Often, the best information about a career field comes from people who are actually working in the field. An informational interview is an informal conversation with someone working in an area that interests you who will give you information and advice. It is an effective research tool in addition to reading books, exploring the Internet and examining job descriptions. It is not a job interview, and the objective is not to find job openings.
Benefits of Informational Interviewing:
- Get firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field
- Find out about career paths you did not know about
- Get tips about how to prepare for and enter the field
- Learn what it’s like to work for an organization
- Gain knowledge that can help you in writing your resume or interviewing
- Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network within the field
Tips for Informational Interviews:
- Research Career Fields
- Identify People to Interview
- Prepare for the Interview
- Develop short (20-30 second) overview/elevator speech about yourself
- Write down open-ended questions to ask
- Initiate Contact
- Contact person and mention how you found his or her name
- Emphasize you are looking for information, not job
- Ask for a convenient time to set a 30-minute appointment to talk
- Be ready with questions if the person says it is a good time now
- Conduct the Informational Interview
- Have open-end questions ready to ask
- Listen well and take notes if you’d like
- Respect person’s time and keep to agreed timeframe
- Follow Up
- Send thank you note to express appreciation of time and information given
- Keep in touch with the person after your interaction