The Ultimate Guide to Informational Interviews

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Introduction

For MBA students who are exploring career and job paths, informational interviews are a critical component to learning about potential opportunities and building relationships with professionals in these fields. While many people are well equipped with informational interviewing and know the importance, others struggle and sometimes fall prey to not knowing what to ask or how to do it. In this guide, I’m going to walk you through everything you need to know about informational interviews, how to do them successfully, and give you templates to execute all of your informational interviews

What is an Informational Interview?

An informational interview is an informal conversation you can have with someone working in an area of interest to you to learn about their career, job, or personal story. It is an effective research and exploration exercise, and is best done after initial research.

“Informational interviews are essential to helping you find out more about the type of industry, company, or role you’re interested in,” says Dorie Clark, author of Stand Out Networking. The best way to learn if you would like a specific job or be good at it is to actually do it, but short of that, informational interviewing is a solid alternative. Given that you may have questions or doubts or knowledge gaps, being able to speak to someone directly gives you a chance to further your understanding, which can help inform your own decision making about whether or not you are interested in that role or position.

Benefits of Informational Interviewing

  • Get firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working within a particular field, industry or position. This kind of information is not always available online.
  • Find out about career paths you didn’t know existed.
  • Get tips and insider knowledge about how to prepare for a job interview or the interviewing process for a role or company
  • Learn what it’s like to work at a company or organization
  • Start and grow a relationship and expand your contacts in chosen field or industry
  • Meet people who share common personal or professional interests

 

What are the Goals of an Informational Interview?

Learn about the person and their story

Getting an informational interview with someone in your desired field allows you to learn about a person and their career and life story. Jobs can sometimes seem abstract, but personal experiences, like an individual’s career journey, can make things concrete and real. Furthermore, getting more details about their career can be helpful as you think about what steps you want to take for your own. While they may not be the exact same as the person you are interviewing, learning about theirs can give you ideas about what yours could be like, no matter how similar or different.

Learn about their role, and company.

In many cases you are speaking with someone who has a role or works at a company or in an industry you are interested in, but are still learning about the company or role that the person has. While you don’t know all the answers just yet, getting to ask them questions gets a first-hand account that brings you closer to understanding what their role is, what the comp

Learn the skills and experiences that are needed to do their job 

In addition to learning about the role and what it does, you also want to learn about what skills or experiences are needed to be successful in that job. That way, you can tell if those are skills you have or are capable of developing, and that you want to exhibit or use in the next role

Learn what they like and find challenging about their role

No job or role is perfect, as such, it’s good to learn about what a person likes and dislikes about their job. While every answer is unique, simply hearing from someone else can help inform your own thinking.

Share your story, and why you are curious about their role, industry, or function

Informational interviews and networking broadly are a 2-way street. They are a chance for you to learn, but also a chance for you to share your story, and help them as well. This is a chance for you to tell a little about yourself, but also provide help, guidance or value to the other person too.

Build a connection that you can further over time

This is someone you can go back to later on if you have questions, someone you can reach out to help if you think of a reason to help them, and certainly in some cases, ask for guidance for a referral or help when interviewing with their company. While this is certainly a good end goal, it isn’t something you should focus on early on.

If you can leave an informational interview and hit a few of these, that insight will most certainly give you more data to help you make confident career decisions.

Why Do Informational Interviews Matter?

We learn from others – One of the best ways to learn about a specific industry, function or role is to talk to people who are already doing it

We get feedback – Career exploration is a mix of both gathering information as well as synthesizing it and trying it on for size to see if it will work for us. The insights we gain help us not only learn more about the specific field, but also about how we feel about that field

We meet people – Even in an age where job and career searching is augmented by technology, people still play a critical role in the career and job search process. When you meet others, they can help connect you to opportunities (if you build the right relationships) but they can also help and guide you along the way

Tips for a successful informational interview

Prepare and practice

Informational interviews are, according to Clark, “a safe environment to ask questions.” But that doesn’t mean you should go in cold. After all, your goal is to come across in a way that inspires others to help you. So do your homework. Study up on industry terminology. Learn about recent developments with the company, and to the degree that you can, the interviewers function or department. And at a minimum, be able to talk about the most important trends. The goal is to learn insight and information that informs your knowledge and thinking, which means coming in with thoughtful and prepared questions is table stakes. Furthermore, it also makes for a much more interesting and thoughtful conversation. When you show up with prepared questions that are relevant and interesting, it will most likely convey to the interviewer that you are curious and credible.

