Back in the early days of my career, I conducted informational interviews on a regular basis. I typically did them with colleagues who worked in different areas of my institution, and used them as ways to figure out who did what and also explore potential career alternatives that sounded interesting. And then at some point, I started to become the person being interviewed and stopped conducting the interviews myself.
Until last year when I found myself looking for a job. And it was informational interviews that got me my new job.
So what is an informational interview? First off, an informational interview is expressly NOT a job interview. In fact, you don’t need to be searching for a job at all, but you do need to be curious and interested in what the person you’re interviewing does. The purpose of an informational interview is to help educate you on a person, industry, company or role.
In my case, I used informational interviews to explore potential career paths, and my interviews helped me eliminate many roles that I thought “sounded cool” but were a terrible fit once I found out what the day to day was really like. It also helped me realize that while I had never considered economic development as a career path before, it was the one that sounded the most interesting to me (and ultimately where I ended up). So while informational interviews may sometimes lead you to a new career, they will almost always make you smarter by shining light on something you didn’t know before!!
Informational interviews can take on various forms, but here are the most common ones:
An interview about the person to learn more about their career path, their leadership style, how they work with mentors, etc.
An interview to learn more about a particular industry, or a particular person’s industry expertise
An interview to learn more about a company
Unlike a job interview, an informational interview is set up by you, and you’re the one asking the questions. So here are some tips for a successful informational interview.
Reach out to people you find interesting. Listening to someone speak, or meeting them at a networking event is a great reason to reach out, but finding someone on LinkedIn is fine too. However, if you don’t get a response on your LinkedIn outreach, please don’t take it personally.
If you’re reaching out via email (preferred), don’t do it on a Monday or after Thursday afternoon. Why? Because people are trying to get things done on Monday, and if something is due on Friday, they’re trying to finish stuff up on Thursday afternoon. Friday can be a bit of black hole, so Tuesday or Wednesday are best. When you reach out, be specific about what you’re trying to learn from the interview.
Since you are asking for someone’s time, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to meet with you. This means a phone chat, if that’s easiest for them. If they’re willing to make time for an in-person meeting, you need to meet that at a time and place that works for them. Flexibility is your friend here.
Show up on time.
Pick up the tab. Remember, they’re doing YOU a favor.
Prepare for your interview. Google them, read their LinkedIn profile - do some basic due diligence. Also make sure that you have an ask at the end of the meeting — a good one is a request that the introduce you to another person in their industry or company so you can learn more.
Follow up after the interview - and a thank-you email is a MUST
Stay in touch
If you’re looking for more information on informational interviews and what they can do for you, I highly recommend that you read Designing Your Life. Written by two Stanford professors, this #1 NYTimes Bestseller gives you tools on how to design a life you love, and informational interview are a significant strategy in the book.
If you have any more questions on informational interviews, drop them in the comments, and I will do my best to answer them!!