If you decide to conduct an informational interview you will get out of it what you put into it. Just like with anything, there are ways to cut corners when conducting an informational interview. For example, I have had a lot of students over the years decide to interview someone they already know, even when they are in a field the student isn’t interested in pursuing for a career. If you decide to go this route, you simply won’t get very much out of the interview. It is best to stretch yourself and spend the time to secure the right person for the interview.

Remember the goal is to create a new connection in your field, and to learn from someone who possesses information that is useful to you and your future career. However, if you do have successful business professionals in your personal life that work in other fields, I encourage you to speak with them about their career and their unique path to success, you may still find something of value.

Summary of the Informational Interview Process

1. Create a list of goals for your informational interview. What would you like to learn? Are you ultimately seeking an internship or a career position?
2. Identify local companies you would like to work for and research them by reviewing their websites.
3. Use LinkedIn to locate candidates for your informational interview. Search the company and find someone who works in the department you would like to work in. Try to get an interview with someone in a supervisory position, or with someone who does the hiring for the company. See if you can locate any school alumni who work at this company in the appropriate department.
4. Reach out via LinkedIn messaging or email to ask for an informational interview.
5. Call your target company directly and explain the assignment to them and see if they can put you in touch with someone willing to assist you for this class project. Be sure to practice what you will say before making the call, and be prepared to be transferred to your target, leave a voice mail, or even possibly to conduct the interview over the phone.
6. Create fifteen strong questions for your informational interview. Construct your questions using the FRAME model and review them to be sure they meet the FRAME criteria.
7. Practice for your interview by role playing with a friend. Recreate the scene for the meeting and go through your agenda. Focus on practicing asking good clarifying and follow-up questions. Work to turn your interview into a conversation with relevant small talk.

Sources

https://www.coursera.org/articles/informational-interview

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/informational-interview-guide

https://wmich.edu/business/academics/frame