5 Questions to Ask During an “Informational Interview”

Nail these career conversations and you’ll be one step closer to landing the job.

October 01, 2021

HBR Staff/Getty Images/Hiroshi Watanabe/alenaspl

Understanding which career is right for you can be a confusing and exhausting process. You may think a job looks great but you don’t actually understand what you’ll do in that role. Or you may have an idea of the industry you want to work in but not understand enough of what options are available to you. A good way to make more informed decisions about your career is by having a chat with someone who has been there done that — what the author calls “career conversations.”

• Land the conversation: The first step to conducting a successful career conversation is to get a professional to say yes to your outreach request. Successful outreach messages are short and polite. Once you get a yes, prepare a set of questions to make the most of the conversation.
• Set the stage: Kick things off with some small talk. Start with a few simple, open-ended questions before asking about their career. Your conversation should be driven by genuine human connection — it should not feel like an investigative interview.
• Own the conversation: Ask questions to get an inside view into the company or career you are interested in such as what got this person here, what skills are most important to land an internship in this field, or who else you should be talking to for more perspective.