Have you been thinking of making a career or job change, but you are worried about the risks associated with taking a chance?  I don’t blame you.  It’s the same as making the decision to buy a really expensive product like a car, house, or beautiful designer handbag.  It’s hard to make a job change, career decision, or a big purchase when you have so many unanswered questions.

• What are the challenges associated with the new job I’m considering?
• What should my salary expectations be?
• Am I even qualified to make this move?
• Do I have to continue my education in some way?

The best way to answer questions that aren’t “Googleable” is to go straight to the source by finding someone who is working in the role or industry you are interested in exploring and setting up a time to chat with this individual.  This “chat” is known as an informational interview and for the purposes of this blog we will call the individuals you would like to chat with “candidates”.  Informational interviews can give you an opportunity to “try” out a certain career before you “buy” into making a change.

What’s the goal of an informational interview?

The goal of an informational interview is to help you get an insider’s perspective on what day-to-day life looks like in a certain role and the candidate’s feelings and opinions about their work.  During an informational interview, you are not asking for a job, about the possibility of a job, or a referral for a job.  Just in case this isn’t clear, the goal of this informational interview is not to get a job.  Your goal for this conversation is to simply learn more about a job so you can decide if the career you are exploring is a good fit for you.  That is not to say your informational interview candidate won’t be a person you reach out to again further down the line. You may reconnect with this person if you decide the prospective career is right for you and you are in fact looking for a job.  Don’t worry, you will cross that bridge when you come to it.  Removing the job element from this situation removes pressure and provides space for an easy and honest conversation.

Who should I talk to?

When searching for informational interview candidates, your goal should be to speak with someone who is currently working in the role you are exploring or someone who had that role in the past.  This person could be someone who recently started their career, has a longstanding history in the profession, or used to work in the role and has moved on.  If you want to be a little strategic, select an informational interview candidate who works (or worked) for a company you are interested in working for.  Again, during the informational interview you are not asking for a job, but you never know where these conversations can lead.  If you have the opportunity to use your informational interviews to support your future job search, TAKE IT!

How do I find these people?

Informational interview candidates are all around you.  Before using social media, professional associations, and/or Google to find candidates, examine your existing network.  Reach out to your family, friends, previous supervisors, previous co-workers, your community, other parents at your kid’s school, and/or your alma mater (high school or college) and see if your network knows anyone who is currently working in or used to work in the role you are exploring.  Ask your connection to make an introduction for you or ask your connection for the candidate’s contact information and make the introduction for yourself.  Most likely, if your network is recommending someone for you to speak to, that person will be open to the conversation.  If you are unsure of what to say when reaching out to a potential informational interview candidate, check out my blog about networking and learn how to start the conversation.  My networking blog also outlines a strategy regarding how to find candidates who are not in your existing network.

What do I ask?

Questions about the candidate’s role, company, industry, and opinions are all on the table.  You are trying to learn more about the candidate’s experience in order to inform your career decision making process.  As long as you are coming from a place of learning and your questions remain professional (i.e. asking “what is a typical starting salary for someone in this role?” not ” how much do you make?”), you can ask whatever you want.

Ask questions that will help you decide if this career is right for you.  In addition to the questions outlined at the beginning of this blog, here are a few more question ideas:

• Why do you enjoy working in this role?
• What are some things you don’t particularly enjoy about your work?
• How did you find your first job as a (blank)?
• What are some strengths and skills someone should have to be successful in this role?
• (If the person is no longer working in the role you are exploring) Why did you decide to leave your role as a (blank)?
• Is there room for upward mobility at your organization?
• Do (blank) experience a good deal of job security? Why or why not?
• What qualifications is a hiring manager usually looking for when reviewing the resume for a (blank)?

Ready to try before you buy?  Now that you know what an informational interview can do for your job search, it is time to start reaching out to people who can help you explore different careers.  Enjoy your conversations and have fun.  I have a feeling you are about to meet a lot of cool people.

If you would like to work with a career coach to help you explore different career ideas, I’d love to hear from you!  Click here to schedule a consultation.  You can also feel free to check out my Find Your Dream Job Course to learn about more career exploration tools.  If you enjoyed this post, scroll down to subscribe and my blog will be sent straight to your inbox 😊!