An informational interview is a 20 - 30 minute meeting to help you learn about the real-life experience of someone working at a company, position, or industry that you are interested in. It’s not a job interview, but it can be a great way to build out your network in a relatively low-pressure environment. This is a safe environment to ask lots of questions!
Who should you interview?
Try reaching out to connections you have made already at events or other networking. You can also try a connection of a connection. If you don’t know someone, but a connection you already know does, reach out to them for an introduction. If you don’t know someone at a company, LinkedIn is a great place to start. You can search for companies you might be interested in and then use the “People” tab to find folks. Connect, and then send them a message!
Once you’ve found someone you’d like to connect with and interview, the next step is to reach out! Like we’ve talked about in other lessons about cold outreach and following up, keep your message short, professional, and action-oriented.
Hi Jane Doe!
I’m Jiaqi, a junior developer-in-training at Epicodus, a code school in Portland and Seattle. I attended your talk at the Girls Who Code about JavaScript applications last week, and I was fascinated by your experience with the project you described. I would love to learn more about the work that you do and what your experience in the tech industry has been like.
Can we meet up for an informational interview in the next two weeks? [Online alternative: Can we schedule a time for a phone or video informational interview?]
Thank you for your time!
Jiaqi Li
linkedin.com/jiaqili | 206-999-9999 | [email protected] | https://github.com/Jiaqi1994
First, do your homework by researching the person, company, or role, and develop a list of questions.
NOTE: this is not an exhaustive list! Developing your own questions based on your specific interests will help you to determine if a certain career path, company, or position type may be the right fit for you!
Lesson 22 of 22
Last updated April 6, 2022