真的可以。对我猎头公司的咨询顾问来说，这个就是家常便饭。因为我们的客户来自各个行业，招聘的要求也是各式各样。虽然我们的员工就是吃这口饭的，但是，我们教给他们的方法也能运用到你面临的各种情况里面。所以到底该怎么操作呢？
1）找到3个你感兴趣的，并且在这个行业中成功的人——关键词是“成功”。成功的人一定是最了解自己所在行业的人，不然怎么成功呢？
你最好找工作在一线的人，或者那些需要深入了解行业市场、竞争、客户和顾客的人。比如做业务发展、销售、市场、客户经理等职务的人。当然，你也可以找财务、会计、HR、运营和技术岗，但他们的工作重心多是公司内部事务，而不是你想要了解的市场情况。
其实，最佳人选是从事服务性行业的人，例如在咨询公司、公关公司、广告公司、猎头公司和外包公司工作的人。重申一点，要找能经常接触各类公司，与各类公司打交道的一线岗位。因为要想和各类公司圆满完成业务，提供优质服务，他们一定要非常了解行业的市场趋势、挑战和需求。
这些人可以是你的朋友、朋友的朋友或者校友。领英是一个接触某领域的人的上好渠道，因为你能提前浏览他们的档案和过往经验。我们的咨询顾问如果想接触他们不认识的陌生人，一般都会用领英。
关键提示：我们给咨询顾问传达的一个观念是——“一般人也知道很多”。这句话的意识是，当你想要了解一件事，别去找很高级别的人。的确，这些人懂很多，但他们回答你问题的几率很低。他们太忙了，没时间搭理你。
相反，要去找初级和中层管理级别人士。4-8年行业经验就够了。当然，他们懂得没高管多，但是，你想知道的80%的信息，他们都能给你。最重要的是，他们回复你、和你沟通的几率要大得多。在问问题的时候，你也会更轻松，不用绞尽脑汁去想怎么给对方留下深刻印象。
另外，一般，我会开门见山地告诉对方我的目的。他们很少会拒绝我。对他们来说，你能认可他们的行业技能和行业知识，已经是非常大的肯定了，因为很少有人会如此肯定他们这一级别的人。
2）听取他们的意见——当然，你问的问题决定了你能从他们身上学到什么。他们应该可以给你描述你想了解的行业大图。当你在问问题的时候，一定要大局先行，其次再问你想了解的具体细节。
这里有一张清单供你参考。在你希望了解某行业的信息时，你可以问以下问题。问了之后，我保证你能对这个行业有很好的认识。如果失败了，那一定是你没问对人。
1) 如果让你现在介绍该行业在中国的发展，你会怎么说？或者说你会关键强调哪几点？
2) 目前该行业在中国的发展处于哪个阶段（如早期发展阶段、高速发展阶段、成熟阶段、放缓阶段）？
3) 近几年，你们行业发生了哪些重大变化？
4) 目前你们行业有哪些重大趋势？
5) 你会如何描述你们公司的行业地位（如前五或一线公司、优质公司、上升势头迅猛公司）
6) 你们行业的一流公司是哪几个？
7) 在这个市场里，国内公司和跨国公司相比，表现如何？
8) 你们行业去年的发展如何，预计今年会有怎样的发展？
9) 你们行业里目前扩张势头和上升势头最猛的是那几家公司？
10) 你觉得<知名公司#1>发展得怎么样？<知名公司#2>发展得怎么样？等等
11) 我还想和你们行业的其他人交流。有没有适合类似沟通方式的人可以介绍给我？
12) 你们行业的专业人士有没有什么组织协会？
如果对方对行业的了解颇多，那么你问这些问题大概会花30-45分钟。不过，如果是我，我花的时间会更长，因为我会根据对方的回答提更多后续问题。
关键提示：在问问题时，要主动倾听。也就是说，不要光听不动脑，要处理你听到的回答，想想怎样才能问出优质的后续问题。把自己当作一个记者，你现在要从对方口里“套出”故事的来龙去脉。不要只是一个个地过问题，而要多问“怎么样”，“为什么”，这样才能得到更多信息，拥有更好的认识。
3）确认你听到的所有信息——我们告诉咨询顾问，要想确认你听到的所有信息，不能只问他们问题，还要和第三者分享你听到的信息。
比方说我已经和一个人交流过某个行业了，那么在和第二个人交流时，我不会问“近几年，你所在的行业发生了哪些重大变化？”，而会问“我听说近两三年，这个行业的增速放缓了许多，公司都把重点放在了提高产品和服务质量上，是这样吗？”
这不仅能帮你确认之前的信息正确与否，还能更有效地获取后续信息。因为对方知道你已经了解了这些，就不用再重复你已掌握的信息了。
关键提示：我总是告诉我们的咨询顾问，一件事在听第一遍时，要存疑，悄悄记上一笔；听第二遍时，就有点意思了，这个信息的可信度要增加一些了；听到第三遍时，就不会只是碰巧了，这个信息很有可能是正确的。
这也是为什么要找三个成功的人问。因为要是在三个不同人身上听到三遍同一个信息，那么这个信息一定是靠谱准确的。一个咨询顾问曾经这么和我说，“我和3个人谈完后，觉得我对这个行业的认知很深了。”
4）死命做笔记！——你和某个人交流得很好，得到了很多信息，到头来却想不起来这些有用的信息，那这就没意义了。不要觉得脑子能记下所有信息，好好记笔记。
这个听起来很简单，可是，多数人在记笔记时，只会边听别记。但我之前说过，你要主动倾听，这样才能从交流中得到更多信息。因此我们会教咨询顾问一个基本技巧，学习如何边听边记边思考。相信我，熟能生巧。要想更好、更快地了解某件事，一定要练好这项技能。
关键提示：多重视听和思考的部分。看着对方，时不时瞄一眼记的东西就行了。你的本子不会跑，不用一直盯着它看。
最后，记笔记时要分点，速记，用上缩写。毕竟，交流的目的在于获取重要信息。笔记好不好看也不重要，只要你自己之后能看懂就行。
其实，这些方法也适用于去了解任何职务、任何话题。你只需要稍微调整一下你问的问题就行。多练练，你就能像我们的咨询顾问一样，变身成为一个能快速了解许多新话题和新事物的牛人！
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
点击链接访问 职商网：http://www.zhishangwang.com
更多职业发展的精彩内容和专业知识，远见和建议，请关注：
我的个人微信公众号：Larry聊职商(LarryWangABC)
顺便，我的知乎Live可以帮助你更好的提高你的职场意识和英文！
三场单次知乎Live：
