Informational Interviews

Benefits of Informational Interviews

An informational interview is an informal conversation you can have with someone working in an area of interest to you. You may feel awkward reaching out to people you don't know. However, most people actually enjoy taking a few moments out of their day to reflect on their professional life and give advice to someone with an interest in their field.

Get first-hand information about the realities of the university course / industry

• Often, certain information will not be readily online e.g. how heavy the coursework is, what it is like to study in this university etc. Only your seniors who are already in the course will be able to give you a reality check so that you know exactly what you are applying for.

Discover opportunities you did not know of

• If you don't know it existed, you probably can't google it. However, a senior in university could give you additional information of certain programmes and opportunities that you never knew existed

Hone your communication skills

• In reaching out to people and initiating conversation that may seem awkward at first will help you hone the art of starting a conversation.

How to conduct an informational interview

1. Do your research

• Google the university course / career that you are interested in. Having a basic understanding of the course or related career is fundamental. It does not reflect well on you if you were to ask questions that are too basic and the answers can be easily googled. 

2. Identify people to interview

• They could be family, friends or teachers around you.

• They could also be your internship supervisor, your coach or your community work supervisor.

3. Prepare for the interview

• Prepare a short introduction of yourself

• Prepare the list of questions to ask. See some suggested questions below:

  Career	University
  What are your main responsibilities as a...?	What is the university culture like?
  What is a typical day (or week) like for you?	How is university life compared to JC life?
  What do you like most about your work?	What is a typical day (or week) like for you?
  What do you like least about your work?	What do you like most about the course?
  What kinds of problems do you deal with?	What do you like least about the course?
  What kinds of decisions do you make?	What made you decide on your course?

4. Initiate contact

• Contact the person by email or phone.

• Mention how you got his or her name.

• Ask whether it’s a good time to talk for a few minutes.

• Ask for a convenient time to have a 20-30 minute appointment.

• Be ready to ask questions on the spot if the person says it is a good time for him/her and that s/he won’t be readily available otherwise.

Sample 

"Hello. My name is Lee Xiao Long and I'm your junior in NYJC. I saw your profile on NYJC ECG Portal and learnt that you are currently in NUS studying Computer Science. I am very interested in furthering my studies in IT and would like to learn more about the field. Would it be possible to schedule 20 to 30 minutes with you at your convenience to ask a few questions and get your advice on how best to prepare to enter the course?"

5. Conduct the interview

• Dress neatly and appropriately, as you would for a job interview.

• Arrive on time or a few minutes early.

• Bring your list of questions and take notes if you like.

• Restate that your objective is to get information and advice, not a job.

• Give a brief overview of yourself and your education and/or work background.

• Be prepared to direct the interview, but also let the conversation flow naturally, and encourage the interviewee to do most of the talking.

• Respect the person's time. Limit the meeting to the agreed-upon timeframe.

• Ask the person if you may contact them again in the future with other questions.

• Ask for names of other people to meet so as to gain different perspectives.

6. Follow up

• Keep records. Write down what you learned, what more you'd like to know, and what your next steps should be. 

• Send a thank-you note within 1-2 days to express your appreciation for the time and information given. Based on whether the informational interview was relatively informal or more businesslike, this may be a brief handwritten note, an email, or a business letter. 

• Keep in touch with the person, especially if you had a particularly nice interaction; let them know that you followed up on their advice and the outcome. This person could become an important part of your network.