How can you use informational interviews to land your dream job?

I disagree with this prompt's premise. Going in with targeted questions predisposes that you already know enough about the industry to form questions that actually matter. Which, considering informative interviews are typically used for career changes, is most likely not the case. This prompt says "How can they help you move closer to your dream job". Do not ask yourself this, for 2 major reasons: 1) If you are so under educated on the topic that you need this interview, you shouldn't be guiding the discussion. 2) If you focus on "what can they do for me?" You are making this relationship transactional, and you have nothing to transact with. Instead ask open ended questions that force them to divulge. Stroke their ego. Let them lead.

If you are not looking at a specific job or company, some best practices I've used are: 1) Research the most credible professional development organizations (PDO) in the industry (to use college admissions as an example, let's say NACAC, NAFSA, and CIVSA). 2) Reach out to the members of the board in those PDOs. If they are dedicating their time to that organization, they believe in growing the next generation of their industry. Cold calling someone who works in your dream company will be far less successful than finding someone who dedicates their free time to developing the profession. Targeting this group increases your chances of landing the interview.

Here are 3 of my favorite strategies when requesting informational interviews: 1. Find someone at the target company or in your target role where commonalities exist. Example: same school, hometown, organization or fraternity. 2. When you find that person, check out their activity on LinkedIn. Meaning are they active/kinda active/not active. Why? If they aren't active, they likely won't respond to your request. 3. Send a short and direct message requesting the meeting. And only ask for 15 minutes. A short meeting is hard to turn down. Hope this helps!

I agree with Kristi Cline, except for 1 small point, LinkedIn usage. Most people only use LinkedIn when they themselves are looking for a new job. And a lot of people turn off their notifications because they don't want to get bombarded with spam. Find their work email instead and reach out that way. You can find most businesses email schema by going to hunter.io

Want to maximize your 15 minute Informational Interview? Try this: ?? Come with your top 3 questions about the role and/or the company. Have a few as backup, if time permits. ?? One of those questions should be related to the culture of the company/team. ?? Close with this question: Who else should I speak to, regarding an opportunity like this? ?? BONUS: Ask this question -- Is there anything else you think I should know? Remember, one of the big goals of informational interviews it to let it open doors for you. By asking this question, you are potentially having another door open for you.