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What is an Informational Interview?

This activity aims to help students learn what an informational interview is.

[Note to Instructors: Instructors will need to gauge how much support an individual needs to set up an informational interview to complete Activity 4 of this lesson. Some students may be able to set it up on their own, others may need you to reach out and schedule it. Ideally, the informational interview should be in the process of being scheduled before starting Activity 2 of this lesson. Students knowing who they will interview can help them tailor their questions more effectively. You may be working with students 1:1 or in a group. Depending on the group size, your students’ interests, and time available, you will want to consider if each student will have a 1:1 informational interview or if the group will complete an informational interview together with one person. Keep students informed of the plan and practice how to ask questions based on the anticipated structure of the informational interview. Planning this in advance will help keep the activities in this lesson organized.]

Discuss

Have you ever heard of an informational interview? What do you think an informational interview is? [Note to Instructors: Allow time for students to share their ideas and answer.] An informational interview is setting up time to have a conversation where you ask someone about their job, career path, and the industry they work in. It’s a great way to learn more about a career you’re interested in and gather advice. It is different from a job interview and you’re not going to an informational interview looking for a job. It is just a useful tool to help you make decisions about your future. This is something that may help you confirm a career interest or even the opposite, it may help you see that something you were interested in may not be a good fit for you. Now we are going to watch a video about what an informational interview is and how to set it up. While we watch this video, let’s think about these questions.

  • How is an informational interview different than a job interview?
  • What is the purpose of an informational interview?
  • Who is someone from your network that you would want to talk to about their job?

Watch

Informational Interviews (Video – 3min). After watching, review the above questions with students.