The fund holds monthly meetings at which club members learn job skills and prepare for informational interviews with professionals.

This particularly strikes executives accustomed to granting favors - job offers, say, or informational interviews - rather than asking for them.

There are many avenues the job seeker may pursue to obtain the informational interview.

Ask for an informational interview or see if you can visit a work site or shop.

Other people spend all day at networking meetings and informational interviews without doing the concrete work that leads to an actual application or an interview, she said.

By March, he had been on six informational interviews and two more formal interviews.

Don't be afraid to do informational interviews, Ms. Jansen said.

The book encourages informational interviews, which help job hunters learn about occupations and workplaces and provide employers a low-risk way of getting to know potential hires.

Don't ask for "informational" interviews that require a busy person to spend an hour telling you things you should have already researched.

When you meet someone and sparks ignite, ask if you can set up an informational interview.