Everything You Need to Nail Your Informational Interview (and Score Your Dream Job!)

Everything You Need to Nail Your Informational Interview (and Score Your Dream Job)Everything You Need to Nail Your Informational Interview (and Score Your Dream Job) You may elend have been on one (or even heard the term before), but an informational interview can be your ace in the hole during the job seeking process. At its core, an informational interview is a casual conversation between a job seeker and somebody who works at a company theyre interested in designed to help them gather intel on what its like working at the company and what opportunities they have available. But dont let the name fool you - informational interviews can do much more for you than just provide you with information. If you play your cards right, an informational interview can help get your foot in the door of the company youve got your eye on and eventually, may even help you land a job .Interested, but dont know where to start? Leverage this three-part strategy.Its always nice if you already know somebody who works at the company, but if you dont, getting in touch via email or social media is perfectly acceptable. Career Coach Angela Copeland recommends keeping the following points in mind when you first reach out to inquire about an informational interviewNeed a little more help drafting your outreach note? Copeland drafted a couple of templates that you can use to base your homilie off of. If you know or have already met the partie you wish to reach out to, try something like this (with specific names and details updated according to your situation, of course)I hope youre having a great day It was great seeing you last week at the neighborhood cookout. As you know, Im also an master of business administration graduate of Pepperdine University. Im a big fan of the work youre doing at ServiceMaster, and I admire the effort the company is putting in around small business development within our community.I would love the opportunity to sit down with you for just a few minutes to learn more about your career, and about ServiceMaster. Is there a time next Thursday that might work well for you? Im happy to come to your office or to meet somewhere nearby - whichever is the most convenient for you.If you havent met the person youre reaching out to, try this (again, updating names/details as appropriate)I hope youre having a great day Im writing to introduce myself to you. Im also an MBA graduate of Pepperdine University. Im a big fan of the work youre doing at ServiceMaster, and I admire the effort the company is putting in around small business development within our community.I would love the opportunity to sit down with you for just a few minutes to learn more about your career, and about ServiceMaster. Is there a time next Thursday that might work well for you? Im happy to come to your office or to meet somewhere nearby - whichever is the most convenient for you.Once youve actually scheduled a meeting with someone, be sure you get th e most out of your time, Copeland says. Research everything you can about the company and the individual online in advance. Stay away from basic questions you can easily find out on your own. A few she recommends asking in particular are Make sure to stay engaged in what theyre saying - this information will give you a good idea of whether or not the company is even a good fit for you. You may even want to take notes to reference later if you decide to end up applying. Finally, Copeland advises that job seekers avoid common faux pas like directly asking for a job, dominating the conversation with information all about you, taking up too much of their time, and expecting the person to pay for their own lunch or coffee if they are meeting you at a restaurant.The heavy lifting is generally over once youve already met with somebody, but following up with them is key to ensuring that your informational interview proves fruitful. Sending a thank-you note within a day or so of your meeting is key. As you would after an interview with a recruiter, make sure your note expresses gratitude for your interviewers time, appreciation for gaining more information and insight into the position and company, and enthusiasm/interest in working at the company.At this point, asking about open roles or recommendations is generally appropriate. However, you want to make sure you go about it in the right way - unless the person you spoke with is a full-time recruiter, filling open jobs at the company probably isnt their primary concern. To show proactivity on your part and demonstrate respect for their time, research open roles on the companys career site or Glassdoor page first to see what might be a good fit for you instead of simply asking them if they could tell you more about open roles. In your message, try saying something to the effect of I saw that your company is currently hiring for a Marketing Manager role. If you think Id be a good fit for the position, Id lov e if you could put me in touch with or mention my name to a recruiter If you cant find any open positions that seem like a good fit, though, you may just want to say something like It looks like there arent any positions that quite fit my experience and skills at the moment, but I hope you keep me in mind if something opens up Even if your informational interview doesnt directly lead to a recommendation or referral , though, dont stress - it doesnt mean you necessarily did anything wrong. As with many facets of job seeking, informational interviews can be a numbers game, where you have to go on a lot of them before anything concrete comes out of it. The good news? That kind of proactivity is exactly what you need to be successful in your job hunt - and with each informational interview you go on, youre that much closer to finding the position that fits your life.