You Never Learned to Code? Start HERE.

There are so many opportunities at your fingertips when you have experience with coding, Worlco knows that first hand! These are some great additions to your resume and a clean explanation of each one!

-Worlco

You never learned to code? Start here.

An introduction to HTML, CSS and other basic coding languages

In the broadest sense: to code is to speak to, control, or otherwise communicate with a machine (computer). “Code” is a synonym for “computer language.”

Everything that you know as software – your computer’s operating system, your mobile apps, your favorite websites – is designed and coded using a computer language such as Python, C, Java, Scala, Ruby, Go, PHP and dozens more. 

The purpose of these languages is to make it possible for you and I to communicate with our computers in a way that is similar to human language but can also be easily translated into machine code, the language your computer understands.

Computer languages run the gamut from highly technical and largely numerical to something that begins to resemble English. All told, there are hundreds of computer languages including ones that are entirely visual and even one in Icelandic.

This guide will discuss the major types of computer languages, how they relate to one another, which ones you should learn, and most importantly, why you would want to.

Which computer languages you should learn & why

Although there are hundreds of high-level computer languages, only a few dozen are in commercial use. You might have heard of some of them, like JavaScript, PHP and Ruby.

Before we talk specifics, let’s get one thing clear: there is no best language to learn or use.

Programmers love to bicker about one language being better than another, and in some instances, there are particular languages that are popular for specific purposes.

Most programmers will learn more than one language over the course of their coding careers and the most important factor when it comes to deciding which programming language you will use is...which one you like best.

That said, here are 15 popular computer languages:

Click here to see Mashable's article describing different types of coding

Maybe these statistics will convince you to click! :) 

What are Managers Comparing Between Candidates??

There is already so much pressure when you walk into an interview, competition is always high. You are more than likely to be compared with other people interviewing for that same position! THIS is what managers are mainly comparing. KEEP this in mind when preparing for your dream job!

-Worlco

4 Questions Managers Ask to Better Compare Equally Qualified Candidates

A bona fide sweets enthusiast will have no trouble selecting the chocolate lava cake, extra sauce, over the cheese plate on a dessert menu. But what if there’s a lava cake, a strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream, creme brulee and beignets, this time with gelato? Each dessert option is well-suited to be your next post-meal obsession — and for very different reasons. All of a sudden the decision becomes a little trickier.

Just as some (this writer in particular) belabor the age-old, cake-versus-pie conundrum after dinner, hiring managers, too, are put in a similar position when they’re down to their top candidate choices.

Select, don’t settle

Hiring the right candidate for your open role is easy when you have a clear winner in the interview process (lava cake will beat cheese plate any day of the week). But what do you do when you're torn between equally qualified job candidates? Flipping a coin might seem tempting, but settling doesn't just put a less-than-ideal person in the position, it can actually lower employee engagement.

Gallup discovered 82% of hiring processes didn't pick the person with the right talent, resulting in lower employee engagement. Another problem with choosing the incorrect candidate is the impact on employee turnover. Add the wrong person into your employee mix, especially at management and executive levels, and you could be looking at the cause of 80% of your turnovers.

So how do you make the final decision, ultimately arriving at the lava cake (or creme brulee, depending on your taste) of job candidates? Ask yourself these four questions.

1. Which candidate is better suited to meet performance metrics?

Ask candidates to provide or discuss performance data in the interview. 

Getting to the cold, hard facts and figures helps you determine whether a candidate can meet the performance metrics you're expecting.

Let's say you're hiring for a position that will be judged based on a specific metric, perhaps the number of sales qualified leads handed off from marketing to sales. If one candidate can prove she has consistently set and met goals around SQLs, and another can simply use sales qualified lead in a sentence, well, the proof is in the pudding, as they say.