While some people are naturals, this may be difficult for some. If this is not something you are used to, I encourage you to practice with a friend or colleague by coming up with some questions and practicing the back and forth, and then asking for feedback or guidance.

Make it a 2-way conversation

While it’s true that you need to come in with thoughtful questions and that you want to learn from this interview,  you also want to make sure it’s truly a 2-way conversation. Yes, as the one who initiated the conversation, there surely is an expectation that you are there for a reason and that reason is to learn. But as a way to take the pressure off you, and also be helpful/engaging, it’s also important to allow for a two way dialogue, as well as to let them ask questions or probe areas of interest. Gary Burnison, the CEO of Korn Ferry, says, “if you want to be successful at networking, you must keep in mind that it really isn’t about you. It’s about building relationships—and relationships aren’t one-way streets.”

Be relevant and focused

For example, a common mistake sometimes people make is to ask very specific questions about something that appeared in the companies’ recent earnings call. While that can be good in that it can demonstrate that you are paying attention and are doing your homework, not every single employee that works for a company takes the time to read the most recent earnings report, so they may not necessarily have an answer! Knowing what questions to ask and to ask relevant questions means that you need to truly understand within the company where they are based (Ex: the function, business unit, department) and then to tailor questions that make sense. As an example, you wouldn’t want to ask someone in finance questions about marketing, or vice versa. (You could, it just may not yield you the best answer to the question)

Find common ground

One of the best ways to warm up to someone and build a relationship is to start by finding common ground. This means identifying a shared interest, and having a conversation around it. Common ground can be as simple as the fact that you both attended the same undergraduate or graduate program, or perhaps you are from the same state, city, or country. But using that as a way to break the ice can often start the relationship with the other person.

Follow up with gratitude, not demands

While thanking the person for their time via email is a must ideally within 24-48 hours. The note should describe how the person was helpful to you and, ideally, that her guidance led to “a concrete outcome” in your job search. It also is a great chance to extend the conversation and relationship. Adding in a “I would love to stay in touch to continue our conversation around trends in the healthcare space,” or another topic that you discussed or that is relevant to both of you is a chance to continue building the relationships.

Keep track of your conversations

If you’re going to do a handful of these it makes sense to keep a tracker of the conversations you’ve had, who you’ve spoken to, and the key lessons or takeaways from these conversations. Doing so will help you as you start to define some opinions and thoughts, but also help you think about how you will follow up and build relationships with people that you meet through this process.

Play the long game

The real purpose of informational interviews is to build relationships and have people who at some point might be willing to help you and that you’d want to help. It’s important to not think of them as one off meetings or transactions. ” Take the long view and think about ways to cultivate your new professional connection.

After you meet with them, consider how you might continue to further the connection over time. This could mean sending them a follow up email with a relevant set of articles that’s related to your conversation, introducing them to someone else in your network that they could learn from, or just staying in touch with them to see how they are progressing in their role. The goal is to as Adam Grant says, be a giver. Find ways to add value and be helpful.

Provide Value

Informational interviews are not just for your benefit, they really are a two way street. So if you want to make it a two way street, what you’re going to want to do is focus on how you can provide value to the other person. This is a little bit of a switch – after all, you are the one who is reaching out to learn more about the other person. But Adam Grant, author of Give and Take, offers a unique perspective, he says, “The point here is to turn the whole idea of traditional networking on its head: if you want to build a network of people who recognize your value, don’t focus on what you can get. Figure out what you can give.”

In Grant’s research, he found that people who are thoughtful and giving by nature (givers) have stronger relationships than people who are “takers,” and who burn bridges.

Furthermore, research tells us that A number of studies show that people who give more than they get earn more status and social capital.

 

How Can You Provide Value in an Informational Interview?

