The Informational Interview: How to Ask for One, What to Say During It, and How to Follow Up After

Most job seekers know the informational interview exists. Very few actually use it well.

The concept sounds almost too simple. You reach out to someone working in a role or industry you’re interested in, ask if you can pick their brain for 20 minutes, and walk away with insider knowledge that no job description could ever give you. But there’s a reason this tool remains underused: most people don’t know how to do it without feeling awkward, coming across as needy, or wasting the other person’s time.

The informational interview isn’t just a networking nice-to-have. It’s one of the most efficient ways to tap into the hidden job market, learn what hiring managers actually want, and build the kind of genuine relationships that lead to referrals. When it’s done right, you don’t just leave with useful information. You leave as someone this professional will remember and potentially advocate for.

This guide is going to walk you through every stage: how to craft an outreach message that actually gets a yes, what to say and ask once you’re in the room (or on the call), and how to follow up in a way that keeps the relationship alive without being annoying.

What an Informational Interview Actually Is (and What It Isn’t)

An informational interview is an informal conversation, usually 20 to 30 minutes, with someone who works in a career field, company, or role you want to learn more about. It is not a job interview. It’s not a pitch. And it is absolutely not a thinly veiled way to ask for a job.

The moment you treat it like a job search tool, it stops working like one.

Think of it more as a research conversation. Your job is to gather real-world insight from someone who has already navigated the path you’re considering. You’re asking about their experience, not asking them to hand you an opportunity.

This distinction matters enormously in how you approach every part of the process.

Part 1: How to Ask for an Informational Interview

Who to Reach Out To

Before you write a single word of your outreach message, you need to get clear on who you’re targeting and why.

The best candidates for an informational interview are people who:

• Currently hold a role you’re working toward
• Work at a company you’re genuinely interested in
• Have made a career transition similar to one you’re considering
• Are active enough on LinkedIn that they’re clearly open to professional conversations

Start with your existing network before reaching out cold. A warm introduction through a mutual connection dramatically increases your response rate. If you’re going cold, your LinkedIn profile needs to look polished before you reach out, because the first thing anyone will do after receiving your message is check your profile.

The Anatomy of a Request That Actually Gets a Response

Most outreach messages fail for one of three reasons: they’re too vague, too long, or they make the recipient feel like they’re being asked for a job while technically being told they’re not.

A strong informational interview request has four parts:

1. A specific reason why you chose this person. Not “I admire your career” but “I noticed you transitioned from teaching into instructional design at a tech company, which is exactly the path I’m exploring.”
2. A one-line summary of who you are. Keep it tight. This isn’t your elevator pitch.
3. A clear, time-bounded ask. “Would you have 20 minutes for a quick call sometime in the next two weeks?” is much easier to say yes to than “I’d love to connect whenever works for you.”
4. Zero pressure. Acknowledge that they’re busy. Make it easy to decline without awkwardness.

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

“Hi [Name], I came across your profile while researching careers in UX research and noticed you made the switch from a psychology background, which is the exact path I’m currently navigating. I’m a recent grad with a background in behavioral science and I’m trying to understand what the transition actually looks like from the inside. Would you have 20 minutes for a phone call sometime in the next couple of weeks? I’d completely understand if your schedule doesn’t allow for it.”

Notice what that message doesn’t do. It doesn’t mention jobs. It doesn’t use copy-paste language. It doesn’t ask for advice generically. It’s specific, personal, and respectful of their time.

Interview Guys Tip: Send your request on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning. These are statistically the highest response-rate windows for cold professional outreach. Monday feels overwhelming for most people, and Friday feels like the wrong time to commit to anything.

Where to Find People to Reach Out To

You have more options here than most people realize:

• LinkedIn alumni filters: Search your university alumni who work in your target field or company. Shared educational background is a powerful icebreaker.
• Second-degree connections: Ask mutual connections for a warm introduction rather than going cold.
• Industry communities: Slack groups, Discord servers, and professional associations are full of people who are already inclined to help others in their field.
• Company pages: Many professionals list their email publicly or are active in the comments section of their company’s LinkedIn posts.

