What is an informational interview?

An informational interview is a chance to learn about a specific job, industry, or organization. You’re not pimping your resume or asking for a job or a connection (if you do this you’re doing it wrong). Basically, you’re sitting down over coffee and having a chill conversation with someone about their career or industry, so you can get some helpful information about navigating your career.

You'll want to do an informational interview with someone who is doing interesting work you're curious about. The point is to gather information (hence the name) so you can make well-informed career decisions. It’s a great way to learn about breaking into a particular industry, growing in your current one, or just looking at your options.

Why you want one

Informational interviews are especially important if you’re not quite sure what kind of work you want to pursue. It’s your chance to feel things out before you decide to quit your job, pursue a particular career path, or potentially get more training.

If you’re using an informational interview to suss out your options, one of two things might happen:

1) You get confirmation that the path you’re going down seems to be a good fit. You like what you hear about this industry or company and your skills and interests match up.

2) You learn about some red flags and dodge a bullet. The industry or company you’re learning about is nothing like you thought it was. It’s not actually what you want and you’re glad you found that out now.

Both of these outcomes are great, by the way. It's always better to know what you're getting into before you jump.

What do I say to get an informational interview?

Creep people on LinkedIn, check your Twitter feed, look up the staff directories of the cool companies you want to learn about. It’s even better if you have a friend who can introduce you to someone you want to speak with. If so, the likelihood of the person actually saying yes goes up exponentially.

Once you know who you want to talk to, keep your request short and sweet. In your email you want to:

• Say who you are in a sentence or two. Resist the urge to tell them your life story because a) it’s a waste of their time and, b) they don’t care.
• Tell them that you want to learn more about their field of work and hear about their experience, and that you’re NOT asking for a job or a connection (major ick factor).
• Ask if they would be willing to speak with you.
• Say you’ll come to them and work around their schedule. They’re doing you a favor by agreeing to talk to you, so make it easy for them to say yes.

No really, what do I say? Like, exactly.

Your email might look something like this:

 BOOM. That’s what a winning informational interview request looks like.

Notice three important things here:

1. You’re not telling the person your life story. Why? They’re busy. Also, they don’t care because they don’t know you yet.
2. You’re making it clear that you’re not asking for a job. You’re just looking for information about their work. (Which is way less icky than asking a total stranger for a job hookup. Ew.)
3. You’re making it easy for them to say yes by keeping the suggested time short and offering to work around their schedule and location.

Side note: If you don’t know exactly what kind of work you want to do, no probelmo. Just say that. Or if you’re not working, just say that. Or if you’re still a student, just say that. I hope you’re noticing that the point isn’t to impress someone; it’s to gather information.

The rejection factor

Not everyone you ask for an informational interview will say yes. In fact, you'll probably only get a yes from 1 out of every 4 or 5 requests. That’s understandable. People are busy. Don't take it personally.

Some people won’t even respond to your email. If you get crickets, give it a week and then send a polite follow-up. Maybe their silence means no, but maybe they just forgot about you in the inbox shuffle.

Preparing for your meeting

Once you've sent out your requests and booked a couple of meetings, it's time to prepare for those conversations. Here's how to prepare for your informational interview.