Information in Informational Interviews

 One of the most difficult things for people to do is conduct a good informational interview. Especially if they are out of work at the time and think every time they sit down with someone they have to hand them a resume.

That doesn't work.

As soon as you give someone a resume, you can't get information, you give it. The nature of the interview changes and it becomes a job interview, even if there is no job. They just move into the “resume mode” of interviewing. And that doesn't help anyone.

An informational interview is just that...a chance to gather information. And that is the reason you are sitting in their office or at the local coffee shop. You are interviewing them not them interviewing you. Remember that.

It is really easy to get an informational interview with someone. Ask them. Most people are more than happy to give you a chance to ask them questions. Here are some words you can use...

“Good Morning John. Jack gave me your phone number and recommended that I call you. I am looking at making some important decisions in my career and I am looking for information. I have a few questions I would like to sit down and ask you. What does your schedule look like over the next few days? No, I am not looking for a job right now. I am looking for information and answers to some questions I have. Could we meet on Tuesday?”

It really is that easy. The hard part is picking up the phone. After that, they are happy to give you information. You make them feel very important just by asking.

You need to do some research before heading into an informational interview. You need to know what kinds of questions you are going to ask. Going in without your questions written down in advance means you are going to mess up. There is no way to do it right without preparing your questions in advance.

Here are some questions you may want to ask...

• Tell me how you got to where you are today?
• What do you like most about your career/job/company/industry?
• If you could change anything about your career/job/company/industry what would it be and why?
• If you were me, interested in this kind of direction, what would you do first?
• If you could only teach me one thing, what would that one thing be?
• If you were me, who else would you be talking to?

Once you start asking questions it is easy to drive them deeper when they start to answer. You can follow a thread that they give you to get more information. After all, that is why you are there.

Now, what do you do with the information? You evaluate it. What did you learn? What did they tell you? Where does this sit in your need for information? What else do you need to learn? Where can you go to get more information. What decisions does this information help you to make?

Remember...The purpose of the interview is to get information so you can make decisions. If this is a career/job/company/industry you want to pursue something in, you now have a start. If not, you know you can stop that line and start a new one.

There are times that you can turn an informational interview into a job interview. But that is always at the second interview, not the first. If you want to pursue an opportunity with the company there are ways for you to be able to do that.

The most important thing to remember about an informational interview is that you will use the information to make a decision...not to get a job. The job comes because you make a decision