Informational interviews are the quickest and most overlooked way for students to get the inside scoop on a field and build connections that could land them a job some day. In as little as an hour you can learn more from one person than you might in a week on the Internet. Here’s a three-step guide for getting the most out of that time.
- Write down a few things that you’re curious about regarding a career path.
Questions are powerful. That’s because once you take a question as your own, your mind will start looking for ways to answer it.
If you struggle with questions, write a couple down and move on to the next step. Maybe more questions will come to you as you talk to people.
Bonus points. If you want to maximize what you get from the interview and you're up for a challenge, here’s a great place to invest your time. Try writing 40 questions about the career path you’re investigating. The more that you can write down, the more you’ll learn.
- Ask people who they think might have some answers.
You may only know 10 people. But when you add up all the people that they know, your network grows to 100 people. One connection leads to another. Ask parents, counselors, teachers, neighbors, and people at your church or synagogue. Expect that you’ll have to go through five “Sorry, I don’t know” responses before you get a good answer.
Get points for bravery and multiply your network by asking people you don’t normally talk to for help: the postman, a server at a restaurant or a police woman. You would be surprised how many people they know from working with the public.
Bonus points. You don’t have to settle for the first name you hear. If you want to really learn how to network, a skill that will serve you well in life, keep asking for more contacts. Put together a list of several potential people you could interview and then prioritize them according to who you think will be most helpful.
- Meet up.
This is it. You’ll have a short time to learn insider tips that could shape your future. Make the most of it.
Introduce yourself. People can be more helpful to you if they know a little about you, your plans and what your trying to learn from them. If you spend a few minutes talking about this at the beginning, the person your interviewing will be much more likely to focus on the information that you need. Pick up bonus points by sending a letter or email in advance with a couple paragraphs about you and a list of some of the questions that you want to cover.
Show respect. You're asking someone to share their most valuable resources: their time and their experience. Show them that you appreciate it by arriving promptly and thanking them twice during the meeting. You can get bonus points by sending a short thank you note afterwards or offering to pay for the meal if you eating, though your contact probably won’t let you.
Show interest. You get out what you put in. People will tell you more if they think you really want to know what they think. Show that your listening. Ask lots of questions. And if you don’t understand something completely, say so. Most of us miss good advice because it doesn’t make sense to us at first. Save yourself that misfortune by asking now for clarification: “why is it so important that I get an internship?”
Take notes. You’ll forget half of what you’ve heard by the next day and most of what you’ve heard by the end of the month. Get more from your meeting by taking notes on big ideas while you meet. This will also show the other person that your listening and help you to realize when you need to clarify something he just said because it doesn’t make sense in your notes. Get bonus points by planning to spend up to an hour after your meeting writing down additional ideas and questions that came from your meeting.
The more personal and real your questions are, the more you’ll learn from the answers. So write your own. But feel free to borrow from this list of starter questions aimed at prompting people to share what they’ve learned.
Questions
- What other careers did you pursue or consider?
- Why did you choose this one?
- What’s a typical day like in this career?
- What do you find rewarding about this kind of work?
- What is a good day like?
- What do you find disappointing about this kind of work?
- What is a bad day like?
- What has helped you be successful in your career?
- What common mistakes would you advise people to avoid in entering this career?
- What kind of people don’t do well in this career path?
- What kind of college, apprenticeships or other education would I need?
- Where’s the best place to get that education?
- How do people rise to the top in this career path?
- What kind of pay range do people make in this career?
- What are the best paid positions?
- Do you know anyone else who might be able to help me learn about this career path?
- What kind of jobs or internships could someone like myself do now that would prepare them for this kind of career?
- I’ll probably think of other questions later, would you mind if I followed up later if I need to? What’s the best way to reach you?
Bryan Taylor is the president of EduGuide. Informational Interviews helped him travel the world and land his first executive position by the age of twenty.