Informational Interview Tips

An informational interview can be a fantastic way to develop job leads. Learn how to use this under-utilized job search strategy to your advantage in your job search and career planning.

What Are Informational Interviews?

An information interview is a meeting you arrange with someone who works in an industry that is of interest to you in order to gather information.

The point of the interview is not to ask for a job, but to gather valuable information about a specific type of job and build your network of business contacts.

Benefits of Doing Information Interviews

I know most job seekers are skeptical about the value of organizing this type of interview.

I remember when I first learned about this job search technique. My first thought was that this was something silly that career counselors told people to do, but no one really did it.

What I learned, once I had some experience doing my own informational interviews, is that this is the best technique I know for gaining in-depth, and (mostly) unbiased insider information about any career that interests you.

Set Up Some Information Interviews - Don't Make Excuses

Unfortunately, many people don't use this job search technique. They say, "People are busy at work; they won't take the time to talk to me about their job."

For the most part, this is not true. Many people will be willing to help you as long as you ask in the right way.

I have set up plenty of these interviews for myself and helped clients and friends set up informational interviews, and I have always found that people are very willing to help out in this way.

During an informational interview, you are giving people the opportunity to talk about themselves and be the expert on a topic (their job). Plenty of people enjoy talking about themselves and having the opportunity to be seen as an expert, so they will typically be happy to set up an interview with you.

How to Set Up an Informational Interview

What Type of Person Should I Interview?

You may decide to set up interviews with either human resource professionals in a companies that are of interest to you, or with people who do the type of job that is of interest to you. It depends on who is available and what type of information you are seeking.

Talk to a human resources professional in your field of interest if you want to know the following:

Typically human resource (HR) professionals will be able to give you great information about labor market trends in your field of interest.

They'll often be able to tell you:

• Whether employers are hiring people in your field of interest
• What skills, experience and education you'll need to land a job in that field
• The typical career progression for someone in your field of interest
• How that career may change in the future

HR professionals probably won't be able to tell you a lot about the day to day aspects of the job itself.

Talk to someone who does the type of job you'd like to do if you want to know the following:

If you speak with someone who does the type of work that is of interest to you, they will typically be able to tell you about:

• The day to day responsibilities of the job
• The tasks they perform that you may not realize are part of the job
• The positives and negatives they perceive related to the job

Surprisingly, people who do the job that is of interest to you often will not be able to tell you much about the labor market in their field of work. You'll usually get better labor market information from HR professionals.

How Do I Find People to Interview?

If you're ready to set up an interview, I'd suggest talking to people you already know and ask them if they know anyone in your field who may be able to grant you an informational interview. If you are fortunate enough to already know someone who has connections in your field of interest, be sure to mention your friend's name when you call to set up the interview.

You can also look in business directories or on websites belonging to companies that are of interest to you in order to find the names and contact information for people you might interview.

It is best to do some research and get an actual name if possible, then just give those people a call. Calling is much more effective than emailing because emails are less personal and easy to ignore.

When you set up an interview, it's best to do the interview in person, not over the phone, whenever possible. You'll get a lot more information and make a much better connection with people face to face.

Occasionally you will reach someone who would prefer to do the interview right away, over the phone. Be sure to have your information interview questions ready for those situations. A telephone interview is not ideal, but if it is your only option, it will still be an opportunity to get some good inside information.

Be smart when setting up your interviews. Do your best to call at a time when people will be able to make time to talk to you.

If you're interested in accounting, don't try to arrange interviews during tax season. If you're interested in the restaurant business, don't call during the lunch rush.

Finally, if you've never set up this type of interview, and you're a bit nervous about it, don't call your favorite company first.

With practice, you get better at making these kinds of calls and doing the interviews. So, find a few companies that are somewhat interesting to you and call to set up a couple of interviews at those places first.

Once you have some experience and have built up your confidence, then call your favorite companies to set up informational interviews there.

Questions to Ask at an Information Interview

Once you're ready to set up a few informational interviews, you'll probably want some tips on questions to ask in your interviews. You'll find that information here: Information Interview Questions.