I've been receiving a fair number of informational interview requests lately and I wanted to share what I look at and how to do better in them. I'm a recent grad (May '14 from a masters), so take this with a grain of salt.
Sending the request
Read your message for grammar and spelling. I have seen a lot of issues with missing indefinite articles and other bizarre things, so if you're using a template get it checked out. Also, know what I do and what my firm does, people have screwed up my level, i.e. thinking I'm associate level, I'm an analyst, the firm I work at does life science not healthcare and if you mention an interest in healthcare I'll wonder if you read the website or understood it.
During the call
Have some questions that our website can't answer. I love talking about what an average day is like or about culture. Try to be conversational, I vastly prefer that to being asked twenty questions. Recognize what this call is really about and prepare for it. If you do really well and impress me I'll pass along your resume and that means a good shot at an offer. If you do poorly I'll say so and you'll probably wind up in the reject pile.
After the call
Send me a thank you, it's common courtesy and being courteous is important. In an informational interview I am deciding mostly on fit, so not demonstrating that will kill your chances.
Good advice - even though I most likely won't remember who did/didn't send a thank you, it's still a good practice.
One question though - what is the difference between life science and healthcare? Seems pretty nuanced, not sure that you could fairly expect an average college kid to know the difference, although maybe this is just me and my lack of experience in healthcare/life sciences talking.
Healthcare is payers, hospitals, providers. Life sciences is biotech and pharma.
Thanks for this, perfect timing as I am about to send out a lot of these types of emails. This may be a silly question, but is there any ideal time of day/day of week to send a request email in order to get a response?
Monday to Friday before 8:30 AM and after 4:45 PM.
What would you consider an appropriate way to follow up a few weeks post the informational interview, not necessarily how but what should I mention/talk about. I had 2 recently, and they both said to keep in touch and they'll keep me updated with anything new on their side. And I'm wondering what I can reach out to them about thats not just saying "hey remember me, have any positions in your group opened up", just so I can stay in the back of their mind in case anything does open up.
Thanks
I think any sort of email works quite honestly. Sending an interesting article works, so does giving an update saying what you're up to and finally you could send an email basically saying hi how are things, obviously more eloquently than that.
Thanks for the information. Would you say also show some humility in the body? I've seen this work plenty of times.
I'd prefer, someone to come across as being very hungry for an opportunity, I think that is is what I want to see most when I'm talking to somebody. Obviously, you don't want to come off as arrogant, however it's okay to be confident just don't be cocky. I must say that I take pains to always reply to every informational interview request because I know wasn't all that long ago that I was the one hitting up people for informationals. I feel it's important to stress any conceivable connection, I would go out of my way for somebody who went to my alma mater and I routinely have. If somebody is good then I'm likely to refer them to either HR or the partner who's in charge of recruiting.
How do you guys usually end/conclude these phone calls? I sometimes struggle with this and the conversation seem to end on a somewhat awkward note.
Do you remember your first informational interview session? How did it go? (Originally Posted: 07/09/2012)
What did you learn from it? What would you do different? I am a sophomore and have a few informational interviews lined up during lunch this week. I have questions prepared, just wondering if there is something I should look out for, not do, etc...
anecdotes would be great
The biggest thing I learned is to treat it like a conversation and not an actual "interview". In other words, don't just have a list of questions and read them off one after another; do some prodding and poking, and if your contact seems passionate about something or has an unusual story or anecdote, then you should steer towards those things that are interesting.
I remember my first informational interview, and man, there were so many things I would have done differently. Most importantly, ask questions that are about his/her background, and nothing that can be answered in a google search or with one word answers. I had also brought a notepad with me, which I was taking notes while my he was talking. I thought it might make him feel important, but in hindsight, it was a little too much. Just jot something important down once in a while if you'd like. A notepad isn't really that necessary though. Lastly, (and some people may disagree) try not to ask for a job. You're there to ask about his/her background, career advice and build good will. But at the end, do ask for a referral or to keep in touch if you have any questions in the future. Lastly, enjoy the meeting and find something in common. It really is fun. And read M&I. Good luck.
Making a request in an informational interview (Originally Posted: 01/05/2015)
I've got a few informational interviews this week and next week with MD's at boutique IB's in my area and I was wondering what is the best way to approach them regarding an internship for this summer. I'm a sophomore at a non-target and I cold emailed these guys saying I wanted to talk to them about their journey as bankers. Should I end the conversation saying something like "What are the opportunities like at your firm for this summer?" Is this too aggressive or should I do a follow up email a week after or something and ask then? Also, I'm willing to work for free, should I mention this or should I just assume most of these positions (for sophomores) are unpaid? Thanks.
They know why you're calling them. Towards the end of the call, just ask "how can I best position myself for an interview at your firm" or something along those lines.
I've just gone through a string of informational interviews over the last few months. Quite often, they themselves offered to help out by arranging an interview or giving me the contact information for someone within their company. Some of them even went a step further and referred me to top directors at other firms when they could not help me out. If the person did not do any of those, towards the end of the meeting I would ask something like "So if you were to hire an intern in your firm, what would you look for?" or "What can I do to prepare myself to qualify for an internship".
If they have agreed to meet with you, it is already an indication that they would like to help, provided you impress them with your knowledge/motivation/drive/curiosity.
Good luck!
From Informational Interview to trying to land interview (Originally Posted: 01/22/2013)
I have searched both here and mergers and inquisitions for something on the topic, but since my situation is somewhat unique I am needing a opinion. In the past two weeks, by cold calling and emailing, I have spoken with various MD's, Vp's, associates, and analysts. These were mostly "informational interviews", but some started asking questions about me/asked for resume. I have now applied to most of the firms I want to apply to. What is the best way to go about asking these contacts to help land a interview with the firm? I know I am late in the game and since i have only spoken with them recently I do not want to come across to strong.
bump/need advice
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