如何有效地用英语与外国人沟通？
如何拿下重要的「英文面试」？
职场之路快速晋升指南
知乎系列Live：职场英文沟通，这样最有效：知乎 Live - 全新的实时问答
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it is. The consultants in my recruitment firm do this all the time, since we’re always giving them hiring assignments from clients in different industries. While they do this for their job, the approach and methodology we teach them will apply to your personal situation as well. Here’s how they do it.
1) Identify 3 people who are successful in the industry you’re interested in– The key word is successful. Successful people are going to have the best, most knowledgeable understanding
of their industry. That’s why they’re successful.
Try to identify front-facing people, or people who need to understand well the market, competition, clients, and customers in their industry. For instance, people who do business development, sales, marketing, and account management. Sure, you can talk to people in finance and accounting, HR, operations, and technical roles too. But they mainly pay attention to what’s happening in the company, but not in the market, which is what you want to know about.
Actually, the best ones to talk to are people who work on the service side. For instance, those who work in consulting companies, PR firms and ad agencies, and recruitment or outsourcing companies. Again, identify people in front-facing roles, who constantly approach and interact with companies. To successfully do business with and service them, their understanding of key market trends, challenges, and needs in the industry has to be good.
These can be friends, friends of friends, and alumni. And a great channel to reach others with a particular background is LinkedIn, since you can view their profile and experience beforehand. Our consultants use it all the time to reach people they don’t know, but want to talk to.
Key Tip: We teach all our consultants a concept, which is The Average Person Knows A Lot. Basically, it says that when you need to learn about something, don’t contact senior-level people. Yes, they know a lot, but they rarely respond to your requests for information. They’re too busy and just don’t have the time.
Instead, seek out junior and middle management-level people. 4-8 years of experience is enough. Of course, they’re not as knowledgeable as executives, but they can tell you 80% of what you need to know about their industry. Most importantly, they’re easier to reach and more willing to talk to you. You can also be more relaxed to ask your questions without worrying about trying to impress them.
