While “informational interviewing” is very useful when exploring careers and contemplating a career transition, it is not synonymous with informal interviewing for a job.
As you might know, and in case you don’t know, informational interviewing is a time-honored way to gather information when exploring a new career path. It can help you learn more about a profession and/or industry of interest.
Richard Bolles coined the term in his book, What Color Is Your Parachute? (originally published in the early 1970s). He was adamant that we not use informational interviewing as a job hunting technique but rather as a helpful method for career exploration before launching a job search. Yet, many job seekers have mistakenly requested informational interviews to ask for a person’s help in getting hired with that person’s employer. According to Bolles, this would not be a request for an informational interview. Instead, it would be a request for a networking meeting that might develop into an informal job interview.
Is it surprising that job seekers might misuse the term? Perhaps not, especially when being used by an inexperienced job seeker and especially considering that so many online resources tie informational interviewing to job search and fail to clarify the difference. However, the unfortunate side effect of the misunderstanding is that the people you want to do an informational interview with may have become jaded and distrustful about such meeting requests. On top of that, if the person you’re approaching works for an organization that is considered a highly desirable place to work, then it’s likely they’re getting many of these types of requests. So, you can see why they may possibly ignore yours.
If you want to increase your chances that they’ll say yes next time you request an actual informational interview, keep the following tips in mind:
- Avoid calling it an “informational interview” – say instead that you’d really appreciate their expert advice and insights into the profession and/or industry you’re researching.
- When making an email request, it’s okay to give a very brief synopsis (a sentence or two) explaining your background, but don’t send your resume (unless or until they ask for it later). Resumes are used for job search, and you run the risk of being perceived as a job seeker rather than as a career explorer if you lead with a resume.
- If someone has referred you to them, mention the name of the person who referred you. If it’s someone they probably know well, use that person’s name in the subject line of your email, e.g., “Sally Smith suggested I contact you…”
Bonus Tip… Should your request be granted, it’s best to avoid muddying the message and keep your intention clear that you’re meeting about career exploration and not job search. Even if during the informational interview the other party tells you about a job opportunity and/or offers to introduce you to a hiring manager, you should say something like, “Thank you so much. At this stage, I’m still exploring my career options – though I’ll be making some decisions soon. When I’m ready, I’ll definitely come back to you and may just take you up on your offer to help.”
Want to know more about informational interviewing? Yale University’s Office of Career Strategy does a good job of clarifying the purpose of informational interviewing, and they provide some great advice, including sample email requests (modify accordingly if you’re not a student), at the link below.
https://ocs.yale.edu/channels/informational-interviewing