2. Do you know the "secret weapon" skills a top candidate should have?

Sometimes job descriptions end up being a laundry list of skills and qualities loosely related to the position, failing to encompass what the job actually demands. Think about the difference between writing "seeking a big-picture, strategic thinker" versus "sending one or two emails per week to a segmented list" as job responsibilities. Both are great to mention and seek out, but the latter is more day-to-day while the former borders on nice to have.

Or, perhaps worse, the job description doesn’t make mention of the "secret weapon" skills that a candidate really needs to succeed in the role. For example, consider writing: "Ideal candidate can talk with both engineering and data science teams, then translate into engaging stories."

Talk to employees working in the department or holding the same position to find out what the most important skill sets are in handling the workload. Or, if you’re hiring the first person in this role, reach out to someone from your network who has hands-on experience in the same role.

3. Are you dealing with a cultural mismatch?

Culture mismatch is a major factor that separates a candidate with great potential from an actual great employee. According to Leadership IQ, 46% of employees fail before 18 months with a company. These failures are rarely due to the wrong skills, as only 11% fall into that category. It’s important to remember that technical competence is not the only factor to focus on in an interview.

Make sure potential employees align with your company’s culture, including workspace — whether it’s a traditional cubicle sprawl or an open floor plan — as well as have the right temperament and emotional intelligence. The candidate who fits in better with your existing culture will more likely be one of the 19% who achieve unequivocal success.

Save room for future hiring needs

In a perfect world, you'd have room for all the desserts. However, in the real world of hiring, you have to pass on some — but that doesn’t mean you can’t revisit your options in the future.

Let other candidates know that it was a tough choice and that you’re planning to keep their resumes on hand for new positions that may open up. You’ve already handled a big chunk of the screening and interviewing process, so there's no reason to throw all that work away.

Find #4, and the full article, here!

8 Keys to Making a Great First Impression

It's hard to come back from a bad first impression, and you clearly only have one. Here are some tips  from Mashable.com to help you dominate first impressions!

-Worlco

8 Keys to Making a Great First Impression

It can be challenging to put your best foot forward all the time, so we’ve gathered up some quick tips and tricks to make sure that from now on, you’ll knock the socks off every person you meet.

• Research shows that people make their first impressions of you in just two seconds, so there’s really no time to lose. (Inc.)
• Making a killer impression needs a killer attack plan — just like the one here. (Forbes)
• Treating everyone like the gatekeeper to your destiny is another way to do the trick. (Addicted 2 Success)
• A few tips that former presidents used to connect with anyone are surprisingly effective. (Chamber of Commerce)
• Making a great impression depends a lot of how trustworthy you seem, so be sure you’re not doing these things that could be holding you back. (Science)
• These three simple rules for getting people to like you are always helpful to keep in mind. (Elite Daily)
• Television ads have 30 seconds to persuade the audience, and this is how you can use similar principles in your life when meeting new people. (HBR)
• Impressing others means it’s not all about you — in fact, research shows that encouraging other people to talk more may make them like you a lot. (The Week)
• If all else fails and your first impression wasn’t stellar, don’t lose hope — here’s how to use your second impression to fix it all. (Inc.)

Article found here!

Is It Too Late to Change Career Paths and Become a Programmer?

It's not uncommon for one to assume that it's too late to switch career paths, but it happens all the time! Read this inspiring story that was posted on www.Mashable.com about a woman who took her future into her own hands and became a programmer! You can find the rest of the story here!

-Worlco

Is It Too Late to Change Career Paths and Become a Programmer?

This question originally appeared on Quora.

I am 24 years old and just started learning coding. I want to be a programmer. Am I too late in the game?

Answer by Erin Parker, founder of Spitfire Athlete.

It's never too late. So much can happen in a year, it can amaze you.

I majored in economics. When I was about 23 years old, I randomly decided to go to aRailsbridge Meetup, where you learn how to make a basic Ruby on Rails app in a day. I made a basic Rails app and very much enjoyed it. A seed was planted that day.

