If you've looked ahead, you have seen that you will be conducting an informational interview! Not only can these interviews provide information about a potential career/career field of interest, but they can help you uncover things you may not know about yourself.
During the informational interview you may:
- Learn what the career entails
- Discover an employer's expectations for future candidates
- Identify gaps in your training or experience
- Meet people and grow relationships that are important to you
Watch: How To Do an Informational Interview to develop your understanding of what an informational interview is.
Informational Interview Readiness
One of the hardest parts about the informational interview is deciding who to interview! For this discussion, you will get ready for your informational interview by exploring factors most important to you and by identifying an appropriate interview candidate. Post your response to the questions asked in Part I and Part II below.
Part I: Important Factors
You have options! It's important to note that your informational interview does not need to be conducted with someone who is in the career/career field you are pursuing. While that's an option, you can also choose to interview someone outside of that career field who can provide other value, such as a perspective that is complementary to your field and invites you to think more broadly about your career desires. This person should be someone you would include as a professional reference on your resume! Note that professional references are very different from personal references.
- What career path are you considering?
- What factors are important to you, when considering who you would like to interview?
- For example, you may want to interview someone working successfully in your field, or someone that shares a similar background with you (a military member, or a student, for example), or you might want to interview someone in a company where you would like to work.
Part II: Informational Interview Candidate
- Now that you have determined what is important to you, it's time to choose your candidate to interview. Who will you interview and how will you reach out to this person?
- What makes this person a suitable candidate for your interview?
- What information do you intend to gain from the interview?
- What potential challenges will you face before or during the informational interview?