Informational Interviews - What, How, and Why
Posted by [email protected] on Oct. 27, 2023 / Career / Subscribe 0
Regardless of where you are in your career, informational interviews can help you move into the next step. They can help you research new industries, decide if you really need that certification, and gather information on how you can move your career to the next level. Let's get into the What and How of informational interviews.
What are Informational Interviews?
The best way I can define an informational interview is that you find someone who you want to learn something from (this can be that they have industry-specific information, they have a cool job, completed a cool project, or whatever else), and you ask them questions about That Thing. That's really what it is at its core! It is an exchange of information between people.
How do I find someone to do an Informational Interview with?
Using LinkedIn or any sort of institution-specific site from your previous schools (such as People Grove or AlumniFire) is a great place to start. On LinkedIn, you can search for your institution and select the alumni tab, or you can search by a specific company. From there, you can find someone who is doing A Cool Thing that you want to learn more about. This could be someone who has an interesting job you've never heard of. It could be someone who has taken a path that is similar to yours. Maybe they work for your dream company. Even still, they could have taken a path that you're considering taking in the future. Whatever you want to learn, between LinkedIn and any institution-specific tool, you'll find someone that will be able to provide you the information you're looking for.
How do I ask for an Informational Interview?
Have you ever seen a movie called The Princess Bride? If so, great. If not, I need you to stop reading immediately, watch the movie, and then get back to this article. (You don't actually need to see the movie to understand this method and use it effectively, but it is an excellent movie and required viewing in my book. But I digress.)
In The Princess Bride, there is a character named Inigo Montoya who throughout the movie goes on a quest to find the guy that killed is father. Every time he meets someone he thinks could be the guy, he introduces himself the same way. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." What you might not realize is that the format that Inigo uses is great for networking! You can break down Inigo's introduction like this:
- Polite Greeting (Hello.)
- Name (My name is Inigo Montoya.)
- Relevant Personal Link (You killed my father.)
- Expectations for the Conversation (Prepare to die.)
Say that you found someone on LinkedIn who works for your dream company. When you craft a message using Inigo's formula, minus the promise of murder, it might sound something like this:
"Good morning! My name is [x] and I'm currently a Project Manager at [company]. I see that you're currently working at [company] in a similar position. I was wondering if we could chat about what it is like to work at [company]?"
As you can no doubt notice, the key to this message formula is to make it specific to each person. Take it from me, people on LinkedIn can tell in an INSTANT if you are sending the same message to multiple people. The more polite, personalized, and specific it is, the more likely they will respond and accept your request for an informational interview.
After they say yes to your message, you can then schedule it for a time that works for both parties. I would say to schedule it for at least an hour, using whatever method is comfortable for both you and the other person: Zoom, phone, Hangouts, Teams, or whatever platform works best for you both.
How do I conduct an Informational Interview?
The key to a good informational interview is to craft a list of 6-10 questions to ask the person you're interviewing. Think about what you want to know, and make sure you WRITE down questions to get the information you want. I say 6-10 questions because while some structure is needed to get started, it is also important to leave room for the conversation to go wherever it needs to go. Then, you simply show up to the interview, have a great conversation, and hopefully learn a lot that can help you move forward in your career. Don't forget to send them a thank you note afterwards to leave a lasting positive impression!
As I said earlier, anyone can benefit from informational interviews. You might see someone online that can give you information you need, meet someone at a conference that has an interesting perspective on a new industry, or even run into someone in person at the grocery store who has an opinion on certifications and educational paths. You never know who you'll meet and what you'll learn. Be open to intentionally scheduling time with people to learn information that could skyrocket your career.
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