Months later, I had an idea for a website I've always wanted to build. Although my idea was vague, I imagined [this website] would inspire women to be kick*ss go-getters. I thought it would either be a career website, or one in the health and fitness space. And I definitely wanted to call it Spitfire. I strongly felt such a product was sorely needed, and I felt I had a pretty good perspective and vision to create it.

Although I hadn't committed to learning programming just yet, I would sketch out mocks like this:

IMAGE: QUORA, ERIN PARKER

I would email these mocks to my friends and get their feedback.

At the time, I was getting pretty hardcore into lifting weights and I was seeing a lot of results. I was also having a frustrating time finding high quality, trustworthy resources for women who lift weights, and had this continuous nagging feeling that maybe I should actually do something about it.

Finally, I decided to do it. Friends were asking me how I was getting in shape, how to lift weights, how to eat healthy. I decided to commit to learning Ruby on Rails and building out [my idea].

I figured if I learned to program — even if I failed — I would have at least failed while building something that could help scale what I'd learned to potentially millions of people. And that in itself is a worthy pursuit.

At the same time, however, I decided failure was no longer an option. I wasn't going to let myself stop until I'd built what I'd envisioned in my head Spitfire could truly be. I knew that if I just persisted through the pain (like an athlete), that the end result would be well worth the temporary pain.

I started teaching myself Ruby on Rails by voraciously consuming every free resource I could, like Learn Ruby the Hard Way, Try Ruby, Codecademy, Michael Hartl's book Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby, the Rails Guides, and my absolute favorite, RailsCasts.

I was relentless, If I didn't get something the first time, I didn't care. I would go through it again and again until it started to make sense. I would look for different explanations of the concept. I would ask my friends. When I was coding in coffee shops, if the person sitting in front of me looked like they were an engineer based on the stickers on their laptop, I would kindly ask them if they could help (I have made so many friends this way, a few of them are still really good friends).

I would go to lots of developer meetups, and particularly liked Women Who Code because of their "teach a new tutorial at each meetup" format, and all of The Ruby Group meetups; it was easy to get help [if I was stuck].

I stuck with it for months and, little by little, "banged out" the ideas in my head. You can still see many of my early projects here:

http://spitfiredarkstar.herokuapp.com/

http://spitfiredauntless.herokuapp.com/

http://spitfirehellcat.herokuapp.com/

https://spitfireocelot.herokuapp.com/

I worked the most on this one:

http://spitfireathlete.herokuapp.com/

READ MORE HERE!

As if you didn’t have enough on your plate while interviewing or at work, here is an article for phrases you should avoid. Often we can make simple mistakes while speaking on the spot, so this is a great article from Mashable.com giving you a heads up on how these phrases could make you sound less professional. Enjoy!
-Worlco

9 Phrases That Make You Sound Less Experienced Than You Are

When I started my first job, I was the youngest person in my organization. No, really. Although I could legally drink (barely), every single one of my 300-or-so co-workers was older and more experienced than I was.

I felt like the low woman on the totem pole — and worse, I probably acted like it. (Exhibit A: My email signature was hot pink and in Lucida Calligraphy font.)

But looking back, I shouldn't have let it affect me so much. Here's what I know now: It doesn't matter how much experience (or grey hair) you have compared to everyone else. You were hired to do a job and to work together with the people around you. So, the more you can position yourself as an equal, the more you'll be treated like one. While you shouldn't go to the other end of the spectrum and act like you're more important than the rest of your team, you should never feel afraid to present yourself confidently as a peer. (Oh, and this is true whether you're in your first job or joining the ranks of upper management.)

How do you do that? Here are a few commonly used words and phrases you want to avoid since they instantly make you sound more inexperienced — plus what to say instead to ensure you come across as the capable, competent professional you are.

1. "I don't know"

You certainly don't need to have all the answers all the time. None of us do. But answering your co-workers' questions with "I don't know" (and a blank stare) can make you look like you're not up to the job. Muse writer Sara McCord offers some great alternatives in this article, such as offering up what you do know ("Well, I can tell you that the report went to the printer on Friday") or responding, "That's exactly the question I'm looking to answer." Or, if you know you can get the information from someone else, try "Let's loop Devante in to confirm."

