Informational Interviews ~ Still a good idea.
A note about today’s top tips… They are not new. No one - no one - has not heard these tips before. But many think these tips don’t apply to them. Insider’s secret: they do. They apply to you, whoever you are. And since some people forget to take each of these steps to heart, this article is here to nudge you in the right direction. No one wants to be told what to do, but, sometimes, it’s nice to be reminded.
Back when I was in college, a career advisor recommended I do a few “Informational Interviews” to explore career options. Sage advice to give an English major whose resume amounted to summer jobs at a pet shop and a solid talent for literary analysis, and not much else. Oh, and I liked computers. And riding my bike.
I started calling (we did that back then) friends of my family who had interesting careers. I asked them how they got into radio / cooking / medicine / sales and what they liked about it. I asked them what it takes to succeed. I asked them whether they worked weekends. I asked what training they had to have before starting in this career.
The process took a while - a whole spring term, if I remember correctly. And it produced some important insights that led me to think I wanted to work with people, which led me to people who could help me navigate my early career.
Interestingly, Informational Interviews haven’t changed much over the years. It’s still a good idea to start out by talking with people you know, or who know of you. Relatives, neighbors, friends of friends - all good people to reach out to. They are the most likely to be open to helping you, and should be willing to give you 20 minutes of their time.
It’s still a good idea to ask pre-planned questions that focus on the person you’re interviewing. How did they get into this line of work? What does it take to succeed? What’s a typical day-in-the-life? What skills or experience are required to get into this type of position?
Additional questions you might ask include:
What’s the typical career path for someone in this position?
How do you see the industry changing in the future?
What surprised you about this career, once you had some experience?
Finally, ask this one: Is there anyone else I should be talking to? This is probably the most important question to ask, and you should save it for the end of the conversation.
Now that you know which questions to ask, let me fill you in on a few “best practice” tips for Informational Interviewing success:
Top Tip #5. Prepare. Go deeper than the person’s social profile and company website. Do an online search of the company name and the person’s name to see if you can get some extra insight into what makes them who they are.
Top Tip #4. Be on time. If you’re meeting in person or online, on time = 3-5 minutes early. If it’s a phone call, call at the scheduled time.
Top Tip #3. Introduce yourself and explain why you’re here. Even if you think they already know, take a moment to share what your goal is for the conversation.
Top Tip #2. Watch the time. If you asked for 20 minutes, you get 20 minutes. Hard stop. Set your timer for 18. If your person seems to want to continue the conversation, mention that you want to be respectful of their time, and ask if they have a few more minutes.
Top Tip #1. Say Thank You! Amazingly, people “forget” to say thank you. Should you send a text or email follow up thank you? Yes. Do that. Should you tell someone that the name they shared was a really good lead that led to an interview? Yes. Do that, too. Find ways to say thank you when someone shares their time, energy and resources. When you are giving informational interviews down the road, you’ll appreciate when someone says thank you to you.
