6 Takeaways From Our Informational Interviewing Webinar

Lead Career Counselor Terrie Moore outlines best practices
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Two men in button-down shirts face each other at a window

Informational interviews can play a powerful part in your career development. Following best practices can make all the difference in forging mutually beneficial career connections.

In this webinar, Terrie Moore, lead career counselor at UC Berkeley's Staff Career Development Program, walks you through how to do effective informational interviewing.

Here are six takeaways:

  1. Informational interviews are structured conversations to gain knowledge, not to make network connections or to apply for a particular job. Those outcomes may result from an informational interview or come later, but they are not the goal of the conversation.
  2. An informational interview is a reasonable request to make of someone. Be honest and upfront about your intentions. Respect the time commitment you agreed upon. Be prepared. But also, don’t be discouraged if someone doesn’t respond. Not every request you make will be fulfilled. You can ping someone a second time if they don’t respond to your first request.
  3. What can you gain? Personalized, nuanced information to inform your career development. Aim to cover 4–6 questions.
  4. Be prepared with a 30-second professional introduction about your experience. What direction are you interested in exploring? Why is that appealing to you?
  5. Informational interviews can be done over the phone, but in-person meetings will give you more insight.
  6. Set up requests via email. Always send a thank-you email or note afterward. It is courteous to provide an update as you progress in your career.

To learn more, listen to the full webinar, Informational Interviewing: Conversations for Exploring Your Future.

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