Informational Interview Guide

An informational interview can be a fantastic way to develop job leads. If you've never heard the term before, an informational interview is an interview you arrange with someone who works in an industry that is of interest to you. The point of the interview is not to ask for a job, but rather to gather valuable information about a specific type of job and build your network of business contacts.

I'm sure plenty of people 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.

Actually the informational interview is not a silly project invented by career counselors, it is an extremely useful tool for developing your career network, finding job leads and learning about new careers and industries that are of interest to you. It's the best way I know for gaining in-depth, (fairly) unbiased insider information about a career.

Unfortunately, many people don't use this effective 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.

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.

Who should I interview?
You may decide to set up interviews with either human resource professionals in a company that is 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.

Typically human resource (HR) professionals will 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 and 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.

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, and the positives and negatives they perceive related to the job. Surprisingly, people who do the job that's of interest to you often won't be able to tell you a lot about the labor market in their field of work (you'll typically 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 looking in business directories or on websites belonging to companies that are of interest to you. It's best to do some research and get an actual name if possible, then just give those people a call (calling is much better 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'll reach someone who would prefer to do the interview right away, over the phone. Be sure to have your informational interview questions ready for those situations. A telephone interview is not ideal, but 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 meet with 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 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.

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 in this informational interview guide.