The other values of field research are more subtle. Field research provides you the opportunity to establish contacts in your area of interest. It allows you to familiarize yourself with the vocabulary of your chosen occupation. It broadens your exposure to the world of work by enabling you to investigate a variety of different jobs and working environments. And, it gives you interviewing experience in a non-stressful situation.
Who To Contact
Since you've already isolated an occupation or a potential industry of interest as a result of your library research, you're well on your way.
The first step, then, is to begin talking with the people you know, to see if they know anyone who is doing the kind of job you want to do, or is working in the industry or for a company that you would like to work for. You can start out by talking with your family, friends, friends of friends, past employers, professors, and the counselors at the placement center, because they often keep files of alumni who are willing to talk with recent graduates. Don't be shy. Anyone you've ever met is a potential contact. If you're unwilling to ask favors of people you know, you'd better ask yourself if you really want a job. A reality of life is that people do favors for people they know. And it's far easier to get in to see someone if an introduction is made.
If you do have contacts, the only problem you might find at this stage is that these people are willing to help you, but they don't know anyone in the occupational field or the industry you're interested in. In this case, see if you can broaden your areas of interest so they can help you. For example, if what you really want to do is work in the personnel department of a hospital, and your contact knows someone in the personnel department of a retail department store, see them anyway. It can be a fruitful meeting because you can learn something more about the field of personnel management, and maybe they will know someone who works in the personnel department of a health care company.
In the same vein, if your contact has a friend whose business is not at all related to what you want to do, think about it creatively. For example, say the person is an accountant and you have absolutely no interest in accounting. Don't let that automatically dissuade you from meeting them. Accountants serve people in all kinds of businesses, and perhaps they can introduce you to someone you'd like to meet.
On the other side of the coin, your problem at this point may be that you have no contacts whatsoever. That's all right, too. It's quite possible to set up the interviews yourself.
Setting Up Interviews
Once again, we're working from the premise that you've done your homework up to now. You've isolated an occupation or targeted an industry that you're interested in. You have also done some company research and have come up with at least six to ten organizations that interest you. If you haven't, reread the section on company research and do it. The next step, then, is to pick someone who works for that organization and write this person a letter.
How do you decide who to pick? By interest. If you think you want to be a recreational aide at a community organization, contact a recreational aide. If you think you want to sell computers, contact a computer salesperson. If you are an engineer and you want to check out what it's like to work at XYZ Company, contact an engineer who's working there.
How do you find out who these people are? In a number of different ways. If you've been conscientious up to now, once you have targeted an industry or a company of interest, you have been reading trade journals, company newsletters, local newspapers, and the like. These kinds of publications always list names of who's doing what, and where.
The other way is to call the organization. If you're interested in sales, call the sales department. In most cases, the higher you call, the better. It's often easier to see a sales manager than it is to see a salesperson, and they're generally more willing to talk with you. When you call any executive on the phone, you will undoubtedly get his secretary. Tell her you need the executive's name and title. If she asks you why, and she probably won't, say you need to write him a letter. It's that easy.
The letter you write should be concise and to the point. The following letter is a good example, but don't copy it. The employers we talked with said it's always best to write your own letter. They can smell a form letter a mile away. In any event, your letter should look something like this:
This is a good letter because Sam Cline has done the following: In the first paragraph, he lets Mr. Smith know he's done some research on Westside Foods. This already sets him apart from his fellow graduates who haven't bothered to do research. In the second para graph, he tells Mr. Smith that he's an achiever - he graduated cum laude - that he has work experience in food-related companies, and that he's interested in Mr. Smith's industry. Whether you are actually committed to an industry at this stage or not, you should make the per son believe that you are. Why else would they spend their time talking with you? But back to Sam Cline. Now that he's aroused Mr. Smith's interest, he tells him in the third paragraph what he wants: information, He also explains that he's done his homework and that he will need only 20 minutes of Mr. Smith's time, which is a reasonable request. Finally, in the last paragraph, he says that he'll call for an appointment. And so he does. The meeting is set up for the following week.
