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Rebecca Knight
February 26, 2016
When you re looking for a job or exploring a new career path, it s smart to go
out on informational interviews. But what should you say when you re actually
in one? Which questions will help you gain the most information? Are there any
topics you should avoid? And how should you ask for more help if you need it?
What the Experts Say
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. You may think you already know all about a
certain position, but speaking to someone directly gives you the opportunity to
test your assumptions. John Lees, a UK-based career strategist and author of
The Success Code, agrees. Informational interviews give you exposure a way
to get yourself known in the hidden job market, he says. The visibility may
put you straight onto a short list, even if a job isn t advertised. They can
also be a great boost to your self-esteem. You get to wear smart business
clothes and visit places of work, which maintains your confidence levels in a
job search, he explains. So whether you re actively trying to change roles or
just exploring different professional paths, here are some tips on how to make
the most of an 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 lingo. Learn who the biggest players are. Be
able to talk about the most important trends. You don t want to waste your
expert s time asking Google-able questions. You will come across as a more
serious candidate if you are familiar with the jargon and vocabulary, says
Clark. Lees concurs. Showing that you ve done your background research plants
the idea of credibility in the other person s mind, he says. Work on your
listening and conversation skills too. Lees suggests that you practice asking
great questions and conveying memorable energy with people who are easy to
talk to, such as your family, your friends, and friends of friends.
Keep your introduction short
What frustrates busy people is when they agree to an informational interview,
and then the person seeking advice spends 15 minutes talking about himself and
his job search instead of learning from them, says Lees. It s not a venue to
practice your elevator pitch; it s a place to absorb information and find
stuff out. Clark suggests preparing a brief, succinct explanation about
yourself that you can recite in three minutes max: Here s my background, here
s what I m thinking, and I d like your feedback. People can t help you unless
they understand what you re looking for, but this part of the conversation
should be brief.
Set the tone
You want to leave people with a positive impression and enough information to
recommend you to others, says Lees. At the beginning of the interview,
establish your relationship by revisiting how you were connected in the first
place. Ideally, this person has been warmly introduced to you perhaps you
have a friend or colleague in common or you share an alma mater so remind
them, he says. It s also a good idea to state at the outset that you re
interested in talking to 10 or 15 industry experts during your
information-gathering phase. That way, the person will start to process the
fact that you are looking for additional sources early on. If you wait until
the end to ask for other referrals, she might be caught off guard. Ask about
time constraints up front too, says Clark. If, at the end of the time
allotted, you re having a good conversation, say, I want to respect your time.
I would love to keep talking, but if you need to go, I understand. Prove you
re a person of your word.
Think like a journalist
Prepare a list of informed, intelligent questions ahead of time, says Clark.
You don t necessarily need to stick to the script, but if you re unfocused and
you haven t planned, you risk offending the person. Lees recommends approaching
your interview like an investigative journalist would. You re not
cross-examining your expert, and you certainly don t want to come across as
pushy or difficult, but you should gently probe through curiosity, then
listen. He suggests a framework of five questions along the lines of Daniel
Porot s Pie Method :
How do you get into this line of work?
What do you enjoy about it?
What s not so great about it?
What s changing in the sector?
What kinds of people do well in this industry?
You can adapt these questions to your purposes; the idea is to help you spot
the roles and fields that match your skills and experience and give you an
understanding of how top performers are described.
Deliberately test your hypotheses
Your mission is to grasp the reality of the industry and the job so you can
begin to decide if it s right for you. So don t shy away from sensitive topics.
You want to hear about the underbelly, says Clark. She suggests questions
designed to elicit the worst information, such as:
What are the worst parts of your job?
What didn t you know before you got into this industry that you wish someone
had told you?
Some topics, such as money, may seem taboo but can be broached delicately. Don
t ask, How much money do you make? Instead, say something like, I ve done
some research online, and it seems that the typical salary range is this, so
you re just asking for confirmation of public information, says Clark.
It s also okay to ask for advice on how to position yourself for a job in the
industry by making your experience and skills sound relevant. She recommends
saying something like, Based on what you know about my background, what do you
see as my weaknesses? And what would I need to do to allay the concerns of a
potential hiring manager? If the feedback is negative, consider it valuable
information but get second and third opinions. One person s word is not
gospel, she says. You may not be qualified, but you also may have spoken to a
stick-in-the-mud who discourages everyone. Don t let him limit your career
options.
Follow up with gratitude, not demands
While thanking the person for their time via email is a must, Lees recommends
also sending a handwritten note to express gratitude right after you meet. It
will help you be remembered, he says. Your thank-you letter needn t be flowery
or overly effusive; instead, it should describe how the person was helpful to
you and, ideally, that her guidance led to a concrete outcome in your job
search.
Whatever you do, don t immediately ask for a favor, adds Clark. Not only is it
considered bad manners, but it s also practically an ambush because you
barely know the person. That said, If, a couple of weeks later, a job opens
up at the person s company, you can tell the person you re applying for it and
ask if she has any quick thoughts on professional experiences you should play
up in your cover letter. If she takes the ball and runs with it and offers to
put in a good word for you, that s great. But do not ask for it.
