The Untapped Potential of Informational Interviews

Next Step Navigator is a career newsletter mixing real talk with real advice to help you tackle the job hunt and carve out your own unique path. It’s like grabbing a coffee with a mentor who shares stories and strategies to boost your confidence and guide you towards making strategic, meaningful career moves.

It’s December and in some corners, people are winding down for the holiday season.  This can include folks on the recruitment side and if you’re currently a job seeker, you’re probably seeing less postings as we approach the end of 2023.

This downward trend can feel concerning if you’re looking for work, but take heart; securing a new position doesn’t rely solely on applying to online postings.  In fact, most people are way too focused on their resume and mistakenly consider it the keystone of their entire job search strategy.

The job market is competitive right now and everyone is trying to put forward the strongest application possible.  A strong application demonstrates knowledge of the target organization’s values, goals and ethos, aligns the seeker’s experience closely with the needs of the position and shows (not tells) that they can fulfill the position's mandate.

However, this level of specific information can’t always be found in a job description or on a company website.

To be this granular, you need to talk to people.  You need to hear from someone at the organization to find out what they care about, the challenges they’re facing and the goals they are trying to reach.   

This is where the informational interview is absolutely key.  Not to be confused with a referral or simply an insider contact, an informational interview is a chance for you to access specific, nuanced information about a role or company to build a professional relationship and craft a stronger job application.

An informational interview is a short conversation (sometimes called a coffee chat) where the interviewer (the job seeker) asks questions to a contact in a role, field or organization of interest.  It’s the beginning of a professional relationship and is a chance for the interviewer to gain knowledge for their job search or other career development goals.  The interviewee has a chance to give back to another professional, to tell their career story and enter in a mutually beneficial relationship.

These conversations are important for everyone, but they are especially crucial for early career professionals, folks changing fields or anyone who hasn’t looked for a job in 5+ years (things change fast!)

This article won’t go in depth on how to find people to reach out to, but I’ll just say that LinkedIn is great for this!  You can search by company, job title, university/college alumni or with targeted hashtags.  

Let’s get into a few strategy pieces.

Don’t waste anyone’s time (including your own)

The biggest mistake you can make when someone says yes to an informational interview is being underprepared for the conversation.  It’s expected that you drive the conversation with questions and you only have about ~30 minutes to get the information you’re looking for.

Get specific about your goals for the conversation.  What information are you hoping to leave with?  Prepare 5-10 questions and make sure you lead with them.  While it can be interesting to hear someone’s entire career history, if you’re actually looking to learn specifically about company culture, current challenges, specifics about the daily flow of work tasks, special skills, qualifications or other job-specific information, you need to be ready to ask that!

Show up having done as much research as you can, with warmth and enthusiasm and you’ll make a fantastic first impression.

Don’t ask for a job

If you’re talking to someone for the very first time, don’t ask for a job, a referral or to be connected to a hiring manager.  While folks are generally happy to talk and want to help, they have to consider their own reputation!  If you’ve just met, they won’t feel comfortable providing a recommendation.  You can, however, ask for general advice or if there’s anyone else at the company they think you should talk to.  You might get lucky with a warm introduction!  

Send a meaningful thank you and follow up 

Professional relationships are not built on the first interaction.  After your conversation, send a sincere thank you note, highlighting one or two key things you learned from the conversation and assure them you’ll keep in touch.  Consider commenting on their LinkedIn content, sending a relevant article, a holiday greeting or personal career news in future.  

There isn’t a resume formatting trick, AI prompt or ATS run-around that will definitely land you a job.  You only have limited time to put towards job search and if you’ve been using the “spray and pray” approach to applying online, you’d be better served by networking activities.  Be consistent in your efforts, craft good questions, show up prepared, express genuine interest in people and follow up.  

There are tons of other benefits to informational interviews that I didn’t get into (access to the hidden job market, elevator pitch practice, confidence building) but take this info as your “101”  guide and start reaching out to people.  Some say that a change is as good as a rest, and it can feel good to put aside your resume and tear your eyes away from Indeed for a while.

Have you been on either side of the informational interview?  How have these conversations impacted your career?

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