Twenty minutes with someone who already does what interests you
A short guide to asking for twenty minutes and finding out what the day-to-day of something you're curious about is really like.
Part of the Proa Nova free library: short guides for when something in your working life is changing, or asking to change.
This isn't asking for a job or a big favor. It's asking for twenty minutes to understand what it's really like.
For when, in the middle of a change in your working life, you have a possibility in mind (another role, another field, another way of working) and everything you know about it comes from the outside: job postings, social media, what other people say.
A possibility you're curious about, and you only know its public version.
Deciding based on an image, not on a real working day.
A short conversation and a note on what you didn't know.
1. Pick someone close to the possibility
They don't have to be famous or senior. Someone who already does what interests you, or something very close to it, and has for a while. They might be in your circle, a former colleague, a friend of a friend, or someone from a community you're part of. If nobody comes to mind, start with a public profile and send a short message to someone you don't know. It's normal, and it's usually welcome.
2. Write a short message
Three things: what you do today, in one line; what interests you about what they do; and what you're asking, with an easy way for them to say no.
3. Prepare four questions about what's concrete
What you'd see in a normal day matters more than opinions:
- What's a typical week like?
- What's hard about this work that you can't see from the outside?
- What are the conditions: hours, income, pace?
- What would you tell someone who's thinking about it?
4. During the conversation, listen and take notes
It's not an interview, and you don't have to convince anyone of anything. If they ask about you, answer briefly and go back to their experience. End at twenty minutes, even if there's more to say, and thank them.
5. Afterward, write three things
To work out what to do with that, "Reading what your trial run showed you" picks up from here.
That's the most common outcome, and it usually has more to do with their schedule than with you. You can send one reminder a week later, or try someone else. It's not a verdict.
This guide is for asking for information. If what you need is to talk about what you're going through with someone close, "How to ask for a conversation about your career transition" is the one that helps.
If the question is still alive, take the Quick Map.
If you still can't tell where you are after talking, the Quick Map gives you a first, personal read.
It's free, it's four questions, and it doesn't decide for you or put a label on you.
Quick Map: /en/career-transition/quick-map