Play the long game
The real purpose of informational interviews is to build relationships and
develop future allies, supporters, and champions, says Lees. So don t think of
them as one-off meetings in which someone gives you 15 minutes of his time.
Take the long view and think about ways to cultivate your new professional
connection. Forward him a link to a relevant magazine article, for instance, or
invite her to an upcoming conference or networking event. In other words, be
helpful. You want to be seen as giving, not constantly taking, Lees says.
Clark notes that it can be a tricky proposition when there s a wide age or
professional gap between you, but if you focus on keeping the person apprised
of your progress perhaps writing him a note saying you read the book he
suggested or that you joined the professional association he recommended it
shows you listened and that his advice mattered.
Principles to Remember
Do:
Your homework. You should do enough background research before going in that
you sound like a credible candidate who s committed to moving into a new
sector.
Prepare a succinct explanation about your background and what you re looking
for
Send a handwritten thank-you note. It s good manners and makes you memorable.
Don t:
Go in cold. Practice doing informational interviews with friends and family so
you get used to asking great questions and listening.
Let one negative informational interview sour you on a job, company, or career
path. Solicit other opinions.
Ask for favors it s unseemly. Instead, ask for advice on how to position
yourself in the job market.
Case Study #1: Prepare and be gracious
Two years ago, Matt McConnell, who lives in southern California, wanted to move
from finance to marketing. He wasn t entirely sure of his direction, so he
began using informational interviews to learn about other peoples careers in
the hopes of narrowing his focus. I was also using the interviews to learn
more about other organizations to see whether they might be places I d want to
work, he says.
His first informational interview didn t go very well, and Matt takes full
responsibility. I didn t prepare, he recalls. He could tell, and he told me
that I was wasting his time.
Matt learned an important lesson. I ve never made that mistake again. I now
always overprepare, he says.
To get ready, he reads people s LinkedIn profiles, does a Google search on
their careers, and checks out their company s website. He tends to ask the same
questions, usually in the realm of how the person got started and how they
ended up in their current role. But I also make notes about particular
questions I want to ask so that I have something to reference if the
conversation stalls, he says.
Matt also has a post-meeting routine. I ask for a business card and
immediately send a handwritten thank-you note. The thank you is typically three
lines long, and I always mention one specific thing from our meeting that
resonated with me so they know I was listening and found their time valuable,
he says.
Early on in my career I worried that I didn t have anything to offer anyone in
return. [But] I learned that people enjoyed sharing their experiences and
offering advice, so I make sure to communicate my sincere gratitude.
Matt eventually had an informational interview with a marketing head of a
quick-service restaurant group that yielded results. After our meeting, the
person called me and said her company was hiring for a role she thought I d be
perfect for, he says. She d given my name to the HR department, and they were
planning on calling me within the next 30 minutes to do a phone interview. That
phone interview led to in-person interviews and eventually a job offer at that
company.
He worked at the company for a few years before moving on. He s now the
marketing manager for Astrophysics, a company that designs X-ray scanners for
security screenings.
Case Study #2: Be respectful and don t let negative feedback discourage you
A few months ago, Susan Peppercorn, a career coach and founder of Boston-based
Positive Workplace Partners, decided she wanted to write a book about work
satisfaction. Trouble was, she had no experience in the publishing industry
beyond blogging. To educate herself, she has been doing a lot of informational
interviews.
Some are with writers, others editors, and others published authors, she
says. In each case, I think in advance about each person s expertise and focus
my questions on the areas where I think they might have the most valuable
advice.
Susan makes sure she is respectful of the other person s time, never asking for
more than 30 minutes and always meeting at the person s convenience, not hers.
Before each interview, Susan also considers how she might help the person with
whom she s meeting: she might have a contact she could introduce, for instance,
or she could offer to look over a resume or cover letter.
One of her recent interviews was with a potential editor. Susan was excited,
and she prepared by thinking about what this particular person would look for
in taking on a client. She began the conversation with a two-minute description
of her book idea. But during the discussion, it became apparent that the editor
s goals and hers were quite different. He told me in a very nice way that I
had virtually no chance of having a publisher accept my book proposal. My
balloon was burst quickly.
Still, after the initial disappointment, she found value in his advice. I
learned about the importance of having a platform before approaching a
publisher, since they want to know in advance that your book will sell well,
she says. That saved me a lot of time and effort trying to pitch to publishers
and helped me look at the viability of self-publishing. It also made me realize
that I had more work to do with regard to clarifying and communicating the
value of my book.
The experience also helped her hone her approach for subsequent informational
interviews. Now she shares a brief outline of her book in advance, with a short
paragraph on her motivation for wanting to write it.
One of her most recent meetings, with a published author, was extremely
helpful. He explained the concept of a platform and helped me brainstorm
potential ones for my work, she explains.
Rebecca Knight is a freelance journalist in Boston and a lecturer at Wesleyan
University. Her work has been published in The New York Times, USA Today, and
The Financial Times.