How Do I Prepare for the Interview?

Before your scheduled interview you will need to research the individual and the company, prepare your questions, create a short agenda for the meeting, and practice the interview questions, practice making small talk, and practice general professional conversations.

Although you have already conducted some preliminary research about the company and your interviewee, now is the time to truly dig in. Get to know the interviewee’s LinkedIn and see if you can find anything about them on the company website. This information will come in handy as you make your list of questions, and when making small talk during your informational interview.

Dig further and even check your interviewee’s social media. Find things you have in common to make small talk easier. Do you both enjoy baseball? Did they attend your university? Create a short list of ideas for small talk based on mutual interests.

Create Your List of Questions

I suggest coming up with about fifteen professionally phrased questions for your informational interview. Here are some suggested topics:

• Company Culture
• What an average day looks like in their position
• Company Mission
• Work-Life Balance
• Advice for someone entering this field
• Advice for someone looking to obtain employment with company
• Advice for college students, what they would have done differently
• Organizational culture
• Things you would like to know about the company
• Things you would like to know about working at the company
• Job responsibilities
• The interviewee’s path to success
• Characteristics the company looks for in their employees
• Company internship program
• Anything relevant about your field, the company, the interviewee but keep it professional

Create Your Questions Using the FRAME Model

Asking good questions increases your credibility and will make a positive impression on your interviewee. Use the FRAME model to create your questions to help you achieve these goals.

In the FRAME module questions are focused, relevant, assertive, mindful and eloquent.

The FRAME Model for Asking Questions

Focused

• Is my question specific and direct?
• Is my ask clear and concise?

Relevant

• Does my question help me achieve my goals and/or provide me with useful information?
• Is my question centered on the main topic at hand?
• Will my question add to the discussion or distract from it?

Assertive

• Does my question sound self-assured, and not passive or aggressive?
• Do I sound confident?
• Is my question based on logic, and will it provide greater clarity?

Mindful

• Is my question appropriate for this interviewee?
• Is there a chance my question could be perceived in a negative light?

Eloquent

• Am I using the best possible language and word choice to be clear, concise and direct?
• Am I using language and word choice that is understandable for the interviewee?

Once you have your questions practice reading them aloud. Do they sound professional? Or can you reword them? Next, organize them so that they flow well from one to another. I suggest organizing them by topic: start with questions specific to your interviewee and move into questions about their current role and the company, and end with questions focused on advice the interviewee can share with you.

Keep in mind it is likely you won’t get to all your questions, so mark those that are most important to you. Then if you are running out of time, you can be sure to get the information you are seeking to meet your goals.

Example Meeting Agenda

Before entering a professional communication setting, it is best to have a plan. This will help the meeting run more smoothly and help to ensure that you meet your goals. Start by reviewing your goals for the meeting. Next, review the questions you have created and be sure that they help you achieve your overall goals for the interview.

A strong meeting agenda should look something like this: