One of the most effective ways to learn more about a potential career path, company, or job is to set up an informational interview with a professional who already works in your field of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An informational interview is less formal than a job interview since the intention of an informational interview is information gathering for the future, rather than immediate employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While you may end up hearing about current job openings during an informational interview, your purpose for this type of interview is not to land a job based on your conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, the goal of an informational interview should be to emerge armed with valuable research about an area or organization where you may want to work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below are some tips to get the most out of an informational interview, maximizing the time spent with your interviewee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step to ensuring a strong informational interview is to identify the right person to speak with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UC Berkeley Career Center<\/a> suggests mining your own contacts for potential people to speak with. \u201cPeople you already know, even if they aren\u2019t in fields of interest to you, can lead you to people who are. This includes family, friends, teaching assistants, professors, and former employers,\u201d the Career Center states on its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But many informational interviews are conducted with someone who you, as the interviewer, have never met before, particularly if you\u2019re new to an industry and don\u2019t have contacts in it yet. This means it\u2019s important to spend some time researching thought leaders in the industry or company that you\u2019d like to learn more about<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professional networking sites like LinkedIn are excellent resources<\/a> for this, as it\u2019s easy to use the search tools to quickly find potential interviewees with certain job titles, or identify people in roles that you\u2019d like to know more about who work at a specific company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also use LinkedIn to make initial contact with someone you\u2019re interested in interviewing, either through a request to connect<\/a> or by responding to an article or other content that they post about industry topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve pinpointed someone who you\u2019d like to interview for their career insights, Founder of Career Fixer LLC<\/a> and certified Career Coach Dawid Wiacek advises giving the person you\u2019d like to interview a definite time frame. \u201cWhether it\u2019s 10 minutes on the phone or a half-hour coffee chat, let them know the parameters,\u201d Wiacek said. \u201cThat way, the other person has an out if it ends up being awkward or unpleasant.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, by narrowing down your request to your interviewee by specifying in advance the questions you\u2019d like to discuss, you\u2019ll give the person time to prepare. This courtesy may make them feel more willing to schedule time with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t want to show up to your informational interview, whether online or in person, as a blank slate about the career you\u2019ll be discussing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to conduct a meaningful interview, you first need to spend some time researching the field or organization<\/a> that you\u2019d like to learn more about. This will allow you to ask smart questions and approach the informational interview with an understanding of the basics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UC Berkeley Career Center also recommends that your preparation include developing a brief introduction of yourself that you can share at the start of the interview, along with your hopes for the meeting. Additionally, plan to ask some open-ended questions, like the questions on the Career Center website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Wiacek, studies show that the less you talk and the more the other person talks, the more likely they are to enjoy the conversation and leave with a positive impression of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, the point of an informational interview is information gathering<\/strong>, so while you\u2019ll be the one leading the conversation through the questions you ask, you don\u2019t want to dominate the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wiacek recommends asking questions like these to open the door to your interviewee sharing more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key to a successful informational interview is emerging with \u201cnews you can use\u201d<\/strong>\u2014information that you can leverage to help you learn more about the industry, ways you can meet other people in the industry, and ideas about the next steps you can take.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBe Intentional About Choosing Who to Interview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Be Specific and Finite in Your Ask<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do Some Research in Advance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ask Tons of Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
End It Right, With Follow-up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n