Open Informationals

No warm intros needed.

I've been doing informationals since 2003. It only occured to me around March 2020 that everyone I spoke with came to me via a "warm intro." So, I started what I called "my small personal experiment in removing barriers to access to the clean energy industry" by posting on LinkedIn an invitation to self-schedule an informational interview with me, with no introduction required.

As of July 2024, I've done 111 open informationals. Most often they are for new professionals and career changers looking to work in sustainability and/or housing. I especially encourage folks who identify as belonging to groups underrepresented in sustainability, real estate, architecture, engineering, and construction to book time with me.

What to expect

Come prepared to talk about yourself. I'm investing 50 minutes of my undivided attention in your future success. Just as if you were a friend or colleague, we'll jointly probe at whatever challenge you're struggling with, so let's get right to it!

Someone somewhere must have written advice that when you request an informational, you should ask them something along the lines of "how did you get to where you are?" I couldn't disagree more strongly. You're living a very different career from mine, so hearing how I zigzagged isn't going to tell you much. Let's not waste time with that.

Please be aware that:

• I'll ask you a lot of questions
• It's not a job interview. If I have an open position that you might fit, I'll ask you to apply to that instead.
• If I know of organizations doing work in your area of interest, I'll tell you about them. But, I generally won't offer intros. I simply don't have the time to reliably follow up.

How to schedule

Follow the instructions at informational.bomee.com