There are many ways to gather preliminary information and a number of tips are listed on our Some Useful Websites page. Here are some tips on gathering inside information:

It's no coincidence that most of the information gathering I've been describing will lead you to human beings: employees of a company, vendors who sell to it, competitors, customers, reporters, fellow association members. These are the people a headhunter turns to when he's trying to find the right candidate for one of his clients. They are the same people who can lead you to the right hiring manager.

Keep two things in mind: information is useless unless it leads you to the right hiring manager; and, once you get to the right manager, you must have the right information at your fingertips, or he won't give you the time of day.

Now, what do you do with all the research you've done? Use it to help answer the Four Vital Questions, so that you can decide whether to pursue a job at a particular company. Use it to lay a foundation for discussions you're going to have with people who already work with your target company-that's how you position yourself to learn even more from them. Finally, use it to convince the manager you've targeted that he should want you on his team. This is how you become your own headhunter.

Don't let yourself get too wrapped up in research at the library, with your head buried in journals and directories, nor in hunting through the internet. The point of that kind of research is to get you on the phone talking with the right people - ultimately, with the manager who's going to hire you. It only takes one or two cooperative contacts to get you on the right track.

Start by talking with people who work with the manager, then make your way up to the manager himself. The purpose for taking a slightly winding course to get to the person who would hire you is twofold. First, you want to gather more inside information so you'll have something to say to the manager when you finally reach him. The best source is the people who work with him. Second, the peripheral people you talk with are in a great position to introduce you to the manager. That's far better than calling him cold. The manager is more likely to talk with someone his team already knows than a complete outsider.

You often acquire very valuable "inside information" about a job from other employees in the company. That's why it's crucial to develop inside contacts who will share it with you. You might be able to get the name of a contact from a trade publication, a friend, or another company that does business with your target. A company salesperson is usually very easy to reach: there's no effort to keep you away from them, and they usually answer their own phones. Salespeople tend to appreciate how frustrating it can be to reach the right person in an organization; it's their job.

When you reach a sales rep, be ready to talk about the product. Then shift the discussion to getting a little advice:

Hi, my name is Mike Frey. I've been using your Bixtron Widget and I think it's a great product. I'd like to talk to someone in your design department about some ideas I've got for some features you ought to add to it. Who should I talk with about that? ... Should I call back or can you connect me?

If you can get the sales rep to connect you to someone in design (or whatever department it is you want to work in), introduce yourself. Start by talking a little about the product and the company. But then you can be a little more blunt. Explain that you're trying to learn more about new job opportunities in that specific department. Don't let anyone push you off to personnel.

I want to get an accurate idea of opportunities in the [department name] department from a real employee. Can you give me some advice about how to do that, without talking to the personnel department? Is there someone you would suggest I talk with?

You'll be surprised at how much information people are willing to share about their employers. Some will share because they love their company and want to tell the world. Some will share because they're frustrated and need someone to complain to. Be careful about how you interpret such judgments. Get enough information to form your own opinions.

Don't interrogate the person you reach. Have a conversation. Share some positive news you might have read about the company. Ask your contact if he can add any details. Ask about a specific job, whether there are any open jobs you should know about, or about upcoming opportunities in general. Get the name of the manager who would most likely have an open position.

As a rule of thumb, avoid calling a personnel department. They may have information you can use, but they can also cripple your efforts. Personnel jockeys are known for saying things like "I don't want you bothering the manager, or other employees, with phone calls and questions. All your contact must be with me." If the personnel department finds out you subsequently called a hiring manager, your efforts could drown in bureaucratic hot water. Personnel can't hire you (unless you work in personnel), but through all sorts of administrative mechanisms they can prevent a manager from hiring you or talking with you. So be careful about opening that Pandora's box.

Getting on the phone: Here are some telephone tactics that can be applied with some modification to situations where you're doing preliminary research on a company (to find out what might need doing), or if you have an interview scheduled and are trying to do some homework beforehand.

USING SCRIPTS

For those who hate talking on the phone with strangers, the best way forward is to write out some scripts that get you through the first awkward moments of a call. Your scripts should be just long enough to get a call started and keep it on track. Create as many scripts as you think you need for various kinds of calls. Just be sure to practice them out loud before you use them! There's nothing worse than getting a call from someone who is obviously reading to you on the phone. Make your scripts conversational. Call a few friends and test them out.

Here's an example of a script for someone who is looking for a design job. Let's say you just got through to a company's design department, and you're trying to get information about a job in design.

Hi. My name is Mike Frey. I was just talking with Joe in sales about your Bixtron Widget. I've really gotten a lot of use out of that Widget. But I'd like to suggest that you use a more powerful spring on the lever. Do you think that would make it more powerful? ... You know, the more I learn about your products, the more interested I get in the company in general.