2. "I have to ask my boss"

It doesn't matter what level you're at in your career, there are certain things you're going to have to run by your boss. (Even CEOs have to ask the board for approval on important matters.) But that doesn't mean you have to end every conversation letting others know that you're not the one who can make the final decision.

Instead, try, "This all sounds great — let me just run our conversation by a couple people on the team before moving ahead." You'll sound like a thoughtful collaborator, rather than the lowly subordinate.

3. "Is that OK?"

When you do have to run something by your boss? Skip this line, which sounds like you have no idea if your recommendation is a good one or not, and use something like: "Let me know by Friday whether I should proceed."

4. "I am the [insert junior-level job title here]"

Here's a secret — if you have a not-so-impressive job title (and we've all had 'em), you don't have to broadcast it to everyone you work with, particularly if you're reaching out to potential clients or partners who are higher up than you are. I

In your next cold outreach email, trade "I'm the Jr. Marketing Assistant at Monster Co," for, "I work in Marketing at Monster Co, and I'm reaching out because…" It's still honest, but it makes you sound a bit more experienced.

5. "Very," "insanely," "extremely"

It's Professional Writing 101 to remove unnecessary adverbs from your language, not only because we all want shorter emails, but because these additional words tend to add emotion into what should be straightforward, fact-based communication. Quick: Which sounds like it came from a calm, cool professional: "I'm incredibly eager to get started, but I'm insanely busy this week — could we aim for next week when things will be way calmer?" or, "I'm eager to get started, but booked this week. Could we aim for next?"

6. "Hi, I'm Julie"

In a social setting, it's perfectly fine (in fact, expected) that you'll introduce yourself by first name only. But in a professional or networking setting, it can make you sound unsure of yourself, like you're someone who just happened to walk into the room, rather than someone who was invited to be there. Instead, share your full name and why you're there: "I'm Julie Walker, from the Marketing team."

7. "I" and "me"

As Aja Frost reported in this article: "Reducing your use of the word 'I' can actually make people view you as more powerful and confident... a psychologist from the University of Texas who analyzes how people talk for hidden insight, found that whoever uses the word 'I' more in a conversation usually has a lower social status."

Consider these two statements: "I would be so grateful if you would consider meeting with me next month. I'm very interested in your work, and I would love to meet you in person," and "Would you be available for a meeting next month? It would be great to learn more about your work and meet in person." The former veers into fangirl territory; the latter sounds like one accomplished professional addressing another.

8. "I'm available at whatever time is convenient for you"

Really, are you? If the person you'd like to meet with wrote back and said that 5:30 AM on a Tuesday morning was convenient, I'm pretty sure you'd disagree. (And even if you didn't, you'd look like you have nothing going on in your professional life.)

Try "Tuesday and Thursday afternoons work well, though I'm happy to be flexible," which sounds similarly agreeable, but also shows that you have an important schedule of your own.

9. "I hope to hear from you soon!"

Ending your emails hoping and praying that you'll hear from your recipient makes it sound like you think there's a good chance you won't. Instead, project confidence that the conversation will continue, with something like, "I look forward to discussing," or "I look forward to hearing from you."

Full article here!

5 habits that can turn interviewers against you

Interviews can be intimidating; your career depends on it. The past few weeks our blog has given great advice on how to help with interviews and this is something you don’t want to miss! Mashable.com has an article about what habits can ruin an interview...make sure you avoid these at all costs! Enjoy!
-Worlco

5 habits that can turn interviewers against you

Having spent the last decade recruiting, I've had many a conversation with hiring managers after a candidate exits the interview. And, while I always hope for exceptional feedback, sometimes the news is not so glowing.

Sometimes, the candidate has done something so annoying to the interviewer that, at best, she is now questioning her interest in keeping this person in the running.

