged countless pages to come back to. It's a capturing read, with irony in the reality I enter into a space of flow while reading the book.
Here's what I've learned so far: idle pleasure or idleness in general is not what brings us the most joy or satisfaction. Rather, "The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something we make happen" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p.3). This optimal experience is what Csikszentmihaly has termed 'Flow'.
Contrary to what we might believe, the moments that have the most impact on us - the times that, looking back, we cherish, or looking forward, we crave - tend to be moments of challenge. And we conceive of such moments as enjoyment.
If you've engaged in an activity that has completely absorbed you, where you think of nothing else save for what you are doing in the present moment, you've reached a state of flow.
How do you create optimal experience? The best moments of flow are those in which:
- There are clear goals every step of the way.
- There is immediate feedback to one’s actions.
- There is a balance between challenges and skills.
- Action and awareness are merged.
- Distractions are excluded from consciousness.
- There is no worry of failure.
- Self-consciousness disappears.
- The sense of time becomes distorted.
- The activity becomes an end in itself.
Given what we see above, each one of us can create moments in which we lose ourselves to a worthy challenge. What happens when we cannot enter into moments of flow? Csikszentmihaly teaches us that entropy (I had to look this up too: it means a gradual decline into disorder) is a default state for most people. Simply put, when we don't challenge ourselves, we can descend into an inner (and perhaps outer) chaos. It's harder for us to integrate ourselves. We may feel as though our grasp on our own lives is weak. As a result, we can feel despondent and listless, or find ourselves locked into negative headspaces.
Csikszentmihaly goes on to explore states of flow in various human contexts: relationships, work, pleasure, athletics, and so forth. His writing around yoga and flow in particular drew me in. There is a clear link between flow and the Buddhist concept of mindfulness: "it makes sense to think of Yoga as a very thoroughly planned flow activity", allowing people to cultivate a strong sense of inner control and harmony.
Much of Flow focuses on the individual, and how each of us can achieve and increase moments of Flow in our lives. In so doing, we create better lives for ourselves. I wonder, however: can we apply the concept and practice of flow to social impact?
What might it look like to create situations of community innovation or community flow, where each person works in tandem with another, to focus on a project at hand and achieve a given objective? Can Flow add to the conversation around areas of social innovation, especially when considering international innovation initiatives?
If we are able to create greater moments of flow between partners and organizations, perhaps we can further bridge the gaps that exist between cultures or economies. For instance, we may be able to build flow into exchanges between Canada's growing start-up landscape, and Latin America's (very large) start-up ecosystems.
Food, for thought.
Copernicizing User Experience?
In her work titled 'Time', Eva Hoffman quotes French scientist E. Morin, whose statement 'Death must be Copernicized' caught me for long moment. What Morin meant was: just as Copernicus examined Earth's relationship to the Sun quite blithely and skeptically, so we must examine the relationship between Death and human life. The interrelationship between time and the body being Hoffman's topic of interest, the quote is fitting.
What if, however, the statement applies to other things - what if the human experience of experience must be Copernicized? What if we need to step back from where we are right now, a world consumed by Pokémon Go and 140 character news bits, to objectively think about how and why we consume what we do, and strategize how we can better move about our lives?
User Experience Designers are charged with resolving a portion of this very question in the digital world, as they seek to uncover the most gratifying and seamless ways in which you and I can interact with a myriad of digital interfaces. And thought leadership around UX design is evolving: User experience consultant Andrew Grimes expands on the value of a digital experience that fosters not simply functionality, but also thought and reflection - a user experience that can be enriching and fulfilling: "[we] may need to shift...from looking at atoms of experience (pages, interactions, tasks), to looking at systems of experience (learning, becoming or adopting)".
When I conceptualize a system of experience, I think of a weave of resources, conversations, ideas and outcomes that bring together people or initiatives sharing a common (or several common) values and goals. In the process of such a weave, we're pushed to dispel our own assumptions and misconceptions about given topics or ideas. We're also pushed to engage authentically in different ways with others.
