How to Master an Informational Interview

The last post tackled the subject of creating an elevator speech. We discussed its importance and we presented its special features. In this post, we will cover another important topic related to networking, informational interviews.

You hear many people talking about the benefits of informational interviews, but what exactly are they? The term informational interview refers to a 20-30 minute conversation that you have with somebody, in order to learn more about their professional experience, in an attempt to explore you own career possibilities. An informational interview differs from a job interview in that, the purpose of the informational interview is to ask for information, and to network and not to pursue a particular job offer. Also, in an informational interview you have the control, because you get to ask most of the questions and the focus is on the person whom you are interviewing and his/her expertise, rather than your job qualifications. And most importantly, you have much to gain and very little to lose in an informational interview, so the pressure is not nearly as high as with a job interview.

Now that we know what an informational interview is we can get into detail about the best way to conduct one. The first step is to build a potential contact list. You need to find those people that work in a setting you like, work in a company or career that is of interest to you. Once you narrow down the list you need to find a way to contact these people and set up a communication method preferred by them. You can approach them via email, by phone, or in person. Often it helps to first send an email and then follow up by phone. Once you arranged the informational interview then you can move to the next step which is to prepare for the interview. You need to do your homework about the contacts, including information about their career and company. Then, you will need to decide and plan ahead of time what you want to ask them. The questions need to be presented in a clear and organized manner. As the interview wraps up, ask if there is anything else that they would like to share about their work. And the most important part, ask your contact if they can think of other people it might be helpful for you to contact for additional information. By doing so, you will slowly start building your personal network. Finally, write every contact you interview a thank you letter within 24 hours.

Tip: A hand-written thank you note will help you stand out in the person’s mind.