Don’t forget to check whether the company you’re targeting has a formal networking or mentorship program. Some larger organizations actively encourage these conversations.

Part 2: What to Say During the Informational Interview

Before You Show Up

Your preparation before the meeting is what separates a memorable conversation from a forgettable one.

Do your homework on the person: read their LinkedIn, look up any articles they’ve written or been quoted in, and understand their career trajectory. Do your homework on the company: know what they do, who their competitors are, and what the current industry landscape looks like.

Prepare between 8 and 12 questions. You won’t ask all of them. The goal is to walk in with more material than you need so that you’re never scrambling. Organize them into natural clusters: their career path, the day-to-day reality of the role, what skills matter most, and where they see the industry heading.

Also prepare a 30-second version of who you are and what you’re trying to figure out. They will almost certainly ask you to introduce yourself, and fumbling through an unprepared answer is not the impression you want to make.

Questions That Go Beyond the Generic

Most informational interview question lists are filled with things like “What does a typical day look like?” and “What advice would you give someone entering the field?” These are fine, but they’re also what every other person asking for an informational interview says.

The questions that create real conversations tend to be more specific and slightly unexpected:

• “What did you wish you’d known in your first six months that you know now?”
• “What skills are actually used daily that you didn’t expect to need when you took the job?”
• “What separates the people who advance quickly in this field from the ones who plateau?”
• “If you were hiring someone tomorrow for an entry-level version of your role, what would immediately disqualify a candidate from your perspective?”
• “What’s one thing about this company’s culture that you couldn’t have known from the outside?”
• “Who else would you recommend I talk to in this space?”

That last question is one of the most important you can ask. Getting a referral at the end of an informational interview is how your network grows exponentially rather than linearly. One conversation can lead to three more, and each of those can lead to three more after that.

Interview Guys Tip: Bring a small notepad and take notes during the conversation. Most people appreciate seeing that what they’re saying is valuable enough to write down. It also helps you remember what to reference in your follow-up.

How to Conduct Yourself During the Meeting

A few practical things that make a big difference:

• Arrive or dial in on time. Being even a minute late sends the wrong message immediately.
• Let them do most of the talking. Your questions are conversation prompts, not scripts. Listen actively and follow interesting threads.
• Watch the clock. When you reach the agreed-upon time, acknowledge it. Say something like: “I know we said 20 minutes and I want to be respectful of your time. Are you okay continuing for a few more minutes, or should we wrap up?” Most people will extend the conversation. But the fact that you asked makes you memorable.
• Don’t bring out your resume unprompted. If they ask to see it, great. But pulling it out early signals that this isn’t really an informational interview, it’s a job pitch.

If the conversation goes somewhere unexpected and valuable, follow it. The best informational interviews feel like genuine conversations, not structured interrogations.

According to Berkeley Career Engagement, you should approach these conversations ready to direct the interview while also letting it flow naturally, encouraging the professional to do most of the talking.

Part 3: The Follow-Up That Actually Keeps the Relationship Alive

The Thank-You Email (and Why Most People Get It Wrong)

Send your thank-you email within 24 hours. This is non-negotiable.

But here’s where most people fall short: they send a generic “thank you so much for your time, this was incredibly helpful” message and nothing else. That kind of follow-up is forgettable by design.

A strong thank-you email does three things:

1. References something specific from the conversation. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about how the team structure changed after the acquisition. I hadn’t considered how much that affects the day-to-day for someone in your role.”
2. Demonstrates that you took action. “You mentioned the book by [author]. I picked it up this morning and I’m already finding it really useful.” Or: “I looked into the certification you mentioned and I’m going to start the course next week.”
3. Keeps a door open without being pushy. “I’ll keep you posted on how things develop. And if I can ever return the favor, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”

That last part matters more than most people realize. The relationship should feel reciprocal, even if you don’t have much to offer right now. People remember those who treat professional relationships as two-way streets.

