An informational interview is a short conversation with someone who knows a role, workplace, or field you are exploring. The goal is to replace assumptions with firsthand detail, not to ask for a job. Start with three questions about the actual work, two about the path into it, and one about what you should investigate next. Leave time to follow up on an answer that surprises you.
Princeton's career center describes these conversations as a way to learn about work and build a network. UC Berkeley provides question ideas but advises tailoring them to the person. That matters: a first-year employee, a hiring manager, and a freelancer see different parts of the same occupation. Ask only what this person can reasonably answer.
Before the call: write down your decision
What are you trying to decide? Perhaps you are choosing between operations and project management, wondering whether a role really allows remote work, or testing whether a training program is worth its cost. Write one sentence: “I want to learn whether the routine work and entry path fit my constraints.” Read the person's public background and prepare six questions, but expect to use only four or five.
Ask for about 20 minutes, follow the person's preferred format, and be punctual. If you have not arranged a conversation yet, our job-shadowing guide has a related outreach approach. A shadowing visit is different: it lets you observe tasks; a conversation lets you ask about decisions and trade-offs.
Questions about the daily work
- “What did you spend most of last week doing?” This gives a concrete week rather than a polished job description.
- “Which tasks take more time than outsiders expect?” Listen for meetings, documentation, handoffs, or travel.
- “What changes when work is busy or something goes wrong?” This reveals the stressful version of the role.
- “What parts of the job give you energy, and which are harder to sustain?” Ask for examples instead of treating one person's preference as universal.
Use a follow-up such as “Could you walk me through one example?” when an answer stays abstract. Avoid recording unless you ask permission. Take short notes about the work, not private details about coworkers or customers.
Questions about entry and growth
- “Which skills did you actually use in your first six months?”
- “What experience helped you get hired, and what could someone build outside this job?”
- “What is commonly misunderstood about entry-level openings in this field?”
- “What adjacent role would teach similar skills if this title is hard to enter?”
These questions help distinguish a required credential from a common but optional route. The person may not know current hiring practices everywhere. Compare their experience with several recent postings before spending money on training. If you are deciding among fields, our career-choice guide can help you compare the evidence.
Questions about conditions and fit
Ask, “What does the schedule look like during an ordinary week and at deadlines?” or “How much of the work is done alone versus with others?” If location, physical demands, travel, or accessibility matter to you, ask about the job's actual conditions without asking the person to disclose private accommodations. Their organization is one example, not the whole market.
For pay, start with public salary data or posted ranges. A stranger may not wish to share personal compensation. You can ask, “Which public sources would you trust to understand pay in this field?” This is more respectful and often more useful than demanding a number that may not apply to your area or experience.
Close without turning it into a job request
Use the last minutes for “What question should I have asked?” and “Is there a public resource or role title I should examine next?” If the conversation went well, you may ask whether they know another perspective worth hearing, but make it easy to decline. Do not ask them to refer you, review your résumé, or introduce you to a hiring manager unless they offer. Respect the agreed end time.
Send a short thank-you naming one useful insight. For example: “Your explanation of how much time the role spends on stakeholder handoffs changed what I will look for in job descriptions. Thank you for the 20 minutes.” No elaborate gift or repeated follow-ups are necessary.
Turn the interview into a decision
Afterward, separate observation, your interpretation, and open question. “This person spends two days a week coordinating teams” is an observation. “I might enjoy that” is an interpretation. “Do smaller employers divide the work similarly?” is an open question. Collect another perspective when a choice is consequential; one person's experience can be unusually good or difficult.
Choose a next test: review five live openings, try a small work sample, speak with someone in an adjacent role, or arrange a shadowing visit. An informational interview succeeds when it changes a decision or sharpens the next question, even when it tells you that a field is not for you.