What are the things that drive interviewers the most crazy? Listen and learn.

1. You arrive super early

Everybody knows that you're an idiot if you show up late for an interview. It's completely disrespectful of the interviewer's time.

But showing up insanely early is also going to make you look like a jerk. Why? Because, when you arrive more than five or 10 minutes before your meeting, you're putting immediate pressure on the interviewer to drop whatever she may be wrapping up and deal with you. Or, she's going to start the interview feeling guilty because she knows she just left you sitting in the lobby for 20 minutes.

A secondary problem with showing up early is that it says, "Hi, I have absolutely nothing else going on in my life, so I'll just park it here in your company lobby." You don't want that. If you arrive super early, hang in the parking lot or a nearby coffee shop until just a few minutes before your scheduled time.

2. You're so over-rehearsed that you act like a robot

Once again, we all know not to show up to an interview completely unprepared.

Fewer of us, however, realize that it's entirely possible to arrive over-prepared. Are you someone who thinks through every possible question that you suspect might be asked, writes out verbatim "best answers," and then practices them in the mirror (or with a friend) until you're beyond exhausted?

You might think you're doing yourself a solid, but what you're actually doing is putting yourself at risk for coming across as robotic or, worse, disinterested.

When you're hyper-prepared and hanging on the edge of your seat waiting for certain questions for which you've prepared to be asked, you will likely have a very hard time engaging in genuine conversation with the interviewer.

And interviewers don't tend to hire detached people who can't seem to have a genuine conversation. Certainly walk in prepared, but force yourself to not memorize or over-rehearse the practice questions.

3. You head into the TMI zone

Is your underwear riding up your rear end as you sit in that interview? Did you totally run a red light (and nearly sideswipe a school bus) so that you could be on time? Did your husband lose $15,000 at a craps table in Vegas last weekend? How interesting — yet all completely off-limits conversation topics while you're in the interview.

Even if you're interviewing for a role within the most free-wheeling, fun-loving organization, the fact remains that you are in an interview. Never, ever get wooed into believing that the casual nature of the environment frees you to enter the TMI zone.

Be friendly and conversational, for sure. You want this crew to feel that you'll fit in around the joint. Just never, and I mean do not ever, cross the line into TMI. When in doubt, leave it out.

4. You're a clear and obvious WIIFM

Guess what interviewers want to know when they meet with you? First and foremost, they want to know what you can do for them. What can you do to make that company money, improve businesses processes, grow the organization and, importantly, make their lives easier?

That said, when you bust out with an immediate litany of WIIFM (what's in it for me?) questions, you look both arrogant and, frankly, unappealing.

Of course you want to know what the benefits are, how much vacation you get, and if you get a cell phone, company car, and corner office. But in the early interview stages, all the hiring managers and HR people really care about is what you can do for them. This is a business they are running, not a club.

Making you happy will be important if they want you, but you're not even going to get to that stage if you make your list of demands clear too early.

5. You don't say "thank you"

I'm not just talking about the after-interview thank you note here. Surely, sending an immediate thank you out to each person with whom you've met is critical. But it's also super important to thank the interviewer enthusiastically before you even part ways.

Certainly, it can be stressful and exhausting to shuttle through hours of interviewing at a company, to the point it all starts feeling like a bit of a blur. But if you really want this job, you need to stay focused and energized, and you absolutely must end strong. A strong, genuine,

"Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me — it was great to meet you" will go a long way.

"Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me — it was great to meet you" will go a long way.

Interviewing can be among the most stressful things we do as adults, especially when we need the job badly. It's definitely never a breeze. But keeping a cool head, arriving prepared to engage in conversation, and staying focused on the value you can bring to that organization is going to help you make it through with flying colors. People hire people, not robots, not jerks, and not people who don't value their time.

Keep this top of mind as you march forth and conquer.

Full article here!

