Informational Interviews: the Secret to Forwarding your Career

Your Question, Alexandra's Answer..

 I'm in the process of trying to figure out what I want my next career step to be. People have told me "informational interviews" would be helpful, but I'm not really sure how to go about conducting them. Any pointers?


Ah, yes...my favorite career planning strategy! Informational interviewing can really fast-forward your search -- take it from a career counselor who's benefited from it. In fact, I'm in my current work situation because, six years ago, I asked another career counselor to meet with me over coffee for, yes, an informational interview to tell me how she got started in private practice. Within the first ten minutes of our conversation, she was offering advice, connections, and a space in which to meet with my first private practice clients. That ten minutes probably saved me days of laborious research and planning.

Maybe not every example of informational interviewing yields such quick results, but most of my clients say they've learned something quite unexpected and rewarding from each conversation of this nature. So, whether your present need is a) to explore a variety of career paths and narrow your choice to one or b) to obtain a type of job you've already defined, informational interviews are your semi-secret weapon. To help you understand the value of informational interviews and how to go about them, it can first be helpful to know what they aren't.

Informational interviews are not the same as job prospecting or job interviews. They are not about asking for your resume to be passed along or slyly seeing if you can get your foot in the door for a job interview. They are, as the name suggests, for the purpose of gathering valuable knowledge to help you become informed and make choices about your career. You could conduct an informational interview to learn more about an industry or field, a type of job you're considering transitioning into, or a particular company you're interested in. For example, by conducting an informational interview with someone who works for Oracle as a Project Manager, you can gain a current, in-depth perspective on what it's like to work in the software industry, for this company, in this position, RIGHT NOW. As well as incredibly useful decision-making data, a well executed interview of this sort can result in offers of career assistance, referrals to other contacts, suggested educational paths and other resources to help you make informed choices and get into action.

Here are six pointers on setting up and conducting powerful informational interviews:
1.  Identify whom to contact. If you don't immediately have anyone in mind, try leveraging the power of your current network by creating a "networking map." Begin brainstorming potential contacts by writing down categories for the various people in your life. Include such groups as current and former co-workers and classmates, family members, friends near and far, parent group members, social/religious group members, and infrequent contacts (dentist, hair stylist, corner grocer, etc.). Then, identify as many people as you can think of (at least 5) for each category. As you complete this exercise, try not to edit yourself; every name is fair game! You may be surprised at the possible connections you think of as you engage in this exercise.

2.  Choose 3 people from your master networking map whom you think could be helpful to you in some way. They may not seem immediately connected with the career you want to investigate or the company you want to learn more about, but they could have a friend, relative, or colleague who might be a prospective contact. Email or call these three people and ask them if they know of and would refer you to someone who might fit your criteria for an informational interviewing candidate.

3.  Develop your approach and request. Once you've settled on an informational interview candidate, ask (by phone or email) to meet with the person for 20-30 minutes, and make sure to let them know it's for an informational interview. Share with them what intrigues you about their work role or other background, as well as a bit about what you hope to learn from them. Approach this request from a place of curiosity and interest -- rather than from what you "can get out of it" -- and you're much more likely to receive a "Yes" to your invitation.

4.  Arrive prepared with questions about such aspects of their career as what path their work has followed, how they got started in the field, what benefits and challenges they experience in their work, what steps they'd recommend for someone beginning to investigate this field, what salaries tend to look like based on X amount of experience, who else they might be able to refer you to for additional perspectives, etc. Develop your own questions as appropriate. Remember to ask questions that allow you to gain insight while also respecting the person's privacy (e.g. don't ask what they or any other particular person earns).

5.  Wrap up your interview on time, thanking the person for the unique knowledge and experience they've shared with you. If they feel you have experience and/or passion that would be a good fit for their organization or that of a colleague, this is a moment when your interviewee may ask if you have a copy of your resume that they can refer to or forward on. It's your choice whether to hand over a resume at this time or take a day to tailor it based on your conversation. In any case, it can be helpful to have a couple of current resumes in your portfolio for such unexpected inquiries.

6.  Follow up with your interviewee in a day or so by composing a thank-you note that recalls some point from the conversation that was of particular interest for you. An email is fine, but a neatly hand-written note makes an especially positive impact these days. If you come across an article that relates in some way to your discussion, include it with your note or send it along in a few weeks to help your contact keep you in mind. Remember that informational interviewing is part of the greater networking process, and effective (not to mention enjoyable) networking is really about developing and maintaining relationships.