Informational Interviewing: When Interview is Over

What is informational interviewing?

You’ve just spent a half hour talking with and asking questions to Bob, the owner of Bob’s Plumbing. You now have a clear view of Bob’s company and how he goes to business. Thank Bob for spending time with you. Make sure you get one of Bob’s business cards and then ask him if he could recommend other people for you to talk with.

As soon as you can following the interview with Bob, make notes on what you learned. Also, pay attention to how the interview progressed. What seemed to work? What didn’t? Make a point to incorporate changes into your next interview.

Send Bob a thank you note. In order to have maximum impact, make sure that thank you note gets into the mail on the same day that you talked with Bob. This will require a little advanced planning but it is so worth it.  I guarantee that folks like Bob are not used to getting thank you notes from technicians. And this pertains to anyone who you informational interview with. Always send them a thank you note!

One side benefit of informational interviewing is that the more you do it, the easier it gets. You will notice your confidence grow. The upside is that when you go out for actual job interviews you’ll notice how much better you’ve gotten in the process. Prospective employers will notice this too!