How to eloquently explain gaps on a resume

Like the glaring Fs on the report card of the adult world, resume gaps are viewed as imperfections on our work record. It happens to the best of us. One day you're working, and the next day you're sitting at home wondering, "What's next?"

Maybe your gap is due to layoffs, or perhaps you decided you couldn't take a certain aspect of your job anymore. Either way, they can be tough both while you're in them and when you have to explain them to an employer. But if you use your time between jobs wisely, it can make you a more competitive candidate.  

Why you've got to be honest

It can be tempting to embellish your resume just a bit to scrub away those periods of time when you were out of work. You may try to rationalize it by telling yourself that it was only a few months, or that the recruiter will never find out. But in reality, recruiters can and often do find out — which burns a bridge for you immediately. Just play it safe and tell the truth.

Remember, you're interviewing for more than just a paycheck. You’re interviewing for a lasting relationship with an employer; a relationship that should be built on trust from both parties. Start out the relationship by lying, and it probably won’t go much further than chatting with the recruiter.

Besides, if you tell the truth to your advantage, you may be able to make those resume gaps work for you.

How gaps can work to your advantage

Your resume gaps aren't the first ones employers have seen, and they don't mean you're out of the running — unless you handle them poorly. Recruiters don't ask you about gaps because they're terrible — they simply want to know what you were doing so they can get a more complete picture of who you are as a candidate. 

So really, whether your gaps are glaring blemishes or points of interest is really up to you.

Think about it: Most professionals have likely hit a spot in their career when they felt like they needed to take a detour. Sometimes it takes a little time and effort to get from where you are to where you want to be. The key is to make that time out of work seem deliberate or welcomed.

Also, remember that many people intentionally plan to take extended time off after long periods of work. They're called sabbaticals, and they're actually pretty common. Treating your resume gap like a sabbatical gives the impression that you're in control of your time and your life — not living paycheck to paycheck.

Of course, to be able to treat a gap this way, you have to do a couple of things: 1) financially prepare for those inevitable gaps so you can afford to be thoughtful about your sabbatical time instead of desperately job hunting, and 2) actually use the time off for personal development — not a time to sit at home and relax (you can do that during your vacation time at your dream job). The ability to treat your gap as an opportunity to launch a new career, instead of a misfortune, will make you even more attractive to your recruiter.

How to strategically fill a resume gap

Start with the end in mind: The gap is what you make it. If you use the time to identify your real calling and ideal employer, being out of work could end up being the greatest thing to happen in your career. To avoid having another gap soon, be thoughtful about what your end goal will be.

Make a list of what you need: After you identify the goal, it will help to make a list of attributes and skills your target employer will want. Many companies are willing to do exploratory interviews with candidates to help them understand which qualities and skills they look for in employees. Then, when the company calls you back for an interview down the road, you've already set expectations about what you were doing during your resume gap: You were working to become their ideal candidate.

Once you’ve determined the type of training that will make you more hirable, go get it. This is where you make the difference between a constructive gap and a destructive gap. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Take classes and get training: In the next five years, there's projected to be a shortage of five million knowledge workers. And there are a lot of ways to make yourself one of those wanted five million. You can take classes online, at a university or college or enroll in a local technical program. Whether it's a planned set of courses or a deliberate self-designed curriculum, differentiating yourself through training is a strategic way to go after a new career, make yourself more attractive and fill a resume gap.
2. Freelance: You may end up not needing to explain your career gap to anyone. More than 53 million Americans currently freelance — and almost half use it as their primary income.  If there's something you're really passionate about and do well, consider trying out a freelancing career. If it doesn't work out, you’ll likely have a few projects to show for it — and technically, you won’t have a career gap to explain because you'll have had jobs.
3. Volunteer or intern: What you do doesn't have to make money. Experience is worth more than cash — three out of four human resource executives said the skills and experience acquired while volunteering make a job candidate more desirable. If your dream company has an opening for an internship in your dream department, check out the opportunity. If it's possible that you could move into a paid position after a couple of months, it might be a good way to get your foot in the door. Or, look for a philanthropic opportunity to give you experience in your desired field.
4. Travel: Use your gap as an opportunity to learn a new language or grasp another culture. Multilingual employees are able to process information more quickly than others and are predicted to become even more in-demand in the coming decade. Traveling is a great way to expand your worldview — which international companies will love. Plus, it's fun.