It would seem to me that creating a system of experience may be one way in which we can Copernicize, or step out of, our own realities or ways of doing. I am interested in learning how we can design real-life user experiences that are as seamless as the digital versions, and yet go one step further. In the glorious messiness of this life, how can we create synergistic systems of lived reality that allow us to engage authentically, challenge long-held assumptions, and create with impact, fulfillment and enrichment?
I am not the first person to ask this question, nor answer it, by any means. Lave and Wenger did a right fine job in advancing the concept of a Community of Practice long ago, which is precisely a system of experience.
Yet, perhaps we can think on this some more. Austin Kleon's Show Your Work is an ode to creating systems of social and human design/interaction, beginning with the simple act of sharing. In sharing, space is created for " fellowship, feedback or patronage".
To add to this mix, mindset is everything: when we (and not just artistic folk, who are the target of Kleon's work) come into moments with the mindset of an amateur, or 'curious outsider', we bring to the world a genuine blend of enthusiasm and focus. This simple shift in our way of being lends to greater openness in the face of uncertainty - leading the way to greater connection with others. Through such authentic connections, we can continue to create networks or systems of experience.
In his Ted talk on Creative Confidence, founder of IDEO David Kelley expands on the significance of engaging in creative work, work that demands a constant amateur mindset. Creativity allows us to reach out, make mistakes, approach one another, share, iterate, and ultimately collaborate with each other in ways that are simple, genuine and sustainable.
If intentional engagements with creativity can allow us to generate new forms of a lived 'user experience', leaving space for wonder, imagination, and innovation, my next unweildy thought, naturally, is:
Can we systematize the creation of systems of experience? We have design thinking workshops and the proliferation of all manner of design research methods, maker movements, and etceteras. Yet these currently exist in pockets or domains, if you will.
I wonder: if we want to create and harmonize systems of experience, what is the next right move in prioritizing and facilitating large-scale, intentional creativity?
Thoughts on Good People
In the Fall of 2014, fresh out of my graduate degree in Education, and somewhat (well, quite!) at a loss as to how to find remunerated work, I created the Good People Group. I emailed about 7-8 of my female friends, keeping in mind occupation and skills. I wanted to bring together an interdisciplinary group of women that would allow for a wide range of opinion, thought and critical thinking. Our mission? To collectively brainstorm next steps in our respective careers, and also grapple with the foibles inherent our current roles.
In the two years that we've come together, I've learned so much. I'd like to share three of these learnings here, as they provide insight into elements of social design:
1. The magic of structured, yet loose, space and time.
A consummate educator, I began the group with ideas and inklings and a process about where we may like to go, complete with suggestions for speakers, and exercises,doings, and goings. As the group was my idea, I would host each session, serve dinner, and, well, do it all.
To my surprise, and to my relief, the group didn't quite take to all of my planning. Instead, what emerged was a looser structure. Space and time are indeed precious resources here. We already have overly-planned lives. Here emerged a place we could come to and catch up, laugh, joke, but also talk about serious issues such as unfair management practices, sexual harassment on the job, and negotiating better pay. Most useful of all, we could air out ideas to each other, request feedback, and talk about our work in a way that didn't have to be objective, or brief, or perfunctory. We could really get into the fine details that we so frequently debated, dissected, and thought about in our own day-to-days.
What we did do was collectively lay the groundwork for our group. We spoke about how we wanted to keep the group a female-only space. We agreed on intervals between sessions, and location. We simply lay the foundation out together. The rest has been, well, magic.
2. The power of creative unity (rather than isolated creativity).
Perhaps the most fascinating part of observing our sessions has been the interplay between suggestion, listening and ideation. The process is layered. It becomes almost impossible to pick out what suggestion leads to which thought, which thought leads to which idea. Yet it all happens so quickly.
The unplanned nature of not just one, but various ideation processes, sometimes occurring simultaneously, changes the energy in the room. At once, there is a sense of forward movement, and as time moves on, the group becomes less inhibited by self-doubt. In so doing, more open to sharing.
