What is an Informational Interview?
Informational Interviews are explorations about career paths, how to break into a field. These highly focused conversations last 20 to 30 minutes, and are designed to provide you with information to boost or launch your career. They allow you to “‘try on’ an industry, company, or job to see if it ‘fits'” before you join.
It makes sense to talk to people in the field you want to pursue – but most people never do. They miss out on one of the most underutilized networking tools available today. One article recently claimed that while 1 in 200 – 1500 resumes result in a job offer, 1 in 12 informational interviews result in an offer.
Why they work:
Generally, people love to talk about themselves. An informational interview gives them a wonderful opportunity to do so. Since you are not asking, suggesting or pressuring the interviewer for a job, the conversation is relaxed and unguarded, in a way that a regular interview never will be.
The obvious benefit of informational interviews is to learn first-hand about an occupation, about the company and about the individual who granted you the interview.
Hidden Benefits of the Informational Interview:
- Building your network of people you know personally in an industry.
- Getting referrals to other individuals or divisions within the company.
- Getting referrals to other companies or individuals in the industry that you otherwise would never know about.
- Practicing your interviewing skills. You are just there gathering information; there is no chance for rejection. You have the opportunity to build confidence in your interviewing skills.
- Learning about jobs in the “hidden job market”.
CAUTION: DO NOT mix Job Seeking with Informational Interviews. Employers will grant you an informational interview if they firmly believe that you will NOT hit them up for a job. What if you discover that a position you’d like is open during your informational interview? Send a note to the interviewer the next day thanking them for their time. Let them know the informational interview confirmed your interest in their company, and that you’d like to apply for the job that was mentioned.
Informational Interviews (What & Why)
Connie Dorigan, Founder and Director of Recruiting, sees the food processing industry as the link between good living and good people. She’s the west coast’s most experienced and trusted food processing recruiter. She also provides Executive and Career Coaching and lots of free job search tools. Once you’ve connected with Connie, you’ll always be connected.
© 2018 Connie Dorigan. All rights reserved.
This is a general interest article and does not constitute specific or legal advice.
