Informational interviews: how to ask, and what to ask

What an informational interview is, and is not

The direction of an informational interview is reversed. You request it, you prepare the questions, and you lead the conversation. MIT’s career advising office defines it as a low-pressure way to gather career information from people who are already working in occupations, organizations, or geographic locations of interest to you.

What you are collecting is the information that does not appear in a job advert: what the work is like day to day, which parts people find hard, and how the entry routes really work. Job descriptions describe responsibilities. People describe the job.

It is not a job interview in disguise, and treating it as one is the mistake that ruins the conversation. Nobody is scoring you, there is no vacancy on the table, and asking whether they are hiring converts a generous half hour into an awkward one. The connection you make can still lead somewhere, which is precisely why it should not be rushed.

It is also not a favour you have to apologise for. People agree to these conversations often, usually because someone once did the same for them, and as the National Careers Service puts it, networking works both ways.

Who to approach first

Start closer to home than you expect to. MIT’s guidance points out that family, friends, neighbours, professors or past coworkers may already work in the career you want to explore, and those are the easiest conversations to arrange.

The next ring out is people one introduction away. The National Careers Service suggests asking your network whether they know someone who works in the career you are interested in, and then acting on it: if you are given a name to contact, do it. Following through, it notes, shows that you are motivated, confident and keen.

Beyond that, alumni directories, professional associations and LinkedIn are the standard routes, and all three work better when you have something concrete in common: the same course, the same city, the same specialism.

Pick for relevance rather than seniority. Someone two or three years into the role you are considering remembers the entry route accurately and can describe the daily work. A director gives you a view of the industry and little sense of what you would do on a Tuesday.

MIT’s guidance also warns against drawing conclusions from a single source, advising that you be prepared to talk with several individuals to get a good, well-rounded perspective.

How to request one

The request can go by email, phone, in person or through a platform such as LinkedIn. MIT’s advice on how to write it comes down to three words: be clear, concise, and courteous. Say who you are, how you found them, what you are exploring, and exactly how much time you are asking for.

Ask for 20 to 30 minutes. It is the recommended length, and it works because it is small enough to say yes to and long enough to be useful. Offering a choice of format removes the next obstacle.

Subject: 20 minutes on moving into health data analysis?

Hi Priya,

I found you through the alumni directory, and I noticed you moved from a lab role into health data analysis a few years after finishing the same course I am on now.

I am trying to work out whether that path makes sense for me, and I would rather hear it from someone who has done it than guess from job adverts. Would you be willing to talk for 20 to 30 minutes in the next few weeks?

I am happy to do a call, a video meeting, or come to you if that is easier. Any weekday morning works on my side, and I will send questions in advance if that helps.

Thank you either way,

Daniel

Notice what the message does not do: no CV attached, no mention of openings, no request for help finding a job. It names a specific reason for approaching this person, which is what makes a cold request land.

The National Careers Service adds a general principle that applies well here: start by asking for something small and realistic, because the easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to help you. Half an hour about their own career is about as small and realistic as a request gets.

Preparing for the conversation

Preparation looks much like preparing for a job interview, for a different reason. MIT’s guidance recommends researching the organisation so you can create targeted questions and show your enthusiasm and professionalism. The research is not there to impress anyone; it is so you do not spend 25 minutes asking what the website already answers.

Be honest with yourself about what you want from the conversation. The same guidance notes that goals change along a continuum from general career research to specific job research advice, and knowing where you sit on that line decides which questions matter.

Bring a written list of open-ended questions, more than you will use, ordered so the most important ones come early. Conversations drift and run short, and the question you most needed to ask should not be the one you ran out of time for.

If the meeting is in person, MIT suggests arriving early, especially if you are meeting in a public place such as a coffee shop, so you can get a seat.

Informational interview questions worth asking

MIT’s career office publishes a long list of suggested questions grouped by what you are trying to learn, and the grouping matters more than the wording. Two or three from each relevant group gives you a conversation rather than an interrogation.

For the shape of the work, the published examples include what are your major job responsibilities, what aspects of your job do you enjoy the most, and how is your time divided between working with people, data, and things. That last one surfaces the difference between two jobs that share a title.

For the route in, the suggested questions include how did you get into this field, what are the typical entry-level jobs, and how do most people enter it. Ask these even when you think you know, since published entry routes and actual ones often differ.

For what it is like to be there, the list offers how would you describe your work environment, how much flexibility are you permitted in your job, how much work do you take home, and what are the biggest challenges you have encountered at work.

For the direction of the field, the examples include what are the challenges facing this industry today and what changes do you see occurring in this field.

For preparation, two stand out: what do you wish you had known before you entered this field, and what are the minimum qualifications a person needs to enter it. The first often produces the most valuable sentence in the conversation.

For onward contacts, the suggested phrasings include what other companies should I explore that do this type of work and is there someone you know that I might also benefit from talking to.

And two closing questions are worth memorising. Are there any questions I should have asked but did not. And do you mind if I stay in touch with you regarding my career search.

Running the conversation

You called the meeting, so you open it. Thank them for the time, say in two sentences where you are and what you are trying to work out, then move to your first question. A long self-introduction eats the time you asked for.

Watch the clock, which MIT states as a rule: monitor the time and attempt to keep the interview within the specified time. If you asked for 25 minutes, start wrapping up at 22. Offering to stop on time is what makes people willing to speak to you again, and what most often makes them offer you longer.

Take notes, and ask follow-up questions when an answer is interesting rather than marching through your list. The best material usually comes from the second question on a topic, not the first.

Do not ask for a job, a referral or a CV review in the first conversation. If they raise an opening themselves, follow it. If they do not, the right moment for a referral is later, after you have stayed in contact and acted on what they told you.

If they offer another name, take it, ask how they would like you to make the approach, and then actually write to that person.

Afterwards: thanks, notes and staying in touch

Send a thank-you message quickly. MIT’s guidance is specific: show gratitude by sending a thank-you email or note within 24 hours. Keep it short, name one thing you will do differently because of the conversation, and say nothing about vacancies.

Then write the conversation up while you remember it. The recommended habit is to keep a document with a record of the people with whom you have interviewed, the dates of the meeting, what was discussed, and names of additional contacts. Six conversations in, this log is the only thing standing between you and forgetting which person told you which useful fact.

Evaluate what you learned rather than just filing it: what appealed to you, what worried you, and what it changes. A conversation that puts you off a field has done you a large favour at a cost of 30 minutes.

Stay in touch at a human frequency. A short note a few months later, saying what you did with their advice, keeps the connection alive without asking for anything. These contacts, as MIT’s guidance puts it, become part of your long-term professional network.