Send them an article related to what you talked about

1) After you’ve finished your conversation, follow up with them with a thank you email and include a link to an article that is relevant to something they mentioned during your conversation

2) After you’ve done your follow up thank you and an article comes out, send them a follow up note with a link to an article that covers something you mentioned during their conversation

Connect them with a friend or colleague

Perhaps there is someone in your network who they’d benefit from meeting. One thing you can do is to ask if they’d be interested in speaking with that person. Furthermore, if you’re a student that knows of some classmates who might be interested in speaking to this person, another thing you can do is to help your classmates with a warm introduction. This way, both your classmates and the person win.

When you see something in the news related to their field, send it to them

Again, this is all about drawing in on commonalities and interests. If you see a news article that relates to the conversation, their company or just their domain expertise, shoot an email to them with a link to the article and some comments.

Share with them news about what’s going on at your school

If the person happens to be an alum of your MBA program one thing you can do is give them an update if there is a big announcement or newsworthy piece of insight.

Approaching relationship building and networking from a means to add value and to give and not to take opens the door to building relationships that are based in terms of common interests and ideas, not just transactional requests. Furthermore, just like our friendships, professional networking relationships take time to nurture and build.

So, instead of just focusing on what you can learn, find ways to give, add value, and cultivate that relationship with the person you’ve just connected with.

Examples of Informational Interviewing Success Stories

Networking early can lead to long term results

Early on during my time in business school, I began networking to learn more about the tech industry, and specifically enterprise software companies. I had an interest in this space and wanted to learn more about what it was like to work in this vertical. I did a search on LinkedIn for the alum of 10 enterprise software companies that I was interested in, and began reaching out to the alums I found on LinkedIn that worked at those companies, which helped me learn about the specific people and their career, but also, I got a world-class education on the enterprise software industry, careers in the industry, and specific tips for looking for roles at some of those specific companies.

One person that I connected with happened to be an alum of both my undergraduate alma mater and my MBA program, and we spoke for a half hour. It turned out he loved both of those schools, and told me that if I ever wanted to apply to any roles at his company to let him know and he would be happy to provide a referral.

While this happened in September, we traded emails on and off for a few months. Later in April, I saw a role that I was interested in and reached out to him. He was happy to put in a referral, and while I had to nail the interview process, I ended up getting the job.

How do you find people to connect with?

How can you find people to learn more about and build relationships with via informational interviews? Here are a few places to start

Your existing network – Identify anyone you know in your existing networks (personal, professional) who are either doing things you might be interested in, work at companies you are interested in, etc. People who are in proximity to you are a great place to start.

Linkedin – Using the search feature on LinkedIn as well as the Company pages or Schools features, look for individuals who have interesting backgrounds or that are doing interesting things. Some of these people might be people you know, while others might be new to you, and that is great because connecting with people you don’t know can expand your horizons and your knowledge as it helps you learn from diverse and different people.

Recommendations of Peers – Many of you have friends or colleagues who either know you really well, or who are connected with lots of people. Reach out to those people and get feedback on who the best people to meet are. Note: when you reach out to your friends or colleagues, make sure to be specific about the type of person you’re looking to meet. Simply asking “who should I meet?” is fairly broad, and won’t get you as good of an answer as if you can put some parameters (ex: I am hoping to meet people in brand management roles in CPG industry. Do you have any recommendations of who I can speak to?

Your Company List – If you’ve already made a company list, start looking for people using the company pages feature on LinkedIn, or by searching your school’s alumni database to identify potential people to connect with.

Industry or Conference Speaker Lists – Sometimes industry conferences have lists of speakers or guests. These can be great places to find some of the thought leaders in the industry you’re interested in.

Social Media – Places like LinkedIn or Twitter can sometimes be great places to find people interested in connecting especially if they have an active presence. This is especially true in specific industries where they use social networks as a platform for branding or connection. (Ex: Many VC’s in Venture Capital regularly engage in conversations on Twitter)

 

How do you reach out to people for an informational interview?

 

Directly reaching out to someone in your network

This is what it says it is – when you directly reach out to someone. These are people you are already connected with in some capacity.

 

Cold Introduction

This is when you try to reach out to someone without any context or any connection. While getting the attention of someone who knows you tends to yield better results than when someone doesn’t, this can and does work when done properly.

