Informational interviews are an invaluable yet often overlooked resource in career development. Many professionals may not realize the profound impact these conversations can have on their career paths.
Are you fully utilizing informational interviews to explore and expand your career options?
In this episode of the #Career101Podcast, host Porschia and guest Wynter Love discuss the transformative power of informational interviews. They delve into how these discussions can unlock new insights and foster connections that might otherwise remain out of reach.
Wynter Love, known for her expertise in career services and coaching, shares subtle yet effective strategies for conducting informational interviews that are not only informative but also genuinely enriching. She highlights the importance of approaching these interviews with curiosity and openness, ensuring they are as beneficial for the interviewee as they are for the interviewer.
The dialogue also touches on the art of asking thoughtful questions, selecting the right people to interview, and turning these interactions into lasting professional relationships.
Join Porschia and Wynter as they guide you through the nuances of informational interviews, helping you to thoughtfully and strategically navigate your career path.
What you’ll learn:
- The essence of informational interviews and their crucial role in career development.
- Effective strategies for conducting impactful informational interviews
- How to select the ideal candidates for informational interviews to maximize learning and network expansion
- The significance of asking insightful and open-ended questions to glean deep knowledge and advice
- Techniques to turn informational interviews into enduring professional relationships
- How to approach these interviews with curiosity and openness to ensure mutual benefit and meaningful connections
As a thank you for listening to this episode of the Career 101 Podcast, we are sharing our FREE master class – Career 911: Solving the Top 5 Challenges Executives and Professionals Have! It’s a training based on solving the common problems our clients have experienced to reach their goals. You can get access to the master class here!
Resources:
- Episode Transcript
Porschia: [00:00:00] Today we are talking about interview 103 informational interviews with Winter Love. Winter Love is our career services manager and lead interview coach. She is a current member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. And a previous member of the National Resume Writers Association.
In addition, Winter holds certificates in human resources management, motivational [00:01:00] interviewing, mediation, and teaching with technology and distance learning. She has 15 years of experience. Experience in employment, consulting and transition coaching. Winter attained a bachelor of family and consumer science from the university of Georgia and a master of education with a concentration in adult education and training from Colorado state university.
Hi, winter. How are you today? Hi, winter. Hello. It sounds like I was very busy.
Wynter: Oh my goodness.
Porschia: I’m
Wynter: doing well. How are
Porschia: you? You have been very busy. And we’re going to talk about that. I’m excited to have you with us. As I’m always excited when you are, I guess you can be considered a co host or our favorite recurring guest take your pick of the career one on one podcast.
So for anyone listening, and this is your first episode that you are meeting winter, I should say Check her out, check out some of our previous [00:02:00] episodes in episode two resumes, one on one the basics and what your resume should look like. We go deep into winter’s background. So if you want more information about her, check out that episode and winter.
And I also talked about interviewing before on the podcast during episodes 12 and 47. So if you haven’t listened to those episodes, please check them out. But today we are going to jump in and talk about informational interviewing. Winter, what is an informational interview? An
Wynter: informational interview is honestly one of my favorite types of interviews.
The constraints are loosened, right? And informational interview is opportunity to talk to people about their jobs and ask them about advice. You can learn more about the realities of working in a particular field, or you can even discover careers that you never knew existed. So we’re really looking for, like our career changers [00:03:00] are entry level professionals usually have these type of informational interviews. I feel like that’s a tongue twister. I feel like you set me up when you create the title of this. But really there’s the opportunity to ask those candid questions, of course, still professionally about the industry and your career goals.
Porschia: Yes, informational interviews are a great way to just learn, like you were saying, learn more about a field, an industry, a specific role or job title. Also, you can use an informational interview to learn more about a specific company. Or an organization. I like to think of informational interviews as fact finding missions and times where you can dig for more information and more details and really just learn from someone else’s perspective, someone who’s been on the inside, been in that position, that role, that company just learn from them as opposed to, just reading [00:04:00] about something or making assumptions.
