Approaching Potential Employers: The Sixty-Second Opportunity
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Scenario One - Calling an Employer

Your first goal should be to establish some rapport with the person you're calling so that her or she will be willing to continue to talk with you. Key questions to answer are:

How did you get my name?

Without prior thought, you may plunge into (2) and (3) (see below), but it is frequently (1) that makes you credible. If you got the person's name through a mutual acquaintance, from an article, or in any other way that indicates you already know something about the person and what he or she does, by all means say so.

Who are you?

This is [your name] from [whatever institutional affiliation you can honestly claim - the University of Pennsylvania is frequently satisfactory.] You'll say this as soon as the other person comes on the line. What else you say about yourself depends on the situation. Remember that, at this point, you're trying to engage someone in conversation, not overwhelm them with details about your qualifications.

What do you want?

A few minutes at a time that's convenient for you to [whatever your purpose is]. Really think about what it is that you want to ask of the person and state that clearly. Often, it's something as simple as, "Find out from you what the outlook is for openings in your department over the next six months."

More Tips

• Don't waste the person's time with a clerical question ("Did you get my resume?" Call the person's assistant to get the answer to that one), or with an uninformed one ("Can you tell me a little bit about what your organization does?")

• Frequently, you'll get the person's voice mail, so prepare a brief message that answers all of those questions. On the other hand, also be prepared for the employer who says they have time to talk at the time of your call.

• Observe all the standard courtesies.

• Smile while you speak. This sounds ridiculous, but really does affect your voice quality in a helpful way. Some companies that do a lot of phone business have mirrors placed in front of the phone representatives.

• Listen, and respond in a way which shows that you have.

• Anything you can do to make it easy for the other person to talk will tend to work in your favor. Pause, ask questions.

• Take good notes while you're on the phone or immediately after hanging up. This will help you keep track of things you need to follow up on.

• If a person ends up chatting with you, on your first call, or at a later time they arrange, be sure to write them a thank you note.

Scenario Two - Meeting Dr. Expert

If the person is so well known, it's probably possible, through asking around, to get a little first-hand information about them. Depending on how you like to approach people, you may or may not want to find out what the person's personal reputation is, but you absolutely should be up to speed on their recent work.

Think about what makes you comfortable and try to work with that. Some people would prefer to be introduced by a mutual acquaintance and have a 3-way conversation; others would prefer to go solo.

On the other hand, most people don't enjoy feeling "used," so make sure that any expressions of appreciation on your part are sincere and that you don't make demands or seem to take anything for granted.

Keep in mind that the odds are in your favor. Part of the fun of being an established senior person is that people do know who you are and seek you out. Most people enjoy having their ideas sought out.

Be prepared to say a little bit about your own background, so there's a context for your interest in the other person.

If you have an agenda, be direct about what it is. Some initial small talk is fine, but be prepared to be clear about what you want. Do you want to get together with the person to discuss your thoughts about a recent paper they wrote? Do you want to explore the idea of a postdoc in the person's lab?

If you end up in a discussion in which you say you'll send a copy of something to the person, do so promptly and include a brief note which makes reference to your conversation.