3. The privilege of working with your friends.
We cannot choose who we share our work lives with, nor who we must interact with for a myriad of life steps. This is no bad thing at all, as it allows us to meet new people, learn new things, venture into and create new connections.
Yet it is a wonderful thing to come together and merge professional thoughts with friendship. The trust that undergirds most successful group dynamics was already in place when we began, along with a general appreciation for personalities and ways of being. In the context of a community of practice, where the ethos is collaboration and creativity, friendship has added a valuable element to the mix as a catalyst for even bigger ideas.
In Conversation With: RBC's Christine Silva
I had an inkling that Christine Silva was someone that I wanted to meet when I read her blog post on Ten Thousand Coffees this Fall. I felt that thread of excitement that rises up when I come across something that inspires me. A few weeks after inviting her for a chat on 10KCoffees, we found ourselves at high-ceilinged New York style café on Bay Street. Seconds into introducing myself, I was struck by how personable Christine was. Conversational, articulate and very down to earth, Christine’s openness made for one of the most memorable career conversations I’ve had to date - and I’ve had many!
I was hoping to find out more about Christine’s transition from the non-profit world to the corporate world. I also wanted to learn more about her research on women and leadership. What happened next is what happens in the best of conversations. We were side-tracked by a topic that we both have a mutual passion for: Innovation.
On Innovation, Storytelling, and Harnessing Expertise
Between Christine’s excitement over her adventures at the 2015 Startup Open House and my enthusiasm about attending the weekly MaRS Entrepreneurship 101 series, our collective interest led us to a conversation about Toronto’s ever-expanding innovation scene. We eventually ended up circling back to career development in general. Here is what I came away with:
Uncertainty as Currency*
Don’t wait until things are perfect to execute! Borrowing from software development, the beauty of innovation strategies such as agile methodologies and rapid prototyping lie in the fact that no idea has to perfect or even well-thought out to be tried. We can begin with half-baked ideas and then concretize them as we move along.
It dawned on me that the experimental nature of startup and innovation culture is transferable to career design in so many ways. If you find yourself on a path that is not clear, as many of us do, you have the power to quickly reroute and reconfigure. Experiment with having new conversations, learning new skills (or even spearheading them?), and telling new stories. You’ll likely be surprised by what you discover.
On Storytelling
At one point in our conversation, Christine looked at me and said: “It’s all about the storytelling, isn’t it?” I couldn’t agree more. It is all about exchanging those first ideas, getting know other people’s stories, and creating your own. There are infinite ways to create a compelling story that narrates what it is that you seek from yourself, and what you’d like to learn about from others.
So…how do you create a story unique to you?
Becoming a Thought Leader?
We live in a non-linear labour market, and it can be difficult to see how one work experience can lead to the next career move. In an era of impermanence and shifting circumstances, it’s up to us to create the thread which will link our way to the next step.
Here’s where you can let your unique talents and interests guide you. Find your way of expressing your knowledge around an area of interest to you. Use skills that you have: write, blog, produce videos, produce art (and yes, you most certainly have a skill to contribute!). Be sure, however, to link your production to a topic or subject that is relevant to your career path, and that has the power to create the next step for you. Allow yourself to explore themes that are fascinating to you, and invite others along for the journey. Your initiative will open doors for you, while simultaneously allowing you to gain expertise in a new area.
For instance, are you a non-techie fascinated by innovation in Education? If writing is your go-to, write, blog, tweet and profile goings-on in the world of EdTech. Become a bit of a subject matter expert in the field. Along the way, you will form opinions, create connections and establish yourself as thought leader in EdTech. Christine’s strong writing skills have often allowed her to conquer new ground. The most recent adventure? Live-blogging RBC’s staff events, allowing employees across the institution to clock into a given event and exchange knowledge in real-time. The result? An invitation to conduct a workshop around live-blogging for other RBC staff, connecting Christine to RBC’s burgeoning culture of innovation.