Wynter: Yeah, you can get like live insights, live trends on what’s going on and what they’re expecting. And maybe there’s a new role that’s been emerging over the next couple of years honestly, next couple of months, depending if it’s in tech or even in project management, and that can give you a leverage in your career and the different type of certifications that you get as well.
Porschia: Yeah. So we, I think we’ve touched on this, but to maybe flesh it out a little bit more winter for people who are not familiar with informational interviews. How is an informational interview different than a standard interview?
Wynter: Yeah, the standard interview, you can go in and it’s more you’re answering questions for the employer.
So they have their set of questions and they want you to. Pitch yourself and how you would fit into the role of the informational interview is a little bit different in regards that you still offering that [00:05:00] information, but you are in control of the conversation as well. So you can assess if the company is a fit for you.
If the role is a fit for you, if the training is a fit for you, you can just get into the minutia of all of the intricacies of the company and the role. Whereas during a standard interview, you don’t really have that freedom of that conversation. You can ask questions, of course, at the end but that still is constrained within, time period, timeframes, or even the person that you’re having a conversation with.
Porschia: Yes. Yes. You make a great point. From the perspective, I think of a lot of job seekers, the informational interview is different because they’re really asking more of the questions as opposed to answering the questions. So they can be more of the interviewer if they’re the job seeker or the career changer, as opposed to being the interviewee with, the [00:06:00] standard interview, there’s usually a recruiter or a hiring manager asking them the questions.
So it’s turning the tables in that informational interview.
Wynter: Yeah, definitely. And then in certain companies, if they’ve standardized the job search process, then those questions are the same questions that they ask everyone, so at certain times, a hiring manager, even your direct manager may be in the room, but they have no control over the questions that are being asked or the information that they can give you.
Porschia: So winter, why do you think informational interviews are important?
Wynter: I think they definitely help you expand your network. They force you to talk to people, right? You have to really get to know someone to have that conversation to really get the different details and the nuances of the role.
You can explore different career options without. Going to Google, and sometimes that can be all the difference. Reading about a technical project manager may not sound as [00:07:00] interesting as hearing about it from the perspective of someone who is, working in line with those roles.
Honestly, it can lead to your name in rooms for consultancy positions. I’ve had candidates who are clients who had conversations. Just out the blue that were informational interviews and then six months down the line. They were like, hey, we talked about this project and I think that your skills will be a perfect fit for it.
Are you available? So it’s a lot of different ways that informational interviews can. It can be an asset to you and your job search strategy. It can give you insight on a company’s work environment. I’ve had a client request informational interview after they received a job offer, so they had a distant relationship with the person, and then they were able to have a conversation with them, excuse me, and get more insight on a management team and what’s it like with the project flow and communication.
Just open yourself for communication and networking can make leaps and bounds of [00:08:00] difference in your job search.
Porschia: I love all of that and second it. From your perspective, who are the best people to have an informational interview with? The best people,
Wynter: Immediately my brain said seasoned professionals. I know a lot of people hate that term seasoned but let me explain. Let me explain. Someone who has been in a management position who has seen both sides of the fields who’ve had those strategy conversations, but also those hands on execution conversations that those are the people that you want to talk to I know sometimes asking a manager and executive in your current position or in your company can be uncomfortable because, you don’t want to, rock the boat, or you don’t want, to, you just don’t want to be in that uncomfortable positions, give me some insights but a lot of times you can reach out to your alumni network.
Or if there’s a professional association that you have access to those are inherently created by design to encourage networking and encourage that [00:09:00] mentorship. So yeah, definitely look for the people who have been doing it for a while, especially if they came in doing it, right? The people who came in as the entry level system administrate, administration but now that they’re dark.
That they’re the director. Those are the people who you want to see what are the insights that they have.
Porschia: Yes, I definitely agree. I think the more experienced professionals can be great to have informational interviews with. That being said, if You can only secure an informational interview with someone who maybe is newer to the role or has been in a position for less than a few years.
You can still get great insights from that person as well, but it might be just one perspective, as opposed to what winter was mentioning before someone who’s in management or who’s been in a role a long time, they could have. multiple perspectives to, [00:10:00] the role that you’re interested in or the company that you’re interested in and sharing that with you.
