Advice for My Students: Make the Most of Your Informational Interviews

Each year, I spend time speaking to students and mentees about their career goals. For many, I recommend informational interviews as an important tool to help clarify what potential career paths might look like. I also believe that informational interviews are an incredibly powerful way to build connections in an industry that might be new to them.

But as someone who has conducted quite a few interviews and have worked with many young professionals, there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to use the precious half hour or so (a good length) that you might ask a potential connection to spend on the phone with you.

Don’t waste your interviewee’s time

Be sure to plan ahead. Research them so that you know exactly what you want to say. Prepare questions.

Get on their calendar. If they’re particularly busy, make it a phone/video call instead of an in-person meeting. When you get on the phone, confirm that it’s still a good time for them to speak.

Learn about them, their company, and the industry

I always recommend that you start with the 1-minute elevator pitch of who you are and why you wanted to connect and then to focus the rest of the time on the interviewee. Find out how he/she got where he/she got.

Find out what’s important to his/her company, how the company recruits, and what he/she values in team members.

Find out what are the areas of opportunity within the industry as he/she sees it.

Use it as an opportunity to network outwards

Use these interviews to fill the gaps in your own network. If you just spoke to someone about working in marketing automation but want to learn more about agency life, ask the interviewee if he/she knows someone at a digital agency.

If you were a thoughtful, considerate interviewer, he/she will most likely be happy to oblige.