You should be requesting informational interviews. Here’s how

Networking is one of the cornerstones of a successful career and job search. One of the most effective networking tools is known as an informational interview, which is a discussion focused on learning — about a role, a person’s career, a company, industry and so much more. Informational interviews can help you plot your next career move and create strong bonds with people who can help you along the way.

Yet, few people ask for informational interviews. If they do, many end up spoiling the experience by asking for too much too quickly or showing up unprepared for the conversation.

Rosie McCarthy, who is the founder of Badass Careers and a former recruiter, mentioned the ins-and-outs of informational interviews a couple of months ago when we were chatting for another edition of Get Hired focused on communicating with potential employers. You can read that edition by clicking here.

I called her up to revisit the topic for this edition.

What are informational interviews?

“It's a way to connect with people who are already doing cool stuff, or in cool companies,” said McCarthy, who is also a 2020 LinkedIn Top Voices in Job Search and Careers. “It can literally just be labeled a career curiosity conversation, a coffee catch up, whatever it is.” 

“It's an exchange that allows you to get more information about a certain person's profession or a workplace that they're currently working in. Or, during the job search phase, potentially a certain team or role itself.”

The part that tends to scare people away from informational interviews is asking complete strangers for 30 minutes of their time, she said.

One way to counter your trepidation about asking for an informational interview is to have these conversations while you’re employed or go into the discussion without any expectation that it will directly lead to a job.

“It's just so much easier to make the ask when you know that it's coming from a genuine place of curiosity.”

The right people to reach out to for conversations

“In my coaching programs, people have thought about their strengths, values, experiences and the problems they love to solve,” said McCarthy. “All these kinds of things. They come up with these sort of keywords and we put these keywords and different combinations into LinkedIn.”

Then, she said, they try to find “cool people doing cool stuff” in the search results. Target people and people at companies that you want to learn more about.

“My biggest thing is trying to find people you have a connection with in some way,” she added. “And I am a big fan of going in at what I call the peer level — people who you would actually be colleagues with or they'd be on your team.”

If you’re a job seeker, you probably instinctively think you should have informational interviews with recruiters and hiring managers, but that can actually often be a losing strategy. Recruiters and hiring managers are often inundated with requests for meetings on top of their existing work. Therefore, it may be better to reach out to people who are more likely to say yes.

“You can speak to someone on the team, get that genuine insider information, some tips — maybe for the interview if you're going through a job search process,” said McCarthy.

If you hit it off with the other person and they think you’d be a good fit at their company, they may suggest sending your resume. Then, they can forward it to the hiring manager or recruiter.

“That can be more powerful than trying to reach out sometimes to the hiring manager themselves.”

Asking for an informational interview

One of the most important things to remember during a job search or career exploration is that you will often be told no or rejected, but you need to keep going. The same applies when asking for informational interviews. McCarthy said you’ll likely need to send several requests just to get one yes.

To increase your odds of success, she suggests doing some research — about a half-hour’s worth – on the person before you reach out to them. Start off with any connection you may have with them. Then, explain the genuine reason you’re reaching out to the person. Also, give two or three questions you’d like the person to answer. Don’t make the questions general, such as “tell me about your career journey” or “tell me about your company.” Be specific. Finally, offer a few possible 15- to 30-minute timeslots for the person to accept.

What about the actual conversation?

As with most parts of career planning and job searching, preparation is a key part of informational interviews. McCarthy suggests preparing specific questions in advance and — since most meetings are still over video — keeping them next to your webcam for guidance. Those questions are especially helpful when there is a natural dip in the conversation.

Another tip she offered is to own the time. If a person agrees to a 30-minute conversation, be respectful of that amount and keep the conversation moving. Give the person clues about how much time is left so they don’t keep checking the clock. For example, you can tell the person “we only have 10 minutes left and I have two more questions.” Also, you should ask them if they know of anyone else you should talk to about a role, profession, industry or company.

The conversation should continue

McCarthy said you should keep the conversation going beyond that initial chat. McCarthy says it’s important to send some kind of thank-you note — digital or physical. Then, follow-up with the person if they say it’s OK. Tell them about your career progress and keep in touch. Finally, support them if you can by liking their posts on LinkedIn and engaging with them when possible.

“They will form a part of your ‘committee,’” she said. “If you're having these informational interviews — no matter where you eventually land — get back to everyone who's in your job, or who was a part of this ‘committee.’ They helped you in some way, they gave you some time, and let them know, like, ‘hey, just landed a sick job at Amazon. I thank you so much for your time, it really inspired me.’ You never know where people will end up.”

What advice do you have for people wanting to set up informational interviews? Join the conversation.

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#GetHired Live broadcasts every Friday at 12:00 p.m. ET from the LinkedIn News page to discuss important issues affecting job seekers and to answer your questions about looking for work. Kyle Elliott, who is a career and interview coach, will join me on the next episode on Friday, March 26! We’ll discuss how you can identify and own what makes you special. Also, we’ll answer your job search and career questions. Click here or the image below to RSVP for the show!

▶ The follow-up

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #GetHired. You can also email me at GetHired[at]LinkedIn.com.