In addition to what Winter mentioned about, fellow alumni from your university people in your, Professional associations that you network with. Also think about your LinkedIn network. Sometimes, LinkedIn has a lot of great filters, ways that you can search. So we know that you can search, first degree connections, people that you’re Directly connected with, but I think it’s also great to target those second degree connections.
So people who you have connections in common with that you don’t already necessarily know. It’s a warmer conversation because you have Connections in common are people that you know in common and you can meet someone brand new. Keep LinkedIn in mind as well in terms of where to find those [00:11:00] people.
Wynter: Yeah,
Porschia: definitely. Winter, how can someone prepare for an informational interview?
Wynter: Although the informational interviews are relaxed you want to have those opportunities for a spontaneous conversation and discussion, right? They still need to be focused and organized because you don’t waste anyone’s time.
So I would say don’t hesitate to seek for advice. So make sure that you have your questions ready. If you know that you’re going to have 20 to 30 minutes to have a conversation with them, prioritize what you want to talk about and what you want to know. But also make sure that it doesn’t feel like an excursion where you’re picking their brain and there’s just like no room for breathing.
So just do what you need to do to be comfortable and relax, but make sure that you are focused and organized.
Porschia: Yeah I think. Everything that you mentioned is really important and I like what you said about the time frame. I agree. I think that you [00:12:00] really want to make sure that you’re not taking too much of the other person’s time.
So shooting for being focused with your questions to take up, I would say In general, somewhere to from like 15 to 20 minutes of art, I’m sorry, 30 minutes, 15 to 30 minutes of their time any longer than that. And I think, sometimes people might, feel like it’s taking too long but coming prepared.
For that timeframe, having an idea of, the focus questions you want to ask about the role, but also warm them up, ask them, some of their background in terms of, personally, how did they get to that career, that job, what made it stand out? Not just focusing too much on the technical, roles and responsibilities of what they’re doing, but try to get a feel for them, as a person too.
Make sure to Incorporate that. And one thing I love to tell our clients winter about as part of their interview prep is to try to find [00:13:00] as much as you can in common with the person that you are in this case interviewing. I think you should do this as well when you are being interviewed, right? So when someone, a recruiter, a hiring manager, reaches out from a company to interview you for a job I think you should also look for things in common with that person.
Do a little research on LinkedIn or Google and see what you can find out about this person. Did you go to the same university? Are you from the same city? Did you study the same subject or major? Anything like that is great to just break the ice and talk about during an informational interview.
And psychologically they have, shown that when you bring up commonalities with people it enhances the connection, right? It endears that person to you. And that is always something that you want to be doing when you’re networking and building relationships.
Wynter: Yes, definitely.
Porschia: Winter, to the nitty gritty now. What are some [00:14:00] good informational interview questions that someone could ask?
Wynter: Good ones that someone could ask. We know that the usuals, right? The usuals are You know, what would you do every day? Or what emerging trends or technologies do you see in your work? Those are usual.
I say good ones are picking [00:15:00] apart the skills. What are some commonly overlooked skills or qualities that you have that you think is was essential to your success? Get down and I don’t wanna say more personal, but it could be personal. Was there a decision that you made that influenced the trajectory of your career?
Maybe you were up for a promotion and you said no, or you said yes, how did that impact? Your career and your decision making in your leadership decisions. Is there any training that has sat with you that’s resonated with you over the years? That would be a good question to ask because we always want to share, reflect on those insightful moments that we have, and that can be an opportunity for them to just give you their philosophy and their methodology on their approach to their work, obviously but that can be insightful because it’s the open ended question in a way, and it just lets them go in and focus on what they want to.
So so yes, I say it’s a balance of the technical questions, but also those [00:16:00] open ended questions where I want to know how you think. And that can be flattering in a way and help with building the relationship.
Porschia: Yeah. Yeah. Open ended questions. That’s a great point. You want to ask as many open ended questions as you can.
