During your search, you build assumptions about the type of work you want to do and the fields and organizations where this work can be found. How do you know if your assumptions are correct? One way is through informational interviews. Dorie Clark, author of Stand Out Networking puts it simply.
“Informational interviews are essential to helping you find out more about the type of industry, company, or role you’re interested in. You may think you already know all about a certain position but speaking to someone directly gives you the opportunity to test your assumptions.”
Informational interviews also have another important benefit, the opportunity to connect with a professional. Some conversations will end after the initial informational interview. Others will go so well; the person will become part of your professional community.
If you’re new to informational interviewing, I suggest you check out the 2-Hour Job Search video and it’s approach to informational interviews (called informational meetings in 2HJS). If you’re already acquainted with the 2-Hour Job Search approach, now is a great time to refresh on informational interviews and make adaptions to your own approach based on what you’re learning.
Look here to see a feature on informational interviews. Here are a few resources you’ll find.
- This HBR article with an overview of informational interviews and additional insight from Dorie Clark.
- An article from Psychology Today with tips on how to make conversations better and perform well in an informational interview. Stick with it to the bulleted section and you’ll see how the application of a marriage counseling communication approach can be applied to other settings for effective conversation.
- Action steps for each phase of the informational interview
- Making a request
- Preparing for an interview
- Performing during an interview
- Following-up after an interview
