Whether you are looking for a first job, a new job, or a better job, often times, you might find you lack insight and familiarity with what the next step looks like.
- What would it be like to work for {insert company name}?
- What kind of work do I want to do?
- What does a day-in-the-life of a {insert job title} look like?
The best way to find answers to these and other questions is to do informational interviews. These are NOT job interviews. Informational interviews are meetings you initiate with people you may or may not know well, who are in jobs, companies, industries, or initiatives you are interested in understanding better. These interviews are a powerful way to increase your knowledge, insights, network, and personal brand!
Here is how you do effective informational interviews:
- Identify a company, industry, or initiative you are interested in. Let’s say you’re interested in the golf industry. Start making lists! You might make a list of golf equipment manufacturers, premiere golf courses, and journalists who cover the sport, maybe for the PGA. Get as granular with these lists as you can. Think outside the box – don’t just target the ones everyone else targets. Maybe there is a retired golf industry executive who lives in your community. This could be a great person to do an informational interview with.
- Consider location. Are you geographically limited? Would you be able to go to an in person meeting with your target across the country if they suggested it? If you are limited by travel, shorten your lists to companies and people who you could get to easily for a meeting.
- Look at your network. When you have your lists together, start cross-referencing who you want to know with who you already know. Check your LinkedIn contacts, your personal networking database, and ask people you know if they have connections into the company or people you’re targeting.
- Do research. Before you initiate contact, and ask for the interview, research everything you can find about the company, industry, or initiative. What are they passionate about? What is their track record? Who is their competition? What do you know about the person you’re hoping to interview? LinkedIn is a great source of this information.
- Initiate contact. Either by email or telephone, reach out to the person you would like to interview. If you have a mutual connection, reference that in your initial contact. State clearly that you are interested in learning about their company, or you are doing due diligence on the industry, or you seek to learn more about the initiative they are involved with. Be very, very clear that you are NOT looking for a job. You are interested in gaining insight and information to help you pursue your career goals. Be sure to state (briefly) who you are, a bit about your background, and your career goals. Show the person how their willingness to meet with you will help you to make good decisions about your career. Most contacts will find this flattering and empowering.
- Get ready. Prior to the meeting, be sure to have good questions ready. Your goal is to learn all you can about the person’s job, career path, industry goals, company challenges/opportunities, etc. You are leading the discussion so you must be ready! Some questions you might consider asking:
- How did you get into this job?
- Where do you see the industry going in the next 10 years?
- What do you see as the best opportunities for someone like me, right out of school with a passion for the industry but limited experience?
- What advice do you have for someone looking to start a career in this company?
- I see that your company is expanding into the Midwest market. What do you see as growth opportunities in those markets?
- During the interview. Dress appropriately for the meeting, and watch your body language during the conversation. Also, while you are running the meeting by asking questions you care about, to get better information, understanding and insight, be prepared to deviate from your list if the person you’re meeting with offers something you hadn’t considered. This often happens! Be open to listening and learning – you might hear something more powerful than you’d put on your list!
- Stick to the time contract. When you ask for your informational interview, you will ask for a meeting (in person or by phone) that is for a limited amount of time. I suggest you ask for 20 or 30 minutes. This reassures the person you’re meeting with that you won’t take up their whole day and ensures you will stay focused. In the meeting, you must stick to that time contract! If you’ve asked for 20 minutes and your contact agreed, then I suggest at 15 minutes you say, “I see we have 5 minutes left. I would like to ask you about….” To show that you are respectful of their time and take time seriously. They may give you permission to go over the time limit, that’s fine. You cannot ask for more time during the meeting, only they can offer it.
- The most important rule. Since you are there for an informational meeting, you cannot sell yourself, your experience, or your background. If the person you’re meeting with suspects you are hitting them up for a job, you could damage the relationship. After all, you said you were not going to use the meeting as a job interview.
- Follow up. Always write a handwritten thank you note, acknowledging that the person you met with took time out of their busy schedule to meet with you and share their opinions and insights. If you are asked to get something to them by email sooner than your note will get there, showing appreciation in your email is also appropriate. But be sure to send the handwritten note, too.
Informational interviews are a powerful way to get your first job, a better job, or learn about a new career. You have the opportunity to hear firsthand about someone’s experience and insights. Then, if you’ve done the meeting correctly, you have a new (and influential) networking contact who likely feels vested in your career success!
Have any suggestions for someone doing an informational interview? Have you had experience being asked to do them? Please share!