So these are questions that aren’t yes or no questions or this or that questions, but really getting them to be descriptive, right? To explain things to you. A question I like is how did you get into this field? What do you enjoy about your job? What do you think is not so great about your job or what do you think is the worst part of your job or the hardest part for you to do?
You can also ask to Winters point about technology, what’s changing in this industry?
Wynter: Yeah,
Porschia: exactly. I like to ask people to think about, [00:17:00] what do you foresee happening in the next three years in, this industry or in your company or, whatever you’re specifically wanting to know, but ask them to, play fortune teller, and tell you the future from their perspective. And then also to get an idea of Yeah. The personality of the people who are a good fit in this role or in this company. So you could ask, what kinds of people do well in this job? What is the personality like of, the people who are top performers in this role?
Any way you want to ask the question, but really getting at, that personality piece, I think can give you a lot of insight. Definitely. So what are some tips professionals could use to have a productive informational interview? We started some already, but just other tips when should that come to mind?
Wynter: Yeah, and it’s imperative that [00:18:00] we’re productive here because we don’t waste anyone’s time. And it can be simple to miss is just to actively engage, be there, be present. Thank you. To build a relationship, make sure that you know what you need to reduce your nerves so that you can minimize that icebreaking time because again, you don’t have that much time.
You want to be respectful of the time and stay on track. So I would say definitely prepare yourself. Personally, I think is the biggest thing is we focus on questions. We focus on actually getting them there, what am I going to wear and all these things but calm yourself down and really quiet the noise so that you are ready to receive them and be as engaging as possible because usually relationships like this lead to mentorships and those mentorships can lead to Endless opportunities.
Porschia: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. A tip, a couple of tips I [00:19:00] thought of that some people might think, Oh yeah, I do this, but other people actually might not do it. So I want to shed some light on them. The first is to take notes and. Even if you’re one of those people who thinks, Hey, I can remember everything off the top of my head.
I guarantee you, you will catch some things and retain some things by taking notes that you wouldn’t have retained if you did not. But also taking notes, signals to the other person that you’re taking this seriously, like this, isn’t just, Hey, I’m grabbing you for a cup of coffee and a quick chat outside, right?
This is something that is important to you. And you’re in that vein, thankful that they’ve chosen to spend time with you. And then also this tip is more, after the informational interview, but to send a thank you note. And yes, a thank you email works as well. But I think that You should definitely send a, [00:20:00] handwritten or a paper thank you note and mail it to them.
So you can do both as well. You can email and send that thank you note or thank you card. I think that really sticks with people. It helps you to be memorable. So those are just, some little tips that I would recommend.
Wynter: And let me jump on that because you said paper. When you’re taking notes, make sure that you have a pad and paper.
You’re not taking notes in your phone. Because, that can be perceived as rude in certain environments and depending on the person that you’re speaking to. Yeah, you’re right. Being present. I said being present, but also taking notes on pad and paper and sending over that thank you note in paper.
It really doesn’t make a difference.
Porschia: Yeah. Winter, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges that you’ve seen people have with informational interviewing? I
Wynter: think the biggest challenge is getting one. I think getting over the nerves of asking someone to have the [00:21:00] conversation to send that message on LinkedIn or via email if you were able to capture their contact information.
Yeah. You, because it’s unknown, you don’t know if they’ll say yes or no. You don’t know what they know. You don’t know if they have time. But it’s definitely necessary to network and get different perspectives. And like I said, it would be the beginning of mentorships. Once you are able to secure the informational interview and you’re prepared with your questions just be ready.
I didn’t want to say it, but sometimes don’t order lunch. You got a plate of spaghetti in front of you. Now what? You know what I mean? So it’s little things like being mindful of your environment and where you are setting the meeting. A coffee shop is one thing, but a full on, brunch at Olive Garden may not be this best choice.
The challenges are like with those little decisions is I want to be. impactful and I want to be helpful and I don’t want to be a nuisance to you. So let’s [00:22:00] do it during lunch, right? But just be careful if you do make that decision not to have a rack of ribs.
