What is an Informational Interview?
- A conversation with someone in the field you are interested in working in, intended to help you learn what it is really like to work in that field.
- An opportunity to identify organizations you might ultimately like to work for.
- An opportunity to better prepare for a subsequent job interview by helping you to gather “on the spot” information.
How Can I Prepare?
- Read everything you can find about the organization BEFORE the interview so that you can ask really useful questions. Use the Internet.
What Should I Ask?
Please describe…
- A typical day?
- The kinds of people who succeed/fail in this kind of job?
- The kinds of credentials or degrees required to start in this work?
- The skills that are needed for this work? The skills that one develops?
- The kind of training that is available?
- Typical entry and mid-level earnings?
- What surprised/pleased you about this work?
- The kind of advancement in this work? Typical career path?
- How long people tend to stay in this position? With this organization?
- The atmosphere in this office/organization?
- How you got started?
- Would you choose this field again? If not, why not?
- What prior experiences prepared you for this work?
- What do you like/dislike about this organization?
- What do you think about the future of this work? This industry? This organization?
- What is the value system of this organization? The culture?
- How has the recession impacted your industry?
- Has this work has made you more or less marketable outside this organization?
- How has this position affected your personal life? Is there much overtime?
- What do you wish someone had told you before you entered this field?