4 Steps to Prepare for an Informational Interview

Have you lined up an informational interview to expand your network or learn more about a job opening? Here are 4 steps you need to take to prepare for that informational interview.

I heard about a job opening

Last week, I learned that a new group in my department had open positions. The new group’s role in supporting the personalized healthcare objectives of my company interested me. Because I saw myself potentially in a similar role in the future, I wanted to learn more about it.

Therefore, I decided this would be a great opportunity to do an informational interview.

Reaching out to the hiring manager

I emailed the hiring manager and asked if we could have a brief introductory chat about the goals she had for the group. I also wanted to explore whether there might be opportunities to work together in the near or distant future.

During the informational interview, we had a productive discussion about my background as well as the hiring manager's plans for the group. Towards the end of the call, she said to me, “Your introduction basically answered all the questions I ask typically during a screening interview … If you continue to be interested in my open position, please let me know, and I will stop screening other candidates.”

Wow, her comment really pleased me! I wasn't sure if I was ready to make a career move, but this open position might be worth exploring in some more detail.

Later on, I thought about the success factors of this informational interview. Prior to the call, I had spend some time and effort to prepare for a productive discussion. Here, I want to share with you how I had prepared.

Preparing for the informational interview

Prior to the 30-minute informational phone call, I took these 4 steps:

Step 1. Get the insider knowledge

I assessed my network and invited a former colleague to catch up over lunch. She had just joined the new group and described to me some of the responsibilities of the group. When I expressed interest, she encouraged me to reach out to the hiring manager to learn more.

Step 2. Know who you're talking to

I googled the hiring manager to find information about her professional background and interests. Then, I searched for and read her recent posts written for our company’s internal blog site.

Step 3. Be ready to talk about yourself

I crafted a brief introduction that included some details from my resume:

• My academic background
• My current roles and responsibilities at the company
• Brief history of molecule teams I covered over the last 5 years at the company
• 3 past activities/responsibilities that excited me the most and how these may relate to what I knew about the job opening
• My short- and long-term career goals and how they may relate to what I knew about the job opening

Step 4. Show that you're interested

I created a short list of questions to ask about the new group’s future outlook and objectives. My list also included questions about the hiring manager’s plan for the open position.

What I learned from the informational interview

From the informational interview, I learned how some of my professional interests and prior experiences might be an asset for the new group. In addition, the hiring manager clarified how some of the responsibilities of this role would be different than responsibilities I held in the past. Thus, the position may present some career growth opportunities for me.

In summary, the preparation steps I took allowed me to present a brief introduction of myself. I also explained my interest in learning more about the open position. The informational interview was valuable for me to gather more insights about the hiring manager and the position itself.