{"id":2655,"date":"2023-05-23T13:38:38","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T18:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/set\/career-communities-services\/career-exploration-community\/informational-interviewing\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:19:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T17:19:01","slug":"informational-interviewing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/set\/career-communities-services\/informational-interviewing\/","title":{"rendered":"Informational Interviewing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"uwm-u-pb-80 uwm-u-pt-0\"><div class=\"uwm-l-container--base uwm-l-container--overflow-hidden\">\n<p class=\"lead-in\">Informational interviews are conversations that you initiate with a person working in a career or company in which you are interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are valuable for exploring careers, preparing for a future career, and searching for internships and job. The objective is not to ask about job openings, but to gain first-hand information and expand your network of contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The benefits of an informational interview include gaining firsthand insights into the daily aspects of a career, industry, or organization, discovering new career paths, acquiring insider knowledge for preparing and securing your first position, and expanding your professional network through meaningful connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwm-u-flex uwm-u-flex--wrap uwm-u-flex--left\">\n<a class=\"uwm-c-button uwm-u-mr-20 uwm-u-mb-20\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/set\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/631\/2023\/06\/Info-Interview.pdf\" rel=\"\">View Tip Sheet<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"uwm-bg-gray uwm-u-py-80\"><div class=\"uwm-l-container--base uwm-l-container--overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading heading-separator\" id=\"h-steps-to-an-informational-interview\">Steps to an Informational Interview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"uwm-c-list--sequence\">\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2>Identify People<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ask friends, family, professors, or advisors who they know and if they can connect you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify 51ÁÔÆæ alumni on LinkedIn, click \u201cconnect\u201d, and include a message asking for an informational interview.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look at staff pages on websites of organizations related to careers and jobs you are interested in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2>Ask to Meet<\/h2>\n<p>You may feel awkward reaching out to someone you don\u2019t know; you shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact the person by phone, email, LinkedIn, or ask a shared contact to send a mutual introduction. Explain why you want to talk with them and how you came across their name, such as a website or referral from a mutual contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask to meet face-to-face, in person or virtually. If that is not possible, then purpose a phone conversation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2>Prepare for the Meeting<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lead-in\">Before you meet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Research the career, industry, and\/or organization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learn about the person you are interviewing through LinkedIn, organization website, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reflect on what you hope to gain from the meeting by writing concrete goals for the interview.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Develop questions that will help you achieve your goals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"lead-in\">Example Questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How did you become interested in this field?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Describe a typical day\/week?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What part of this work do you find most rewarding?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What education, training, skills and personal qualities are essential in this career?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What steps do you recommend I take to prepare to enter this field?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is turnover high in this field?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What advice would you give someone who is considering this type of job\/field?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2>Conduct the Meeting<\/h2>\n<p>If you are meeting in-person, arrive 10 minutes early and plan for traffic and parking. Dress appropriately; business casual is best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notes and recordings are a great way to help you review after your meeting. Ask if it is okay to take notes and\/or record the meeting. Show you respect their time by keeping the meeting to the agreed amount of time.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><div class=\"uwm-c-list--content-wrap\"><h2>Follow Up<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Send an email or handwritten thank you within 24 hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect with the individual on LinkedIn.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reflect on what you learned and how to use that information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set up an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/set\/career-communities-services\/see-career-advisor\/\">appointment with our career advisors&nbsp;<\/a>to go over the information you gained and how you can use it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1511,"featured_media":11055,"parent":142,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"class_list":["post-2655","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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