Informational interviewing can be one of the most useful career planning or job marketing tools that are available to you. The following "rules" should be used:
1. Do your homework prior to the interview. Know what you need to find out.
2. Write out the questions that you will want to ask. Time is at an premium in this situation and you want to use it to your fullest and you want to appear professional. Unfocused and vague questions do not produce the kind of information you need or leave the impression you want.
3. Don't say, "The work you do sounds interesting. Can you tell me something about it and what it is like?" Instead, ask the following:
- What are the critical skills needed in this type of work?
- What are some of the major problems or issues that someone in your field or position faces?
- Are there professional associations, journals, or magazines that might help me learn more about this field? Which ones would you recommend?
- Are there any courses that might be particularly helpful?
- Given my background, what do you think an employer's reservations might be in hiring me for a position in this area? Or.. Given my background, what do you think I need to do to become competitive for a job in this field?
- During my job research I have run across this term and I really don't understand what ______ means. Can you explain it to me?
- What are the major responsibilities of your position? What do you like and what do you dislike about it? How does it relate to other positions, and where does it fit organizationally? What are the related positions that might offer entry into this field/company? Are there career paths? What are some of the areas that a person with experience can move into?
4. After the interview, follow up with a thank you letter. It is not only good manners, but it is good business sense and will show that you are a professional in every sense of the word.
The benefits of Informational Interviewing include:
· Gaining information that is first hand and current.
· Learning about a variety of individual career paths.
· Finding out the good and bad aspects of a field, job, or firm.
· Learning what actually happens in a job on a daily basis.
· Expanding your knowledge of the wide variety o jobs available.
· Going beyond job titles to learn which skills are necessary.
· Adding to your self-confidence by becoming comfortable with interviews.
· Expanding your network of contacts.
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