Reverse Planning

Or, Why do informational interviews? Reverse planning – what does that mean? Perhaps you are more familiar with the term reverse engineering? Either term means you take apart an object or process to see how it works in order to duplicate or enhance the object or process. The practice has been borrowed from older industries and is now frequently used in a variety of settings and industries. Let’s say you want to design a better mousetrap. You put an existing mousetrap in front of you, see how it works, evaluate the parts that make it up and then you reverse the process of building it. As you are taking it apart, you see ways to improve on the design. Then, when you go to rebuild it, you incorporate those changes and voilá – build a better mousetrap! The same is true of planning. You start with your goal. What are all the elements needed to accomplish your goal? How long does it take to learn what you need to learn? Where do you go for learning? Is there more than one path to obtaining the goal? Are there milestones that need to be reached before the goal? You figure out the steps and time needed to complete the goal. Then you assign deadlines for each of those steps. As you are doing your reverse planning, you may find you have a need for some intermediate steps to accomplish and set those goals too. If you have a really BIG goal or a complex goal, reverse planning can be an invaluable aid to getting where you want to go or what you want to accomplish. Career change can be just such a complex goal. This is really the point of informational interviews. You interview people in careers that appeal to you. In the process of interviewing them, they will often share the path they took. They will tell you how long it took to get them there. People will often tell you they took a “hard way,” or the “long way,” and then tell you how to take a short cut or an easier way. Or, they may say how easy it was because of … something. And then go on to tell how to get that something. You can use that information to reverse plan your foray into that career. People are naturally helpful and informational interviews are a great resource for you in your job hunt. When you set up your informational interview ask for ten to fifteen minutes of their time. Tell them you are NOT looking for a job right now. Tell them it is research for your future. BE ACCOMMODATING. They are doing you a favor, so even though you are not a morning person, if that is the time slot they have open – take it, gladly! Here are some questions (10 minutes worth) to ask during an informational interview.

• What education do you need?
• What experience do you need?
• What would be nice to have?
• What is mandatory to have?
• What is the best part of what you do?
• What is the downside to this job?
• What skills do you need?
• What abilities do you need?
• What is your best advice for someone like me?

Then you take the answers home and develop your career plan. What resources do you need to contact? What learning do you need to do? Are there intermediate steps you need to take? You assign deadlines so that your goals can be accomplished. Then, voilá, your new career! I can help you find a career you want to investigate with an informational interview. Getting to that point is the most work. I can help you narrow down your options to chose the best fit for you and who you are. I can help you demonstrate how your skills are unique and marketable. We will create an action plan to get your Dream Job. I can help you sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get the right job for you. Don’t wait; contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com