Being in between jobs can be disappointing and difficult to talk about with recruiters. Don't ever lie to cover up gaps or you may be ruining chances for good work relationships; instead, turn the situation into a highlight you're proud of. Show employers that you're a self-starter with initiative by finding out where you want to be and what you need in order to get there, and then by going out and getting it. Resume gaps can be the launch point of a new, more fulfilling career. It's up to you how you decide to construct and control that time.

You can find the article here!

3 ways to get the most out of an informational interview

It became clear to me very quickly when I was a recruiter that one of the most misunderstood facets of the interview process is the informational interview. All too often, I've had to be the bearer of bad news to friends who didn't quite understand what to expect from one.

"But, they don't schedule them with just anyone," they said. "As long as I impress the person, the company's going to create a job for me — I just know it!" To which I unfortunately had to reply, "They get scheduled more often than you might think."

Hiring managers do schedule them to build their pipelines for future positions down the road. They don't, however, conduct them because they're prepared to hire that person. While this dose of reality might come as a blow, there is a lot you can gain from the informational interview you've just scheduled.

Here are three things you can (and should) get out of an informal conversation with The Person In Charge.

1. Information you can use to decide if you actually want to work at that company someday

Informational interviews are exactly what the name indicates. They're informational. And because the stakes aren't quite as high, you should feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like — even if that means your "interview" becomes more like a conversation in which you find yourself interrupting the interviewer a bit (emphasis on a bit).

Typically, you should only be scheduling them with companies you're interested in working for someday. So, take the opportunity to confirm that you'd be really excited if they called you about a role that is just for you down the road. You might love the fact the office offers free lunch on Wednesdays, but this is a really great way to find out if actually working there is as awesome as that perk.

2. Details about when a job might open up for you (or not)

There's no gig waiting for you at the end of your informational interview, but that doesn't mean more roles aren't bubbling at the surface on the recruiter's end.

When my career was searching for great candidates, I was in more meetings about future roles than I was about our current openings. I generally knew three to four weeks in advance of a job being posted to our careers site. And when I conducted informational interviews with candidates, I didn't necessarily say, "We'll have something for you next week!" But, I was fairly upfront about when someone could expect to hear from me about a position I knew I'd have to start working on.

At this point, you already know to ask as many questions as you'd like in your informational interview. And while it might seem a bit presumptuous to ask about any future roles the hiring manager might be thinking of for you, think again. Recruiters don't have much time, and while these informal conversations are being scheduled fairly often, you're right in thinking that they're not just being scheduled with anyone.

3. A connection you didn't have before

Of course, the point of an informational interview is to get an "in" with a company you're super excited to (possibly) work for someday. However, it's no secret (at least anymore) that recruiters aren't shy. In fact, when it comes to sharing resumes with each other, hiring managers actually do it more often than you might think.

While the company you're interviewing with might not have a role for you right now, the person you speak with might know of something for you at another one that is just as cool. In fact, after getting to know you a bit, the Person In Charge might actually determine you'd be happier somewhere else. And if he or she knows of that somewhere else, don't be surprised if you find yourself hearing from him or her. That is, assuming you nail the informational interview, of course.

Although it can be a bummer to realize that the informational interview you've been prepping for probably won't yield immediate results, there are plenty of other reasons to schedule them — especially when it means you get to chat with someone at a company you've really admired for a long time. Once you've taken the time to understand what you can gain from taking a few minutes for a quick conversation with a recruiter, you'll quickly find that even without the promise of a job at the end of the tunnel, there's plenty that you stand to learn from these informal chats.