Career Building Continued
Mentorship vs. Sponsorship
Christine touched upon the difference between Sponsorship versus Mentorship in previous posts on 10KCoffees. I understood that sponsors will advocate for your success and champion your excellence, and are much more instrumental to career development than the looser concept and practice of mentorship. While both practices are beneficial, sponsors will take you further. Yet I wanted to know more. How can I ‘get’ a sponsor, and do I just go asking around for one?
Not so much. The key here is to build solid and collaborative relationships on the job so that your supervisor, manager or whoever it is that can speak to your work (ideally someone with clout) feels naturally inclined to advocate for you. In more concrete terms, those who are ideal candidates to sponsor you are those who can also act as your references on your resume. Christine’s advice for scoring sponsorships in the first place? Be Excellent, plain and simple.
Transitioning from one Career-World to Another
Christine transitioned from a senior role at research and strategy development firm Catalyst to a Senior Manager role at RBC, and from a professional workplace of 100 employees to one that is 80,000 strong. In her words, she ‘was not a conventional hire’ for RBC. Her previous work as Senior Director for Catalyst was strongly entrenched in research. I was curious: what propelled her to make such a change?
Two words: Impact and Challenge. Christine searched for a role that would be impactful yet also challenge her in a different way. Her educational background in organizational behaviour made for a great fit with her current role, yet she also chose to go down a different path than remaining in the world of research. Her ability to craft an intentional path, articulate it and also share it (so that we can learn from her strategies!) is inspiring in and of itself.
I would strongly recommend having a coffee and chat with Christine. Here is to manifesting career pathways with intentionality, creativity and courage!
*Agile versus Waterfall Methodologies
What methodologies, you ask? Essentially, agile methods of developing ideas, products and services allow for a different kind of approach to managing design projects, where process is measured incrementally and project priorities can be re-adjusted at planned intervals in the design process. Waterfall methodology, on the other hand, is a sequential design process in which there is little to no room for change or error. However, Waterfall goes far in containing the cost and scope of a given project or process. There are advantages and disadvantages to both processes, and your choice to use either one or a blended version depends on the kind of project you are working on, or the kind of software you are developing.
This post was published on tenthousandcoffees.com on December 2nd, 2015.
It All Begins with a Conversation: The Art of the Information Interview
“Invisible threads are the strongest ties.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
Last week at a night out, a friend of mine mentioned wanting to transition into another career. With long hours and little room for creativity, Law was not what she saw herself doing in the long run. The dilemma? She didn’t know where to start.
Sound familiar? Navigating career change can be overwhelming. Cue the Information Interview: a conversation that allows you to connect with others who are making strides in workplaces or positions that interest you. In the process, you may discover a new direction for yourself, or gain insight into a career option you’ve been pondering.
How to begin? Here are some simple steps:
1. Know yourself. Conduct a SWOT analysis to assess your strengths, skills and weaknesses. Once you have a solid sense of your expertise, ask yourself: what sectors or specific positions interest you? What skills would you like to build on? Articulate a vision for yourself. Create a Career Vision Statement!
2. Reach out. Check out LinkedIn, Twitter and industry specific websites. Create a profile on tenthousandcoffees.com, where you can request a coffee with another professional. Looking for international opportunities? Levo.com may be just right for you.
3. Connect. Keep it professional. Contact those who are far down a path you are considering, or who can help you enter your desired sector. Send an introductory and (brief) tailored email that demonstrates your knowledge of your contact’s role and career history, along with details about your own experiences. Be clear about what you would like to gain from the conversation. Emphasize that you are happy to work around your contact’s schedule.
4. Meet. Dress well and keep it neutral! Coffee shops are easy and perfect. After offering to treat your guest to a drink or a bite to eat, stick to a 20 minute time limit. If your guest wants to continue, by all means!
5. “But what do I say…?” Ask a few leading questions, and then let the conversation flow. You are free to bring a resume, but only produce it if asked to do so.
6. Life is a two way street! Always thank your interviewee, and offer your time or resources in exchange. Keep in touch with your contacts, even if it’s a simple hello and check-in now and then. You never know where your conversations may lead!
This article was originally published as a blogpost for Fusia Magazine on July 20, 2015.