You may have heard that 80% of all jobs are filled before they’re ever posted publicly. This means they are filled more informally, by existing networks, inside candidates, or word of mouth. As someone early in your career, building your own network and gathering information is critical for opening doors. Knowing how to informational interview successfully can make a big difference. But what is an informational interview, and how can you make them work for you?
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Table of Contents
What is an informational interview?
In short, an informational interview is a conversation with someone in a professional role or a field that you want to learn more about. This could be a mid-career leader in an organization you’re interested in. Or it could be someone who is just a few years ahead of you, but could provide a more recent perspective on getting hired.
An informational interview is often held over coffee, or in somebody’s office. These days, it could also be held on Zoom or another video platform. Or it could be just a quick phone call, depending on the person’s schedule.
An informational interview is different from a job interview, but not entirely different
The main trait that differentiates an informational interview is that there is no job on the table, (at least not now). But knowing how to informational interview effectively can help lead you to a great future job. Given this, don’t spend a significant part of the interview trying to sell yourself. Instead, you’ll want to pick your spots to share your story, while focusing on what your interviewee has to say.
The primary goal of an informational interview is likely to learn one or more things about your interviewee–their career path, or their advice for getting into the field. But you also want to leave a good impression of yourself through the conversation, as a prepared and conscientious job seeker. That way, your interviewee may think of your positively the next time they hear about a good opportunity at their company or in their field, and may be able to make an introduction or provide advice.
In the long term, you are doing two things in a series of informational interviews: gathering information, and building a group of potential allies and resources for when a job opening comes up. You can set yourself up for success by effectively planning your strategy.
The elements of an informational interview:
- Who – you are the interviewer. The interviewee could be someone who works in a career field that you hope to enter. Or someone in your own industry who has accomplished things that you someday hope to achieve. For example, if you were considering going into medicine, you might interview current medical students about their experience applying. And you might also interview doctors who have been in the field longer to get their perspective on the medical career field.
- What – a conversation (often around 30 minutes)
- Where – it depends. An informational interview could be at someone’s office, at lunch or coffee, or over Zoom or the phone.
- When – informational interviews are typically held during the workday.
- Why – this is the question that will shape your preparation. Why are you reaching out to someone. Are you trying to understand their path so you can create a similar one? Are you trying to learn about a new industry, and looking for advice on where to get started?
Make an informational interview plan
What do you want to get out of Informational Interviews?
In order to get the most out of the process, get set on your why.
- Are you looking for perspectives on a certain job field, to see if it’s one you want to explore further?
- Do you already know the field you’re interested in, and want to find out how others have gotten into it?
- Are you looking to build your network of contacts to help you find out about job opportunities in the field?
Your goals for the process should drive who you aim to connect with, and what kinds of questions you will ask them. In addition to learning about potential roles, a good informational interviewing strategy can help you learn about you.
Informational interviewing is critical to career success. The more you informational interview, the more you learn about yourself and the opportunities in front of you.
Jason Levin of Ready, Set, Launch. (You can read more from Jason in his new book, Relationships to Infinity: The Art and Science of Keeping in Touch).
How can you find people to interview?
Depending on your college and career path, you may have several opportunities to find people to interview:
- Word of mouth: Talk to friends and family about your exploration, and see if they can recommend anyone to speak to.
- LinkedIn: Search keywords related to your intended field on LinkedIn, and find out whether you have 1st or 2nd degree connections in the field. Second degree connections are great, because you can ask your contact to introduce you.
- Alumni networks: Tap into your college’s alumni network. Most colleges and universities now keep an online directory of alumni who have offered to help current students and other alumni. This can be a rich source of contacts.
- College career center: Many university career centers offer some resources (such as online directories) to alumni as well as students.
How to ask for an informational interview:
Once you have an initial list of contacts, it’s time to start reaching out. For each person on your list, spend a few minutes doing research on LinkedIn, their company bio, or Google to find out more about them.
Getting an introduction from a friend or existing contact is very helpful. Make sure your friend knows a little about your current career exploration, so they can include that in an email or phone call with your target contact.
If you don’t have someone to introduce you, you’ll need to make an approach yourself (sometimes called a cold approach). Email is the most common approach, although some people have success with phone calls. Ashley Stahl used cold emails very successfully at different parts of her career and offers these tips on how to do it.
- Let them know where you found them.
- Identify where your interests or passions align, and flatter!
- Ask for their advice over email or coffee (NOTE: Never ask a busy person to lunch).
- Harmlessly attach your resume.
- Realize there is a benefit for them to speak with you!
You likely won’t hear back from all of the people you reach out to for interviews, so building a bigger list is a good idea. It’s also essential to have a system to keep you organized in the process, as you’ll soon have many potential conversations to track. Try tracking with a Google spreadsheet or software like Trello.
Prepare for your interview
In a successful informational interview, you will receive information about a person’s background and career field, and you will also have made a good impression with your own story. To ensure that you make this happen in each interview, prepare before the conversation itself.
Develop your elevator pitch
Create an elevator pitch to tell a brief and compelling story of where you are in your career. The person you’re interviewing will want to know a little about you and your journey, but as your goal is to learn from them, you don’t want to talk about yourself for the whole conversation. Create a 3-minute version of your story:
- where you are in your life/career now
- where you came from
- where you’d like to go.