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How to respond to an email you forgot about

You’re going through your inbox, deciding which emails should be archived and which should be saved, and there is it: an email from a week ago (or even further out). Maybe it came in during an onslaught and this is the first time you’ve seen it; or perhaps, you remember thinking you’d come back to it — and then it fell off of your radar. Regardless, someone sent you an email, and you never responded.

Let’s get your first question out of the way: Do you still need to reply? While it’s tempting to blame it on your SPAM filter and pretend it never happened, the answer is yes — assuming the email comes from someone you know. (Naturally, I’m not suggesting you reply to every newsletter or cold email you receive.) According to Emily Post’s list of the “Top Ten Email Manners,” the number one rule of email is: “Always Respond.”

Here are four questions to ask yourself before you send back your reply:

1. It is worth saying why?

An excuse doesn’t make your lapse any better. In fact, it can backfire and make it seem like you think it’s no big deal. In other words, if you say, “I’m so sorry: I’ve just been so busy at work!” it won’t make your contact feel any better. But it could make him feel like responding to him is low on your list of priorities or like you think it’s OK to take 10 days to reply when things get hectic.

However, sharing something can soften the blow, because it reminds the other person that you’re human and we’ve all been there. For example, sometimes people will go weeks without getting back to me on Facebook or LinkedIn and after a “Please excuse my delay in response,” they’ll add that they “don’t sign into LinkedIn nearly as often as [they] should” or “never check Facebook messages.” Another example might be including that you went on an impromptu vacation and forgot to set an away message, or that you had a family emergency and lost track of emails sent while you were out of the office.

Including these humanizing details can make your lapse more relatable.

2. Do you answer the original question?

If it’s been more than a week since your contact sent his or her email, you can’t just get down right down to business. Because if you skip the apology, you risk her thinking that five (or more) day response times is how you do business.

Frankly, it doesn’t really matter what line you choose. You can go with  “I’m sorry for just getting back to you now” or “Apologies for the delay in response,” or anything in between. Then, per the point above, decide if it’s worth including one more line on the matter.

However, the next, essential step is that you move on and handle the matter at hand. 

Over-apologizing makes the missed email a bigger deal than it is, and it distracts from the real reason you’re writing the person back, which is to answer his or her email.

It looks like this: “Apologies for my delay in response. I’m just now catching up on emails from while I was vacation! As far as your questions regarding the upcoming event…” By getting to the matter at hand, you — and your contact — can move forward. After all, a brief apology and a well-thought-out answer to her inquiry will prove much more useful than a long apology and no concrete answer (yet again).

3. Is this particular email chain still relevant?

Of course, there are times when emails go an absurdly long time. You know the kind: You view it one morning while you’re making breakfast, forget about it by the time you get to the office, and are only reminded of it two months later when searching for something else.

If the request is fairly evergreen (e.g., someone asked you if you’d ever like to meet for coffee), you can write back apologizing for the delay and then share if you’re interested. However, if someone had asked for your notes on a letter that went out a month ago, she clearly doesn’t need your feedback anymore.

In this case, you have two options. The first is to reply, saying sorry for letting this fall off of your radar and offering future assistance. The second option, if let’s say, you realize you accidentally dodged an email from someone you have — or would like to have — a strong working relationship with is to fold this into a different email, or even a phone call. It can actually serve as a great “excuse” to reach out to someone.

4. What do you plan to do moving forward?

OK, this one is just for you. Because, while most people will overlook one missed response, you don’t want become someone who is known for being terrible with email. Or worse, look like someone who writes, “Apologies for the delay in response,” and then continues to be inconsistent.

So, remember that actions speak louder than words and set up a new system. It may mean being meticulous about scrolling through emails after time away from the office, or keeping a list of emails you open after business hours so that you’ll be sure to actually write back the next time you’re at your desk. Missing an email happens to everyone — just don’t let it become a habit

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