Porschia: And it’s funny that you mentioned that winter because way back in our episode, very early episode on interviewing one on one we talked about, should you eat or not at a networking event?
Wynter: And,
Porschia: Our guest was of the belief that you should not for that reason. So you can be focused on the other people. So eat before the event or after the event, if it is lunch to winter’s point, you can just grab. A drink or maybe a small appetizer while, the person you’re interviewing has a full lunch so that you can be present during the informational interview and really get the information that you want and be focused on that.
I would say a big challenge I’ve seen after getting the interview and then, [00:23:00] making sure that you’re getting the information that you need is knowing what to say. So we covered that earlier with, some great questions to ask during the informational interview. I think Sometimes people have issues with filling the silence if they don’t really know the person and things like that.
Again, you can prep for that like I said, in terms of doing that research ahead of time to find things that you have in common with that person. That, that’s a great way to fill in any gaps in addition to having, your prepared questions.
Wynter: Yeah, definitely.
Porschia: All right. So sometimes professionals are hesitant to accept an informational interview request because the person they’re the person with the knowledge and the experience, but they feel like that conversation might be one sided.
And that they’re doing all of the giving to The person who requested the interview. [00:24:00] So how can someone make sure that the informational interview doesn’t seem one sided to the other person or like they’re the only person that’s benefiting from the conversation?
Wynter: Yeah. Or if it’s just you only want to connect for this conversation and this conversation only.
I just see it’s about the full experience of having that conversation with them. Building rapport starts from the very beginning. So the only the emails that you send requesting the meeting should not be the only emails that you are sending to that person. It shouldn’t be the only interaction that you have with that person.
Make sure that you are in a position to encourage the business relationship. So even if you’re inviting them to an industry event, or in some instances some clients will share like journals or research that they’ve found, Hey, I saw this and it’s reminded me of you, or reminding me of the work that you were doing, or I heard about this new [00:25:00] technology.
I just wanted to shoot this your way. And I’m looking forward to having a chat with you. this Thursday, whatever. But just to make sure that you are having multiple touch points with the person so it doesn’t, like you said, it’s feel one sided and to have that Rolodex of interest to fill the silence, like you said before.
And if that doesn’t work, give them gifts.
Yes, you can,
Porschia: Bring some gifts, definitely. And I like what you said about really making sure that it’s not transactional, right? That it doesn’t feel transactional to the other person. Definitely sharing information. Like you said, research studies And again, if you find things in common that you have with that person, maybe outside of work you can chat about those kinds of things and share that kind of information as well.
One easy thing as an example is, kind of things to do. I network with different people. And if you find out a cool [00:26:00] event or. Festival or place to go. You can send that information to someone else and, they appreciate that kind of information somewhere they can take their kids somewhere.
They can take their partner, their wife their husband, whomever. And that’s really, I think helpful to people as well.
Wynter: Yeah, definitely.
Porschia: Winter, my last question for you today. How do you think professionals can get a positive edge with their informational interviews?
Wynter: You get your positive edge by having informational interviews.
Do them. Don’t be afraid. Reach out to people, talk to them. More people want to talk about what they do that you realize. More people are looking for something to do on their lunch break than you realize. So you are getting the advantage and the edge by reaching Going forth and asking for the meeting and [00:27:00] having the wherewithal to know that those conversations are important.
Take your notes have your options open. Know that one job role doesn’t determine everything, right? A field can have multiple roles and different responsibilities. That you don’t know about. And if you’re open to learning about the different processes and where people come in and different touch points, then you can expand what you’re looking for.
And honestly, expand your knowledge, your certifications, the services that you offer. There’s a world of knowledge from conversations, because not everything is documented that everything is searched on the Internet. And a lot of times you have to talk with the person to get to know what’s really going.
Porschia: Winter, you have shared a lot of different tips with us today, and I’m sure that our listeners can use it to be more confident in their informational interviews. We appreciate you being with us. [00:28:00]
Wynter: Thank you so much. It’s always been a pleasure to join you. Until next time, I’m ready.