Once you’ve drafted your pitch, practice, practice, practice. Start by reading off of bullets, until you can commit it to memory. Speak your pitch in the mirror. Time yourself to make sure you can deliver it–naturally–in under 3 minutes. Practice it with friends or family, and ask them for suggestions to make it stronger.
Research your interviewee
You likely already did this in the previous step, but before you meet for your interview, do another quick round of research. Look on their company page, their LinkedIn profile, or on other sites. See if you have any common background–home state, hobbies, etc.–that could help make a connection early in your conversation.
Also, make sure you have at least a basic understanding of the goals of their company. Spend a few minutes on their company website, or do a news search to see if there are any recent developments impacting their company or industry. Knowing some basics will show your interviewee that you’ve prepared for the conversation, and you’ll be able to ask questions of them that you can’t find online.
Prepare some questions to drive the conversation
You only have a limited time in an informational interview. And while you want it to be somewhat casual, you’re also trying to get information. Be prepared to do this by writing down at least 5-7 questions in advance, to drive the conversation or to pick it up if it stalls.
- How did you get into your field?
- What are some of the best things about your job? What are the most challenging parts?
- What does a “typical” day in your job look like?
- Which steps would you recommend for someone early in their career to prepare to enter your field?
Career Contessa has a list of 40 more good questions for informational interviews, if you’re stuck.
Informational interview do’s and don’t’s
Some important things to keep in mind during your meeting.
DO show up a few minutes early.
If you’re meeting in a place that you don’t regularly travel to, be sure to build in a significant cushion in travel time so that you won’t risk being late.
DON’T schedule an informational interview over drinks or dinner.
Suggest meeting at your interviewee’s office or a cafe nearby, or ask them if they have a preferred location. But generally, stay away from restaurants or bars (with the possible exception of lunch). This helps keep the focus on the professional conversation, and limits the time component, as your interviewee likely has a busy schedule.
DO have a printed copy of your resume that you can share, and something to write with.
Even if you shared your resume via email, bring a copy, as your interviewee may not have had time to glance at it in advance. Also, bring a notebook or pad that has your prepared questions in it and space to take notes. Be careful of having your notes on your phone, as looking at or typing on your phone during a meeting could send a message that you’re not engaged.
DON’T spend a lot of time talking about your own job and career path.
Early in a meeting, your elevator pitch is an important way share your education, career so far, and the questions you’re currently exploring. But don’t spend a lot of time showing how impressive you are. Remember that you invited your interviewee to share their experience, so don’t feel that selling yourself is the key goal. That’s a good conversation, but your interview should be primarily focused on what you’re aiming to learn from your interviewee.
At the same time, if your interviewee brings up a point or talks about something that you do have experience, it’s good to briefly mention your experience as a way to reinforce or build on your elevator, but then to pivot pretty quickly to a followup question.
DO bring up an interesting article or topic related to the interviewee’s field or company.
It helps show them you did some homework. And it can also allow you to ask better questions. Not sure where to find information? Try a Google news search on the company, and on the field. Or look on the company’s website for a “news” or “media” page.
DON’T expect your interviewee to provide basic information on their company or industry.
If you can find it on the company’s website, or on Wikipedia, it’s probably not a great conversation topic or use of your interviewee’s time. Instead, research on those sites before your interview, so you can ask more focused questions that you couldn’t find online.
DO ask at the end of the interview whether the person can recommend other people you should connect with.
Ideally, make it a specific ask, such as:
- “Can you recommend any early career professionals in your organization that would be good for me to speak with about the interviewing process and how they decide to work for your organization? Or,
- “Can you recommend someone in a similar position at a competitor or peer organization, so I can build my knowledge of the field?”
And be sure to write those names or companies down.
DON’T expect that an interviewee will open their contacts to you and make a blanket offer to connect you with anyone you’re interested.
Instead, if they provide some names for you to connect with next–and if the interview has created a good rapport between you and your interviewee–pick one person they mentioned that sounded intriguing and ask if they would be willing to make an introduction.
After the Informational Interview
Informational interviews can be just a conversation, but with effective follow-up, they have the potential to be more.
Write a thank you note
Writing a thank-you note might be the most important part of an informational interview. I’ll write that again, because it can’t be overstated.
Writing a thank-you note may be the most important part of an informational interview.
It shows your gratitude and provides another touchpoint or reminder of the conversation. I have been contacted for several informational interviews over my career–people who followed up with a thank-you note are much more likely to be top of mind when I hear about job opportunities.
For the note itself, email your interviewee your thanks within 24 hours. In the note, thank the interviewee for their time, and mention one or two specific things you learned from them that are already helping you on your journey.
If you can get a mailing address for your contact, sending a handwritten note–it’s even more memorable. But even if you will be sending snail mail, a prompt email thank you is a must.
Update your plan
Record the date of the informational interview and any follow-up steps, and make a plan to follow up (on additional contacts, or any other action step you said you would take). If the interviewee gave you additional names, add them to your spreadsheet and make a plan to reach out.
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