 

Asking for a connection (warm intro)

In this case, you find someone who you are interested in connecting with, but you don’t know them personally but someone in your network (ex: a colleague, classmate, or friend) is connected to them. Under these circumstances, you can reach out to your mutual connection to ask if they’d be willing to introduce you to that individual.

 

When you reach out to your mutual contact, make sure to be specific about who you want to talk to, why you are interested in speaking with them.

 

Here is an example of how you can do that:

 

Hello (NAME)

Hope you’re doing well at [X] company. How are things?

I am currently doing some career exploration for on (INSERT INDUSTRY OR FUNCTION) and I’m looking to get into contact with (NAME HERE) – I would love to speak with them to hear about what they do, their career journey and more about (COMPANY NAME HERE) I saw that you are connected to (NAME) HERE) and was wondering if you would be comfortable with connecting the two of us.

To make things easier for you, I’ve already written out a basic sample script, just in case you’re on board— but if not, I understand.

Sincerely

[Your name here]

 

Furthermore, I always encourage people to draft a few sentences that a person can then use to reach out to the person you are trying to connect to. 

Hi (NAME HERE)

I hope you are well. 

 

(YOUR NAME) A colleague of mine reached out to me because they were interested in speaking with you about your work at (COMPANY NAME HERE) as well as learning more about your career journey. Would you be open to connecting with them and having a career conversation? 

What Questions Should You Ask in An Informational Interview?

Your goal is to learn more and build a relationship. Ultimately this depends on what you are most interested in learning. In addition to getting to know the other person, the goal is together insight that informs your thinking and mindset around your chosen field or career. Here are some common things to consider asking about in your interview:

Learn about someone’s career

You can ask and learn about their career, the jobs they previously held, and what their short and long term goals are

Learn the ins and outs of the job, role, or company

You can also ask about the ins and outs of the job, role, or company

Get Insight into what a company website can’t tell you

You can get greater details into what’s not on a company website. In fact, make sure you try to avoid questions that can easily be found on the company website.

Finally, make sure to prepare for your interview, by doing research on the person you are speaking to, and by coming up with at least a few questions that you would like to ask. You should let the conversation come naturally, but it also helps to have an idea of what you want to get out of the conversation

Some of my favorite questions to ask in an informational interview

Personal

  • As you think about your job and career, how do you define success?
  • What about your past life is relevant to the job that you do right now?
  • Professionally, who is someone you admire or respect, and what do you admire about them?
  • What specifically about (insert role here) is interesting to you, and why did you choose this job/career

Job specific

  • What’s your biggest challenge or obstacle in your role right now, and how are you addressing or working through it?
  • What does a good day feel like for you? What does a challenging day feel like?
  • What excites you or keeps you coming to do this work each day?
  • Are there specific skills that regardless of how your job evolves, will always be important?

Company specific

  • What drew you to this company originally? Are those things still relevant in this company?
  • What are some examples of actions or events that you’ve seen happen at this company that best articulate the culture or company values?
  • If you could change one thing about the company, what would it be?
  • Who is someone at this company that you feel best models a high performer, and what do they do?

How should you follow up?

Following up is important and critical after an informational interview, especially if this is the first time you’ve connected with them live.

  • Keep it short – be thoughtful, but get to the point
  • Be specific – call out specifically what you appreciated, found insightful.
  • Further the connection – Find a way to stay in touch and keep the relationship growing. This is how you not only start a professional relationship, but grow it.
  • Show Gratitude – Say thank you and demonstrate you value their time and guidance

 

Key Insight: In addition to learning about someone else. Your job for an informational interview should be to ask better questions. The more insight you gain, the better and more thoughtful questions you are able to ask, either during the interview or in the next one.

 

Conclusion

Informational interviewing is a great way to gain knowledge about a career path and build relationships that can help you in the short term job search and your long term career. By learning from professionals in a desired field, you’ll gain greater insight into a potential career path, and forge relationships that can enrich your life personally and professionally.

My final advice comes down to this – when you are genuinely interested and curious in learning from someone else, it will shine through. As the saying goes, “those who are interested are interesting.”

 

Additional Resources