By the way, I always let others know upfront my purpose. They rarely decline. It’s flattering to them that you’ve recognized their expertise and knowledge of their industry, which doesn’t happen to them that often at their level.
2) “Pick their brain” – Of course, the questions you ask determine what you can learn from others. They should help paint a picture for you of the industry you want to understand. When asking them, always big picture first, then more specific details that you want to know later.
Here’s a very good list of questions you can ask others about an industry. Ask them and I guarantee that you’ll get a very good sense of their industry. If you don’t, then you’re not talking
to the right person.
1) If you were to introduce your industry here in China to someone else, how would you describe it, or what are the key things you would highlight about it?
2) At what stage of development is your industry at in China right now (e.g. early development, booming/high growth, maturing, slowing down, etc.)?
3) What are some major changes that have been taking place in your industry over the past few year?
4) What are some of the major trends in your industry that are taking place right now?
5) Within your industry, how would you describe your company’s positioning or status (e.g. top five or leading player, boutique, emerging player, etc.)?
6) Who are the top players in your industry?
7) How do the local players compare these days with the international players in this market?
8) What kind of year did your industry have last year? How about the outlook for this year?
9) Within your industry, which companies are expanding or growing the most right now?
10) What do you hear about, or how is <well-known company #1> doing? What do you hear about, or how is <well-known company #2> doing? Etc., etc.
11) I’d like to talk to a few more people in your industry. Is there anyone you could introduce me to in your industry that I could approach and speak with in a similar way?
12) Are there any organizations or associations that professionals within your industry belong to?
If the person is fairly knowledgeable, asking these questions should take you about 30-45 minutes. However, if you’re like me, it could be longer. Based on what you hear, I ask a lot of follow-up
questions.
Key Tip: When asking your questions, you need to listen actively. This means, beyond just listening, processing and thinking about what you’re being told so you can ask good follow-up questions. Think of yourself as a reporter who’s trying to get the full story about something from someone. You don’t just ask the person question #1, #2, #3, etc. You also ask a lot of “how” and “why” questions to get a better, deeper understanding of what you’re hearing and what they know.
3）Confirm everything you hear – To confirm the information you’re getting about something, we teach our consultants not tojust ask their questions, but to also share what they know or have heard so far with the other person.
For instance, say I’ve already spoken to one person about an industry. When I talk to the second person, instead of just asking, “What are some major changes that have been taking place in your industry over the past few years,” I’ll say, “I heard that your industry has slowed down a lot these past 2-3 years and companies are focusing on increasing the quality of their products and the level
of their service. Is this true?”
This not only helps you to confirm if what you’ve heard before is correct, it’s also a much more efficient way to get information. By letting the other person know what you already know,
they don’t have to repeat things you’ve already heard.
Key Tip: I always tell our consultants that if you hear something once, then that’s curious and worth noting. If you hear the same thing twice, that’s very interesting and you can start feeling more confident about what you’re hearing. But if you hear something three times, that’s not just a coincidence. This is when you know it’s likely to be true.
By the way, this is also why you want to talk to three successful people. Because if you hear the same thing three times from three different sources, you can be confident that what you’re
hearing is reliable and accurate. As one of our consultants told me once, “After I talk to three people, I feel my knowledge of an industry is pretty solid.”
4）Write your ass off! – There’s no point in having a very good, informative talk with someone, but then not being able to recall all the great things you heard. Don’t trust your memory to remember everything. Take good notes and write things down.
Sounds easy. But when most people take notes, they just listen and write. But as I said before, you want to listen actively to get more out of the conversation. So a basic skill we teach our consultants is to learn how to listen, write and think at the same time. Believe me, it takes practice. But if you want to understand things better and faster, develop this skill.
Key Tip: To do this, pay more attention to the listening and thinking part. Look at the person talking to you, and just glance at what you’re writing every now and then. Your notebook isn’t going anywhere so no need to stare at it.
Finally, use bullets, short-hand, and abbreviations. The purpose of your conversation is to capture all the key information you’re getting. It also doesn’t matter how pretty your notes look, as long as you can read it later.
Actually, this approach and methodology can also help you understand any job function or other topic better as well. You just need to modify the questions a bit. Then practice this and, like our consultants, you’ll soon become a person who can understand many new topics and things very quickly! |
发表于 2021-11-30 20:29:57
照妖镜
