Making the Most of Informational Interviews

Requests for informational interviews are on the rise as we transition into the fall. Every week, our Good Insight team receives dozens of requests for informational interviews from passionate professionals asking us to keep them in mind for roles, get our insights into the job market, or brainstorm future career pathways.

As recruiters for a nonprofit-focused executive search firm, we love to learn about people’s career aspirations. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to balance our client loads with these types of individual meetings. Instead, we thought we would share some insights about informational interviews–this is exactly the advice we’d tell you if we were on a call! 

In addition to the following tips, we’ve created this downloadable Resource Guide with a sample email you can adapt for your next informational interview request, as well as nine questions to guide your next conversation. And if you want to add your resume to our confidential candidate database, please visit good-insight.org/careers and upload it under “Save My Resume for Later.” 

Informational interviews are complementary to your job search, but not the silver bullet.

This is frustrating for the active jobseekers out there, but most informational interviews are not  about you asking them for a job. The old fundraising adage, “ask for money, get advice; ask for advice, get money” applies here too. Use informational interviews to explore switching into a new sector/industry, a different type of role, or position yourself for an internal promotion. 

Know who you’re connecting with, and *why them.*

Start with colleagues, former coworkers, alumni networks, and peers you’ve admired from afar. Feel free to tap beyond your network, as many nonprofit leaders are willing to share their experiences to support someone else’s career advancement. “Carole thought we should connect” or “Marsha thought you’d know about some jobs for me” feels transactional. You want their insight on particular matters; be thoughtful about who you’re requesting meetings with.

Identify your purpose and communicate it clearly. 

Before reaching out, be clear: What do I want to learn on this call? Am I curious about a new issue area, leadership path, or work-life balance strategies? What can this particular person share with me that gets me closer to the goal? Clarity helps you—and your conversation partner—make the most of the time.

Your 10-second elevator pitch matters.

Though you diligently attached your resume to your email, and linked them to your LinkedIn profile, assume they did not have time to review it. Start the conversation with a brief introduction and ask them to do the same, including sharing a little bit more about their career pathway to their current role. This gives them an idea of how to frame their introduction, and plenty of content for you to draw your questions from. 

For example, “I’m Angela, and I’ve been working in marketing and communications for about a decade. I started off developing content at a big firm in New York and pivoted to managing press relations for a large national nonprofit focused on cancer prevention. I’m looking to pivot into a fundraising role, and have been connecting to Chief Development Officers like yourself to learn more about their career pathway. Could you introduce yourself, and would you mind sharing a little bit about how you got into this fundraising role at the hospital?

Resist the urge to steer the conversation toward a direct job request.

You’re often not talking to the hiring manager, even if you’re chatting with the CEO. If you’re interested in working for their organization, now and in the future, consider framing your request as, “now that you know more about my background, are you aware of any current or future openings I should look into?” or “Are there hiring managers or other people within your organization you’d recommend I also connect with to explore future roles?,” or “Is there a time in the future you’d recommend I reach back out about potential job openings?”

Be ready for reciprocity.

Informational interviews are relational–avoid being one-sided! Instead, consider these to be opportunities to highlight your own expertise, perspective, and community access by building reciprocal relationships. You’re an experienced professional, ask them if there is something they’d like your insight on! Or could you help them get the word out about something to your network? 

Follow up with gratitude and next steps.

Jot down insights to reflect on what resonated most, and make sure to note any immediate next steps. Did you feel energized by hearing about someone’s advocacy work? Did you admire how another leader set healthy work-life boundaries? Personalize a thank you note by highlighting what you found to be most helpful to you. If they’ve offered to make a connection, send them a reminder with your thank you note with a brief introductory email they can copy and paste from.

A few housekeeping tips:

• Keep it to 20–30 minutes. People are often willing to say yes when you ask for a short, focused conversation framed with your clearly stated purpose.
• Assume it’s a phone call. Most people cannot fit in a coffee chat across town, and many feel like a good old fashion phone call suffices. Ask explicitly before automatically adding a Zoom link.
• Connect with them on LinkedIn. Engage with their content if they’re active posters.

As a recap, successful informational interviews are about curiosity, connection, and perspective. They give permission to explore what’s possible—whether you’re clarifying your next career move, learning what it takes to get into a new field, or just reconnecting with your purpose.

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Carlyn Madden is the CEO of Good Insight, an executive search firm with an exclusive focus on the nonprofit sector. She leads the company’s practice, with a specialty leading transitions for founders and long-tenured CEOs. Learn more about Carlyn and the Good Insight team here.