How do I do an informational interview?
The Office of Professional Development LOVES informational interviews. Informational interviews have many benefits: they’re a great way to get current information about career options, you can customize the information you collect about a career because YOU get to choose the questions (not a journalist or the host of a career panel webinar, who may have different priorities than you), and you get to build your professional network! Below, we’ll discuss how to conduct an informational interview. If you prefer a video to an article, check out our recorded seminar on Informational Interviews and Networking (UMN login required).
What are informational interviews?
Informational interviews are conversations with a professional who works in a field/role/organization that you’re interested in learning more about. These conversations are typically 20 - 60 minutes long, and the goal is to gain information and make connections in the field/role/organization of interest. The goal of the conversation is NOT to get a job (though your long-term goal for conducting informational interviews may be, in general, to get a job).
Who can I conduct informational interviews with?
Often, the easiest place to start is by conducting informational interviews with people you already know: your advisor, other faculty members, former lab members, your peers, mentors, friends, family, etc. You can expand your circle by asking these folks to connect you with people they know. It is also common to reach out to people you don’t know at all, so don’t feel limited by your current circle of contacts! You could connect with alumni of your graduate program, experts in your field, other members of professional societies you belong to, someone you follow on social media, or someone you met at a conference (not an exhaustive list).
Step 1: Set up
After you’ve identified a person you’d like to do an informational interview with, reach out to them to invite them to meet with you. This would typically be done via email or LinkedIn. The message should be short and to the point, and should state the reason you’d like to connect and what your request is. Here’s an example:
Good afternoon Dr. Gopher,
I’m a University of Minnesota biomedical sciences PhD student, and I’m exploring careers in regulatory affairs. I see that you’ve made a similar transition, and I’d appreciate the opportunity to learn more about your career path to your current role. Would you have 30 minutes to talk via Zoom over the next few weeks?
Best wishes,
Minnie Sota
In your initial contact message, you could also mention the name of the person who suggested you reach out to them, or where you found their information. This may be particularly useful if you’re contacting someone you don’t know personally.
After receiving a reply, you’ll need to define the logistics of the interview (date, time, place/mode of communication). Suggest some time windows that might work, and be as flexible as possible to accommodate the other person’s schedule.
The last part of the set up is to prepare questions that you’ll ask during the interview. This guide to Informational Interviews from the NIH OITE has a long list of example questions that you could use to start, but don’t be constrained by this list! You can (and should) customize the questions that you’re asking based on your priorities and what you know about the person you’re talking to. There’s no need to strictly adhere to this list of questions during the interview; as the conversation unfolds, you may come up with many additional questions, or you might not have time to address all of them. The important thing is to have a plan for what you want to learn so you can facilitate a productive conversation. It’s also appropriate to be visibly referencing your list of questions during the interview, so if you’re worried about forgetting the questions that you prepared, bring them with you! It could make the conversation feel a little less natural, but the person will probably come away with the impression that you’re organized and took time to prepare for the conversation (a good thing).
Step 2: Conduct the interview
First, introduce yourself! Give a minute or two overview of yourself and your interests, especially those that relate to the purpose of the informational interview. When talking about your scientific background, lay language is probably best, unless you’re talking to someone who works in the same field as you do.
The majority of the interview will consist of you asking questions, and listening to their responses. Feel free to reference those prepared questions, take notes, and ask follow up questions.
Before you end the interview, ask the person who else they recommend you connect with to learn more. By asking for additional contacts, it’s easy to expand your network and reduce the amount of energy you’ll have to invest to conduct more informational interviews.
Step 3: Follow up
Send a thank you note (via email or whatever platform you initially reached out on) within 48 hours of the interview. Express gratitude for their time and perspective, and mention something from the conversation that you found particularly useful. If you haven’t yet, connect with the person on LinkedIn. When you connect with them, reference your conversation: “Thanks for chatting with me about science policy careers - I’m looking forward to listening to that policy podcast you recommended!” If you ever reach out to them again, this message will be in your conversation history and can serve as a memory jogger and help them remember you.
It may be appropriate to follow up and thank the person a second time, much later after the interview. For example: you’re applying to a job and you did an informational interview with someone who works at that organization 6 months ago. In this case, it’s appropriate to thank them again for their advice and let the person know that it led you to apply for a job at that organization. This person could choose to put in a good word for you, or give some advice about the hiring process. They might choose to do nothing, and that’s OK, too! Letting someone know how your conversation was helpful and led to action on your part usually makes the other person feel good, because they know they provided useful information.
Summary
Informational interviews are a great way to learn about career options, meet people in a career path or job sector that you’d like to move into, and build your interpersonal skills. The OPD can help you get started by doing a practice informational interview or identifying contacts that you could reach out to - email [email protected] to talk with us about informational interviews!