Interview Guys Tip: If the person mentioned anything personal during the conversation, like a project they were excited about or a challenge their team was navigating, reference it in your follow-up. Nothing signals genuine attention better than remembering something that wasn’t in their LinkedIn bio.

The 30-Day Check-In

One follow-up email is a thank-you. A second one, sent about a month later, is how you actually build a relationship.

The 30-day check-in doesn’t have to be long. It just needs to be relevant and human. A few approaches that work:

• Update them on your progress. “I wanted to let you know I applied to three roles in the space we talked about and I have a first-round interview next week. Your insight about what hiring managers look for in this field has been really helpful as I prepare.”
• Share something useful. If you come across an article, a report, or a piece of news that’s relevant to their work, send it with a brief note. “Saw this piece and immediately thought of what you shared about the industry shift toward [topic]. Thought you might find it interesting.”
• Celebrate a connection they helped you make. “I reached out to [name] like you suggested and had a great conversation. Thank you again for that referral.”

This kind of ongoing communication is what converts a one-time conversation into a genuine professional relationship. And genuine professional relationships are what lead to referrals, introductions, and job opportunities long before those opportunities are ever posted publicly.

If you’re actively preparing for real interviews during this period, the people you’ve met through informational interviews can also be valuable resources for industry-specific advice on how to answer certain questions.

Keeping the Network Alive Long-Term

The best networkers don’t just reach out when they need something. They stay in touch in low-key ways over time.

A few habits that keep relationships warm without being high-maintenance:

• Congratulate them on career milestones. A new job, a promotion, or a work anniversary is a natural and easy reason to send a short message.
• Engage with their content on LinkedIn. A thoughtful comment on something they post keeps you in their peripheral vision.
• Update them on your own wins. When you land a job or hit a milestone they helped you work toward, tell them. People love knowing their advice made a difference.

This is especially valuable if you’re navigating something like a career change where insider relationships can give you context that no job board ever will. And if you’ve been away from the workforce for a period, connecting with professionals through informational interviews is one of the most effective ways to rebuild your network from scratch, something we dig into in our guide on returning to work after a career break.

A Few Things That Kill an Informational Interview

Before we wrap up, here are the most common mistakes that derail these conversations:

• Asking for a job or a referral during the meeting. This is the biggest one. If it happens naturally because they offer, great. But engineering the conversation toward an ask destroys the trust you’ve been building.
• Showing up without prepared questions. “I just wanted to learn more about your career” is not a plan. It puts all the work on them and signals that you didn’t prepare.
• Going over time without asking. Respecting someone’s time is basic respect for them as a person.
• Sending a follow-up that could apply to anyone. Generic thank-you messages get filed away and forgotten. Specific ones get remembered and sometimes even shared with others.
• Never following up at all. According to Yale’s Office of Career Strategy, sending a note of thanks after the meeting is a fundamental part of the process. Skipping it suggests that the conversation wasn’t meaningful to you.

The Bottom Line

The informational interview is one of those tools that rewards the people willing to do the small things well: the thoughtful outreach message, the prepared questions, the specific follow-up, the genuine long-term relationship building.

It won’t land you a job overnight. But it will give you something more valuable: real intelligence about the roles and companies you’re targeting, and a network of people who actually know your name and want to see you succeed.

If you’re also sharpening your approach for the formal side of job searching, our guide to how to find a job fast covers a range of tactics that pair well with a strong informational interview strategy. And if you’re thinking about the questions that come up once you’re in an actual interview, check out our breakdown of behavioral interview questions so you’re ready for that conversation too.

Start with one outreach message this week. One person. One specific ask. That’s all it takes to begin.

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