Best Practices for Informational Interviews and What to Avoid During Those Discussions

What is an Informational Interview?

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Informational interviews are typically structured conversations between an individual engaging with others to broaden their knowledge of a career field, industry, company, or role. Unlike a traditional job interview, the purpose of these conversations is not to secure employment but instead to gather insights, advice, and information from the other party.

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During these discussions, the interviewer usually asks questions to gain a deeper understanding of the other party’s career path, experiences, challenges, and advice to someone who is considering a similar path. It is an opportunity to gather valuable insights, expand a professional network and possibly uncover new opportunities.

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Informational interviews are commonly used to explore potential career paths, gather advice on breaking into a particular industry or learn more about a specific company or role.

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Best Practices for Informational Interviews

First off, identify your purpose. Define what you hope to gain from the informational interview. Are you exploring a new career path, looking for advice on how to break into a particular industry or looking for insights on a specific role?

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Research the other person and their organization. Review their background and their career path and review information about their organization. By doing so, you are demonstrating genuine interest, and this also allows you to tailor your questions more effectively.

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When looking to schedule an informational interview, be sure to customize your message in a way that conveys why you are interested in speaking to them and highlighting shared interests.

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Prepare well-thought-out questions in advance and avoid asking generic questions that could easily be found via a Google search. Focus on topics like career path, industry trends, challenges, and advice for someone starting out. Seek insights on how to be more effective in networking or job-hunting strategies.

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Some homework about an organization can pay significant dividends. For example, if an organization has a large and/or rapidly expanding pipeline of projects, that may suggest that the development side of the company is expanding faster than the research side. Conversely, if the development pipeline is small or the group has suffered significant program setbacks, they may be placing emphasis on research efforts compared to later stage work. Movement into or out of therapeutic/technology areas can be noticed. Similarly, in the Contract Research Organization/Contract Manufacturing space, acquisition of companies or expansion of partnerships could signal an increase in opportunities and new hiring. All of these trends, if studied, can focus your questions in a manner that could unlock insights on strategic approaches to gaining employment at that organization.?

Be professional and respectful. While this is not a formal job interview, dress appropriately, be punctual, and be courteous throughout the conversation. Show gratitude that the other person has been willing to share their time and expertise.

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Keep in mind that while this informational interview may not be about a job, you might make an impression that leads to an opportunity. Be at your best!

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Be an active listener. Pay close attention to the answers being given and don’t hesitate to take notes. I find that at times individuals feel the need to ‘apologize’ for note taking but in truth I encourage that practice if it helps them. Follow-up on topics if you wish greater clarity or intend to explore certain topics more broadly. This shows both active listening and engagement – something that the other person will notice.

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Should you choose to ask for feedback on your approach during the interview, your technical skills/work experiences in the context of roles you are seeking, quality of your resume, etc., be open to honest feedback. In those situations where I share with an individual that I don’t see them as a strong contender for certain types of roles (usually due to lack of technical depth or level of experience), I tend to see two types of responses. The first is clear disappointment that I’ve not given them the answer they were hoping for (fair but not changing reality). Otherwise, the conversation turns to ways the individual can bolster their technical capabilities or gain additional experiences that will make them more competitive. This latter approach is more helpful to you.

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Be sure to follow-up after the interview by sending an email or LinkedIn message to express your appreciation for the other person’s insights and advice. This helps maintain the connection and leaves a positive impression. Similarly, don’t hesitate to message your contact with follow-up questions or insights you have gained from the conversation.

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In addition, take time to reflect on what you have learned from the information interview. Besides the insights you may have gained about career decisions and possible next steps, assess how effectively the conversation went and use that learning to become more effective in the next set of discussions. It takes time and practice to become efficient in these conversations.

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Remember to pay it forward as you advance in your career. You may learn information that others could leverage, even in the early days of your journey. Ultimately, you will be the person that others look to for informational interviews. A culture of generosity helps everyone.

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What to Avoid During Informational Interviews

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There are a few common missteps that can occur during an informational interview that can turn that discussion into a negative experience for both parties.

Do not be unprepared. Failure to do some background work and create a list of focused questions will lead to a waste of time for both people in the interview and create a negative impression of yourself. ?Being unprepared will make you appear disinterested or unprofessional. From my experience, I can tell from the first few minutes whether I’m going to have a great conversation with someone versus trying to provide some coaching on how to more effectively conduct informational interviews.

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Informational interviews are not job interviews. Asking directly for help in getting a job, internship, or other opportunity in the context of an informational interview is a mistake. Use your time to build a relationship, gather insights and hopefully plant a seed for further interactions. I have ultimately hired individuals stemming from initial informational interviews but that was based on the connection and my insight into their skills and long-term interests. The direct ask in the context of an informational interview never works with me and likely not with many others. It is fair game to demonstrate genuine interest in an organization during the conversation and ask general questions about company hiring practices, internships, fellowships, etc.

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Similarly, avoid using this initial connection to request job referrals or a letter of recommendation. For an individual to agree to a job referral or letter of recommendation, they must choose to leverage their political capital and personal credibility on behalf of another individual. In those cases where they know the person well and can speak to their attributes, this is not an issue. Absent that relationship, you will be met with a flat refusal or a lukewarm recommendation that smart interviewers will spot a mile away as being generic and meaningless.

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Remember this is a conversation, not a monologue. Don’t make the informational interview an infomercial about yourself. That defeats the purpose of gaining information from the other person. In a good interaction, the person you are speaking to will ask you questions about yourself. Use those openings to create a favorable impression.

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Be respectful of people’s time and effort. Showing up late or not at all would be highly detrimental in a job interview setting. It also creates a bad impression with those individuals trying to help you. Life does happen and I have seen cases where individuals had illness, other emergencies and the occasional ‘my experiment is taking longer than I thought.’ In those cases, being given a heads-up always leads to a reschedule.

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Finally, be patient when you request time for an informational interview. Oftentimes, the individuals you wish to talk to have heavy professional responsibilities and/or are juggling many other requests for these sessions. I have personally seen situations where individuals were quite patient and benefited from that patience (they already are catching my attention for their professionalism). In other cases, it was clear that if I did not clear my calendar sometime in the next 5-7 days (yes that does happen), the person making the request is annoyed or fails to follow-up. Don’t be that person.

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Overall, informational interviews serve as a valuable tool for career exploration, networking, and gaining insider perspectives on various aspects of the working world. Remember, it is not who you know, but who knows you. The impression you leave during these conversations in addition to the learning can make a difference in your professional journey.