If you have ever wondered what is an informational interview, and how do you request one, you are looking at one of the most underused tools in a job search. It is a short, informal conversation with someone working in a role or company you are curious about, focused entirely on learning rather than asking for a job directly.
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What an Informational Interview Actually Is
An informational interview is a casual, low pressure conversation, typically fifteen to thirty minutes, where you ask someone about their role, their company, or their industry in order to learn more and build a genuine connection. It is not a disguised job pitch, and treating it that way tends to backfire. The person you are speaking with knows the difference, and approaching the conversation with genuine curiosity rather than a hidden agenda is what makes this tool effective.
Why This Conversation Is So Valuable
Informational interviews give you information you cannot get from a job posting or a company website, such as what a typical day actually looks like, what skills matter most in practice, and what internal challenges or opportunities exist that outsiders rarely hear about. They also build a genuine relationship with someone at a company or in a field you are interested in, which can lead naturally to a referral or a heads up about an opening, without you ever having to ask for either directly.
Who to Ask
Start with your existing network. Former colleagues, classmates, and even loose acquaintances who work in a field or company you are curious about are excellent first requests, since the connection is already there. From there, look at LinkedIn for second degree connections, people connected to someone in your existing network, since a mutual connection makes a cold request feel considerably warmer. Alumni networks from your school are another strong, underused resource, since many alumni are genuinely happy to help a fellow graduate.
How to Send the Request
Keep your outreach message short, specific, and low pressure. Mention how you found them or the connection you share, briefly explain your interest in their role or company, and ask for fifteen to twenty minutes of their time to learn more, being clear that you are not asking about a specific open position. A message like this tends to work well: Hi, I noticed we are both connected to a mutual contact, and I have been really interested in learning more about your work in operations at your company. Would you be open to a brief fifteen minute call sometime in the next few weeks? I would love to hear about your experience and any advice you might have.
What to Ask During the Conversation
Come prepared with a short list of genuine questions rather than winging it. Good questions include how they got into their current role, what a typical week looks like, what they wish they had known earlier in their career in this field, and what skills or experience tend to make someone successful in this type of work. Avoid asking directly for a job or pushing your resume into the conversation. If the conversation naturally moves in that direction, let the other person bring it up rather than steering it there yourself.
How to Follow Up Afterward
Send a genuine thank you message within a day or two, referencing something specific from the conversation rather than a generic note. If it feels natural, ask if it would be alright to stay in touch or reach out again in the future. This keeps the relationship warm without asking for anything further right away, and it is often this follow up, more than the original conversation, that keeps you on someone’s radar for months or years to come.
Turning These Conversations Into Real Opportunities
Informational interviews rarely lead to an immediate job offer, and that is not their purpose. Their real value compounds over time, as you build a wider network of genuine relationships across companies and roles you are interested in. Job seekers who consistently have a few of these conversations each month, even during periods when they are not actively job searching, tend to have a much stronger, more responsive network when they do need it, since the relationships were built well before the ask ever came.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A few habits undermine an otherwise good informational interview request. Sending a long, generic mass message to many people at once tends to get ignored, since it reads as impersonal and low effort. Asking directly for a job or a referral within the first message, before any real conversation has happened, skips a step and can feel presumptuous. And failing to do basic research on the person or company beforehand wastes both your time and theirs, since your questions end up covering information you could have easily found yourself.
How Many of These Conversations You Actually Need
There is no fixed number, but treating informational interviews as an ongoing habit, rather than a one time task tied to an active job search, tends to work best. Even two or three genuine conversations a month, sustained over time, build a meaningfully larger and warmer network than a burst of many rushed requests sent only when you urgently need a new job. Building this habit before you need it means you already have real relationships in place exactly when a job search becomes urgent.