Informational Interviews: A Guide

Yes, yes, we already know I love to talk and have informational interviewed with over 100 business professionals. Something I have not touched on, yet I often get asked is HOW exactly did I plan and structure those chats.

Not as creatively as I normally write, this week I decided to share with you my step-by-step guide to informational interviewing...

Planning the chat:

Let's say you reach out to someone via LinkedIn (this may be the easiest way if you do not already have the individuals email), LinkedIn gives you a certain amount of characters for your first message, sp you want to keep it brief and straight to the point.

PRO TIP: If you recognize that someone you would like to speak with has 0 mutual connections with you, do your best to connect with someone else from their company so that you have a mutual connection for familiarity, but also so that you have an extra point of contact to reach out to to ask questions and interview as well!

When messaging to book an informational interview with a business professional be sure to include;

- a greeting

- your name

- why you would like to speak with them (be specific, you can go into further details when you speak with them)

- ask when their availability is

- "Thank you for your consideration" (or something along those lines)

Before the chat:

Do NOT go into an informational interview without understanding who you are speaking with and what exactly you would like to get out of the chat. Often, conversation naturally flows and you get into topics that were not planned, and that is WONDERFUL! However, you should do some preliminary background research of who you are speaking to and prepare 3-4 questions you would like to know their answers to prior to the chat.

PRO TIP: When connecting with someone new, try to find something on their profile that you either have in common, or that resonates with you, so that you have a proof point to why you reached out in the first place.

Example: "I noticed we both graduated from the same University and I love seeing what other *school name* alumni have accomplished..."

The Chat:

Once a chat is scheduled, this is somewhat how it should be structured. Keep in mind this is only a guide, you should use your own conversational judgement and ideas to make the call individual and unique to YOU.

1. Who you are- what you enjoy/passionate about, what you do for work or want to do for work, why you are reaching out

2. Asking them a bit more about themselves, i.e., why or how they chose the career they are in, drawing from some of their experiences ask them the questions you had prepared (i.e., I see you came from a background in science but are now in business, what skills from the science background translated to that career and what did you have to learn…”

PRO TIP: Ask these questions in a non-interview style where when they reply you would not just fire a question back. Rather take what they have said, process it, and share something similar to their experience that you have felt, or you may be prompted to ask another question that was not on your initial list.

3. Throughout the chat, LISTEN. You have asked to speak with someone to hear about their experiences. They will often ask you questions as well, but the key is to take in what is being said, take light notes, and process the information given so you are able to learn and take something away. It is great to know how to talk, but listening is the golden skill.

4. Before ending the chat, ask if they had another connection that they feel would be a good person for you to reach out too. After hearing the questions you asked and the position you are in, they may have a connection that would be beneficial to speak with, and this is how you grow your network. You can ask for an introduction to that individual.

5. Lastly, be conscious of the individuals time. Make sure that a few minutes before the end of the scheduled time you mention that you appreciate their time and you are conscious of their busy schedule (prompting to end the call at its scheduled time), and if they have more time and the chat is going well, they will usually continue the call. This is out of respect for the fact someone has taken time out of their day to pass along priceless knowledge.

After The Chat:

Make sure you follow up with a thank you message either that evening or the following business day. Try to briefly mention one thing you took away from the call so that they can see you have learned from their experiences and their time was valuable to you.

If the call was great and you had more to ask, this is where you can ask for a follow up conversation as well.