I've been very successful here, but I'd love to know more about the Widget industry. I've also been considering a move to Illinois [or wherever this company is located]. Can you give me a little advice? What's it like to work there at Bixtron? Do you deal much with design yourself? Is there someone who you think might be willing to tell me what it's like to work in Bixtron's product design department? No, I really don't want to talk with personnel. I'd like to get a little perspective from a design expert in your business.... Anyway, thanks for the advice about how to get more force out of that handle.

You obviously want to leave room for discussion; don't just run through all those words willy-nilly. In fact, you want the other person to do most of the talking, and that script is way too long. You'll need to pick and choose the parts that will make it easy for the listener to talk to you. Tailor it into your own script. Nonetheless, it should give you some ideas about how to try and structure a call. The point is to get the other person to talk and share information with you. In particular, you want him to give you a name or to connect you with someone who does the kind of work you want to do.

Here's another approach. This is a simple, nonthreatening referral request you can make of just about anyone you reach at the company. Call a person at the company whom your research indicates might be a source of information. (Try to write your own script for this one.) Introduce yourself briefly, and state what kind of work you do. Finish up with: "Can you tell me whose department is responsible for this kind of work?" Note that the question is phrased in a way that will get you the name of a manager rather than just the name of a department. Make sure you get a name.

If you are directed to the personnel office, try this: "Thanks, but my questions are very specific. I want to talk with someone who works in [production, marketing, or whatever work you do] and who specializes in [the work you do]."

Once you have a name, you're in.

GETTING PAST THE RECEPTIONIST

It's always best to ask for a specific person when you call a prospective employer. This is true whether you're trying to reach the manager you'd be working for, or some other manager who might serve as your connection to him. If you've done your home­work and read up on subjects that are of mutual interest to you and the manager, when he answers, you'll have something to talk about.

If the manager's secretary answers, you're also in good shape. When you're asked what you want to talk to the manager about, rely on your research and your new common interests with the manager:

I'm Mike Frey over at Western Equipment. I was just reading about Tom's work in Widget Monthly. Nancy Weston, who wrote the article, suggested I give Tom a call to find out how he managed to get quality and yields up so high. He did an incredible job.

There's almost nothing the secretary could do to screen that call. You're another professional calling to talk to his boss about his business. At worst, he could connect you with someone on Tom's staff who might be able to answer your questions. But then you have an inside line to Tom's department. So, let's get to the hard part. How do you get past the company's main receptionist who answers the phone?

When you don't know the name of the manager of the department you want, call the main company number and ask who is in charge of the department. You're looking for a name. If you get it, ask to be connected. Some receptionists will be quite cooperative, but many receptionists are instructed not to reveal this informa­tion, for fear that a headhunter like me is trying to recruit employees. If the receptionist isn't cooperative, say "thank you" and hang up. Don't give your name or leave a message. Wait a while (a day, if possible) and call back.

This time, try to get connected to the department you want: "Hi. Marketing [or whatever department it is you want], please." Don't sound too friendly and don't sound lost. Your tone should make you appear businesslike, firm, and in a bit of a rush (otherwise you'll stand out from the other typical calls and you might make the receptionist pause to think about what you're really doing). When you get through, you will be talking with a depart­mental receptionist or a staff member. Ask for the name of the department manager. If no one will put you through, say, "Thanks anyway" and hang up.

Now you'll feel a little frustrated. How do you get through? If the above approaches don't work, your final tactic will be a little more aggressive. Ask the receptionist for the customer service or sales department. You won't be asked for a name, but you might be asked what part of the country you're calling from (a company's sales and service functions are usually broken up by region, and so are the people responsible for them). No receptionist will deny you access to sales or service.

When you get connected, ask to be transferred: "Oh, this is customer service? I wanted marketing. Sony about that. Can you patch me through to the marketing department? By the way, who heads up marketing?" Sure, this is stretching things a little. It may be the receptionist's job to keep you away from your target, but yours is to plow through. When you get the name you need, call that person directly. Do your homework, and try the script described above if you reach the manager's secretary.

Talking with the hiring manager: The ultimate inside information always comes from the source of the job. Eventually, you will get to the manager in charge of the department in which you think you are interested. Make sure you're prepared to have an intelligent discussion with the manager about his work. Hopefully, you were able to get yourself introduced by someone the manager knows well. The best scenario is to have the contact suggest to the manager that you're the kind of person he should consider hiring.

If you have developed a particularly good contact who can introduce you, have the contact coordinate an in-person meeting if he can. This might even be a visit to your contact's office, followed by a walk down the hall to casually meet the manager. My preferred introduction happens over lunch-suggest that you all go down to the company cafeteria for a sandwich.

