Informational Interview or ask for Interview

When reaching out to a firm is it better to ask for an interview or ask for an informational interview? If reaching out to an analyst or associate I assume it is better to ask for an informational interview, however what about a contact in HR?

Say I find a position at XZY firm and I want a job there. Should I apply and ask for an interview with a contact in HR? Or is it better to ask for an informational interview and apply from there?

I'm seeking to clear up the ambiguity surrounding networking and job seeking.

5 Comments
 
Best Response

What do you think makes sense?

Do both. Apply through regular channels (website if they have a drop, HR, OCR), while also reaching out to a cold contact to ask to learn more about the firm and their experience there. Never directly ask for an interview. They know why you are contacting them, and obviously the end goal is if they like you and you impressed someone, they will pull your resume.

This is all assuming that they are indeed hiring and have positions up (or have not finished hiring yet). If this is not the case, they will probably ignore you. If this is the case, then I would straight up just ask if they might consider any interns and attach a resume. Different strategies for different scenarios.

 

I'm a final semester senior so I'm not sure about an internship at this point.

I don't have any connections at this firm. My question is should I reach out to HR to ask for an Info interview instead of applying. Seems that applying will get my resume thrown into a pile while an info interview will get my foot in the door. Sending in an application, and asking for an informational interview seems very disingenuous.

 

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