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Informational Interviewing

Once you have successfully contacted a prospecting target, the face-to-face meeting you attempt to arrange is called an Informational Interview. The purpose of an informational interview is to gain information about job alternatives, learn how to strengthen your job search, and receive referrals to expand your network. Remember, the purpose of an informational interview is NOT to get a job from the interviewee!

As discussed earlier, interviewing people in your network face-to-face is very time consuming and requires great energy on your part. You want to reserve informational interviews for people who are knowledgeable about their organization and your field of work. Also remember, the best way to obtain informational interviews is to first mail a prospecting letter and then follow up with a phone call. Special rules apply when writing prospecting letters and placing prospecting phone calls.

First, never send a resume with your prospecting letter. Remember, you don’t want the recipient of the letter to feel you are asking him/her for a job, but sending a resume will convey that message. Prospecting letters should be short and personable.

Your prospecting phone call should follow the same general rule - never ask for a job. In fact, you may want to remind the prospecting target that you are indeed NOT looking for a job, only for advice and information. As stated before, during your phone call attempt to set up an appointment for a face-to-face interview. However, be prepared to conduct the interview at that time over the phone. One common response to your request for a personal meeting is, “Well, I don’t have time to meet with you, but what do you want to know?” Now is your chance for an informational interview - don’t miss out on this opportunity by being unprepared!

When preparing for an informational interview, remember the interviewee is doing you a favor by agreeing to see you. Be gracious by respecting this person’s time. Ideally, and informational interview should last approximately 20 minutes. Prepare 5-6 good questions in advance, and depending on how the interview goes, stick closely to this time limit.

Sometimes you will need to eliminate questions depending on how thoroughly the interviewee answers them, but sometimes the interviewee may give very short answers. During the interview, be very aware of signs indicating it is time to close, and follow your gut instinct. If an interview is going very well, with the interviewee giving long answers and involving you heavily in the conversation, your interview may run longer. Don’t be rude by cutting someone off and losing out on a good chance for getting referrals. At the same time, note if the interviewee seems especially tense, looks at his/her watch repeatedly, or shifts around excessively in his/her chair. These signs indicate it is time to end the interview rapidly - obviously, the interviewee has other matters to attend to!

Content of an Informational Interview

Informational interviews are not job interviews. Job interviews occur when a hiring employer invites a candidate to speak with him/her regarding employment with their company. The employer asks the questions and the candidate answers them. The topic of conversation is primarily the candidate’s background and how well it would fit into a position. The goal is for the candidate to be hired.

Informational interviews occur when a job seeker requests a personal meeting with a businessperson to get information about and assistance with their job search. The job seeker asks the questions and the businessperson answers them. The questions are geared toward gathering information about the businessperson’s field of employment. The goal is for the job seeker to gain information, advice, and referrals.

While informational interviews are not job interviews, they are as important, or even more important, than job interviews. Remember, when the interviewee refers you to someone else, his/her reputation is on the line. Therefore, you must exhibit your utmost in professionalism and confidence during the interview. If the interviewee has any doubts by the end of the interview about your skills or character, he/she will not refer you to anyone. Also, the ultimate goal of networking is to get a job, so obviously at some point your goal is to obtain job interviews. Informational interviews often lead directly to job interviews, sometimes even with the same company. In this manner, informational interviews are like auditions for job interviews - conducting a poor informational interview eliminates the possibility of getting job interviews. The message is clear - you must perform to the absolute best of your ability during informational interviews.

Part of performing at your best is to prepare and practice asking your questions in advance. The informational interview is not the time to be stumbling over unfamiliar words or phrases. Questions should fall into two types: job and career questions, and job search questions.

Job and career questions relate to the field in question and the interviewee’s job in particular. Examples include:

• What are your main duties/responsibilities? • What knowledge/skills/abilities will make me successful in this field? • What are the advantages/disadvantages to working in this field? • What is the future outlook for employment in this field? • As an entry-level person in this field, what salary can I reasonably expect to make?

Job search questions refer to the job seeker’s job search. Examples include:

• How did you get your job? • How are most entry-level positions in this field filled? • What is the best way to initiate networking activities with people in this field? Begin your informational interview with job and career questions and end with job search questions. The job and career questions are easy and enjoyable for the interviewee to answer, and they will help to establish a rapport between you and the interviewee.

After you ask some job search questions, you can use a special strategy to make the interviewee look at your resume. Simply say, “I have my resume done, but I’m not sure it’s as good as it could be. Could you take a quick look at it and make any suggestions for improving it?” This technique achieves two goals. First, it gives you excellent advice on how to improve your resume. Second, and most important, it invites the interviewee to look at your resume in a non-aggressive manner that will not offend the interviewee or make him/her believe you want a job from his/her firm.

Your resume is now in the interviewee’s hands, and you never asked them for a job. This is the ideal way to close an informational interview.

Final Details

Always send a thank-you note after an informational interview, whether it took place by phone or in person. This allows you to be remembered positively, and increases your chances for getting referrals both immediately and in the future. Not only is it proper business etiquette, it will remind the interviewee of you and leave a final positive impression of you with them.