Whether your discussion with the manager involves another party, and whether it's on the phone or in person, your goal is to establish yourself as a peer with common interests. This relationship - usually enjoyed by headhunters - will position you to prove that you can help the manager. At this point, he is not a prospec­tive employer, but a source of information (he just happens to be the ultimate source). So, don't worry about the job. If you can accomplish what I'm suggesting, you will have plenty of opportunity to talk about that later.

The research you did prior to this meeting will have provided you with lots to talk about. Take the opportunity to compliment the manager about something positive you may have read or heard about his work. Engage him in a discussion about it. Ask his opinion about the state of the industry. Offer your thoughts. Ask for his advice.

If you think you're ready, express your interest in the work his team is doing. Keeping in mind what you uncovered in your research about the problems and challenges he's probably facing, be ready to suggest how you could contribute to his team's success. If you get the discussion going in this direction, you're in an interview. Prepare to demonstrate how you're going to do the job!

Preparing for the interview: Your final - and most important-information - gathering effort will be one you must make just before your interview. Your goal is to talk with the manager before that critical meeting and to gather the most specific information possible about the work you would be hired to do. In other words, what problems and challenges would he want you to tackle? This will provide you with the material for your presentation.

LEARNING FROM THE MANAGER

If you already have an interview scheduled with the company, call the manager. Explain that you are preparing for your meeting. Don't use the word interview. Put him on track to view this as a working meeting rather than a traditional question-and-answer session. Introduce (or, hopefully, reintroduce) yourself and confirm your meeting date and time. Then jump-start your interview:

I look forward to meeting you. When I come to this kind of meeting, I treat it with the same respect I reserve for my first day on the job-I like to be ready to do the work. I want to be prepared to show you how I do the work that matters most to you. What's the biggest challenge you foresee for the person you're going to hire to do this job ?

The manager should be willing to spend a little time to explain the work to you and to tell you about his department. However, some managers prefer to wait until the interview to talk about a job, because they don't want to explain it all twice-on the phone and later again in the interview. It can help to point out that you share the interviewer's goal: "I want to help make our meeting as pro­ductive as possible, without wasting any of your time. I want to be ready to show you exactly how I would do the job you need to have done. "

If you have decided on this approach, then suggest doing a brief presentation to the manager during the interview.

LEARNING FROM THE MANAGER'S ASSISTANT

If you can't reach the manager prior to your interview, talk with his secretary or administrative assistant. This person will likely have some information that will be useful to you. Be polite. Treat the assistant the way you would treat the manager. Explain that you have an interview coming up and that you want to make the meeting as productive as possible. Ask if the assistant can tell you a little about the job or about the manager.

Have your questions ready, organized from the most general to the most specific, but start with the general ones. Get as many answered as you can. Explain that the more prepared you are, the more organized your meeting with the manager will be, and that you want to avoid taking up more time than necessary.

Many assistants are glad to help make their boss's meetings more productive, as long as they're not breaching confidentiality. If you feel bold, make the call and see what you come up with. If you get cold feet once you're on the phone, use the call to confirm your meeting time, then at least ask whether the assistant can offer any advice about how you can prepare for a good meeting with the manager.

Any information that' anyone gives you in the course of your search can be valuable. So, treat a source of information like someone who is giving you a gift-because that's exactly what they're doing. Be grateful. Be respectful. Always say "thank you."

When someone gives you something of value, remember to return the value. You may not be able to do a favor for that specific person, but you "owe" the favor to the pool of friendly people in the world. Remember to do a favor for someone else who needs it, whoever it might be. What goes around comes around. Participate in and promote the cycle.

Profit from Your Information: When you start exploring the world of information, let yourself dig very deeply at first. Investigate the various sources. Learn what research methods are most efficient for you. Take time to develop a system of your own for gathering information. Learn to mold the infor­mation you gather into knowledge that you can use to help your target employer. Always present what you've learned in that context. Then select from the methods I've discussed the ones that work best for you. The investment you make in learning to find important information will pay off now, and it will pay off in other ways later, once you are on the job.

Don't let all these sources of information overwhelm you. Take comfort in the fact that more information exists than you will ever be able to gather or use. But also take heed: the fact that this information exists means that others can use it to win the job you want.

Cows won't bother. But not all your competitors are cows. And some of them are headhunters.

	SUMMARY OF TYPES OF PEOPLE YOU CAN TALK TO
•	Managers	Competitors of the company
•	Secretaries / administrative	Vendors / distributors to the
	assistants	company
•	Company salespeople	Reporters at trade journals
•	Other company employees	Editors & authors of articles
•	Clients/customers of the company	Heads of industry associations