Informational Interviewing: Who do you talk with?

What is informational interviewing?

You can talk with people who are already in the position that you are interested in or you can talk with the company’s owner-managers.

People in same position – You will learn the most from this group. You should concentrate most of your efforts with them. There is a ton of useful information available from people who are already doing what you plan on doing. Or if it is a position that you are thinking about, you will get a much more clear picture of its day in and day out activities.

Where do you find people to talk to? A good place to start is a trade association. For instance, if you are a HVAC tech, you would contact RSES. The folks who work at trade associations will gladly provide information. After all, they would like you to join their organization. They should be able to hook you up with a technician in your town who would enjoy helping you out.

Once you’ve done one informational interview, ask that person if he knows anyone else who you could talk to. My daughter once spent six months doing informational interviews, talking with over forty people. Each new contact came from someone that she had interviewed. We’ll spend more time on this part in the future.

Owner-Managers – When you go to talk with these folks remember, you are a student, you’re there to learn. Although you know a lot of stuff and probably busting at the seams to tell people in positions like these, don’t. Learn don’t tell.

In the future, we’ll break down each group and provide you with suggested questions to ask.