'Informal chat' for possible new job - opinions please

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I am looking to change jobs to further my career and to expand my knowledge but I put the search on hold due to baby number 2 just being born.

However, a job has come up that is appealing as its only 1 mile from my house therefore I've decided to look a bit more at this one dispite putting my search on pause. The thing is I know very little about the company and their web page is literally just that, a page with very little info regarding the projects that they are/have been involved in in the past.

Given the fact that I don't know if they are a company that have projects/clients that appeal to me and that I'm not really looking for a job at present I have been offered an 'informal chat' to discuss things and to see if there is a match between me and the company.

I don't think I can prep for it like I can an interview as I can't do any research on them. All I can really do is know what's on my CV.

My question is fairly simple - what can I expect from this chat?
 
I have been for an informal chat before when I was thinking of switching to the Financial Sector. It was a worthwhile venture as it became clear in the chat that I wouldn't find the new industry particularly interesting.

You can expect them to ask some simple questions about yourself, and more importantly, you can ask some very straightforward questions about the role and company etc.
 
Why not contact the company again and ask for details about the company, any decent organisation will only seen this as a positive move on your part and it obviously will mean you'll be that bit better prepared for the "chat"

Simon
 
simonkit said:
Why not contact the company again and ask for details about the company, any decent organisation will only seen this as a positive move on your part and it obviously will mean you'll be that bit better prepared for the "chat"

Simon
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I've already done that via email and got something but it's not enough to make the basis of a decision on.
 
Yip. Take this seriously, it's an opportunity for both of you to get together in a less formal atmosphere than an interview, but they'll be sizing you up and expecting you to do the same. You don't need to make a decision now, just because they're being canny about giving you more information. Some companies are reticent about disclosing what they regard as confidential information at this stage, and might be prepared to go further during your meeting, even if it means signing an NDA.
 
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They expect serious applicants to do their own homework.
Companies house, the local news paper, and known clients all know something about them as do competitors.
Stuff is out there ... it is up to you to find it.

But don't be fooled.... it is an interview. I have arranged three positions for myself that way.
 
As has been said, try and prep as though it was an interview. The last 2 informal chats I've had have resulted in job offers. A lot of companies are starting to do it this way, to try and find out what you are really like in a relaxed atmosphere. My last "chat" was in a hotel lounge over coffees with Sky sports playing in the background.
 
As others have said, I too would do as much research and preparation as possible. You need to go armed with some intelligent and searching questions, the first one of which really shouldn't be "what exactly do you guys do ...?" If you base your questions on facts you've found out through research, you'll look a lot more credible. (With apologies if you're thinking something to do with grannies and eggs just now ...) media searches, google, FB and other social media, local library, Companies House, local business directories, industry contacts, clients, suppliers etcetcetcetc are all good sources of background info.

Congratulations on the new arrival BTW. Good luck.
 
Like Terry says, it IS an interview. Research the company (use LinkedIn as well for the individual) beforehand so you can ask good questions
 
If you know the company name you can get some useful information about them from the 'duedil' website, www.duedil.com and its free. This will give an indication of their financial standing and will also tell you who owns it and who their directors are. You will then be in a positio to search for the directors on linkedin which may give info about their background.
If you get an offer you do not need to accept it but it is good to have earned yourself the option. As has been said an 'informal chat' is still an interview of sorts and you need to prepare thoroughly. Good luck.
 
Quicksnapper said:
As others have said, I too would do as much research and preparation as possible. You need to go armed with some intelligent and searching questions, the first one of which really shouldn't be "what exactly do you guys do ...?"
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Thats true.

Other questions not to ask straight away tend to be: "How many days holiday do you get here?", "Are there any single women working here?", "do we have to buy our own coffee, milk etc?", "how long is lunch break?", "What time do you finish on Fridays?"
 
DorsetDude said:
Thats true.

Other questions not to ask straight away tend to be: "How many days holiday do you get here?", "Are there any single women working here?", "do we have to buy our own coffee, milk etc?", "how long is lunch break?", "What time do you finish on Fridays?"
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And, "how may sick days am I allowed?" "what is your policy on paternity leave?":)
 
BBR said:
If you know the company name you can get some useful information about them from the 'duedil' website, www.duedil.com and its free. This will give an indication of their financial standing and will also tell you who owns it and who their directors are. You will then be in a positio to search for the directors on linkedin which may give info about their background.
If you get an offer you do not need to accept it but it is good to have earned yourself the option. As has been said an 'informal chat' is still an interview of sorts and you need to prepare thoroughly. Good luck.
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That duedil website is useful. Thanks for that. I can see that even though they employ around 50% of the number of people that my current company the net worth is only about 10% less so they must be doing something right.

I've already searched for the guy i'm meeting on LinkedIn and found out a bit about him, I can also see that he's looked me up on there too! I know the 3 directors all used to work for 1 company in the past and then 'splintered' off to set up on their own - would it be rude to ask why they wanted to set up on their own?

DorsetDude said:
Thats true.

Other questions not to ask straight away tend to be: "How many days holiday do you get here?", "Are there any single women working here?", "do we have to buy our own coffee, milk etc?", "how long is lunch break?", "What time do you finish on Fridays?"
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I was planning to keep it more on the topics of "who are your main clients?" and "what scale are the projects you are involved in?"
 
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A freind of mine was interviewing when she got to the 'so do you have any questions for us stage' and this bloke asked " are you doing anything later , fancy going out for a drink ? "

well she was very attractive, and i didnt really want the job anyway :whistle: :LOL:
 
Joking aside rather than asking "who are your main clients " its more powerful to do some background research and say " I note you've done substantial work for work with "bodgit and scarper ltd" in the last year, who else do you principally work with ?" and likewise if you've done your ground work properly you know what scale projects they've done so ask something that shows that " I see you were involved in stealing the moon with "Gru and minions inc "last year, what other projects of that scale do you have in the pipeline ? "
 
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A few years ago, a large company here laid off quite a few employees at the same time as we wanted to recruit a few. One of them we interviewed was the other company's union representative.

He was shown into the interview room and as he sat down stated "before we start I want to know what your grievance procedure is..." and many other 'union' type questions.

He was shown out without being interviewed and was told that he needed to change his approach if he ever wanted to get another job.


Steve.
 
OK, so I should be taking this I informal chat as seriously as a proper 'interview' so I will take some examples of work I have done in the past. (I have a folder already prepared so it's not a problem to take)

Also, ask probing questions about the company like "I see that you have been involved in some work at x college, can you tell me a bit about the extent of the involvement the company had there?" And "You've mentioned that you have been involved in some multi million pound developments, can you give me some information on those and what your brief was on those?"

Does that sound reasonable? I'll try to stay away from the "how many holidays" type questions for another time or a further interview.
 
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