How to Nail Your Informational Interview
Informational interviews, more casually known as coffee chats, can be a great way to expand your network, narrow down your career search, and gain knowledge of your industries of interest. In the online world where you can’t naturally meet colleagues or classmates, putting yourself out there is more important than ever. You’ve probably heard it as many times as I have: it’s not about what you know, but who you know. Networking is an absolute must in the world of business. It can seem intimidating at first to talk to professionals you look up to, but practice makes perfect.
The following steps will help you nail your next (or first) informational interview:
Before the interview
Figure out what industries or companies you’re interested in
Don’t overthink this step. Simply think about some dream companies you’d like to work for and if you don’t have any, find some that at least seem interesting. This may take a bit of research, but once you get into it, things will naturally fall into place. A good starting point to help narrow this down is to look up jobs you can do with your major and cross out ones you have no interest in at all.
Utilize LinkedIn
We are so lucky to live in a world where we can easily connect with anyone from anywhere. Once you’ve figured out some companies you’re interested in, search it on LinkedIn and find some employees. My personal favorite hack is using the LinkedIn filters to find alumni that work at specific companies. Alumni love to help students, I promise you!
Connect & write a thoughtful message
Here’s a short template I’ve found success using when connecting with alumni:
“Hi (insert name)! I'm a current (major) student at SDSU and would love to pursue a career in the (insert) industry. I really admire your career; If you have a chance, I'd appreciate any advice you could share with me from your experiences in an informational interview. In the meantime, let's connect!”
Disclaimer: you aren’t always going to get responses, and that’s okay! A lot of professionals with hundreds (or thousands) of connections on LinkedIn likely get countless connection requests every day, so don’t take it personally and keep trying. All you need is a few kind souls to respond back.
Set up a time, prepare, & write up questions
Once you get a response (congrats!), it’s time to schedule a time. I usually try to give people at least a couple of days to a week’s notice and always remain flexible to their time. However, it’s good to specify some days you’re free to make it easier on them. Most importantly, keep your exchanges short and to the point.
Once a day and time have been established, it’s time to prepare and write up a script of questions. Here’s an article I’ve found helpful in all of my informational interviews: https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/questions-to-ask-informational-interview/
Of course, adjust as needed and come up with some of your own questions. After all, informational interviews are what you make of them and professionals will help you with anything you’d like to know.
During the interview
Keep your introduction short and sweet.
Let them know what you’re interested in and what exactly you want to know about their work.
Don’t stress and just have a casual conversation!
Don’t be afraid to ask them to elaborate on points or topics you don’t know about.
Keep your time with them limited to about 20-30 minutes
Make time, in the end, to thank them, ask to stay in touch (if you’d like to), and for any references they can give you in your related field.
After the interview
Stay in touch: send articles, like or comment on posts, update them on your new roles, congratulate them on theirs.
If they have shared references with you, connect with them and repeat!
I hope you found this helpful. Informational interviews are one of my favorite ways to connect with professionals. Once you get the hang of it, they can be very fun! One last note: there are so many online resources to help you, so don’t be afraid to do some more digging to better help yourself prepare. You got this!
Best of luck!
By Lauren Williams
