Questions to Ask During an Informational Interview
Tell me about your professional journey and how you ended up in this position?
1. Learn about a typical day…
What is the work environment like?
How would you describe the company culture?
What types of tasks and projects do you work on?
What tools and software do you use regularly?
How do people interact with each other? Meeting frequency? Collaboration on projects? Independent work? What do people do for lunch?
How do team members communicate and keep each other updated?
What adjectives would you use to describe (the firm, the team, the job, etc.)?
2. What is the typical salary range for these jobs?
3. Thinking about what will nurture your soul:
What is deeply satisfying about the work you do?
What is the most likely to cause you burnout?
What are the small day to day things that you enjoy about your work?
What are the annoying things you don’t like but they don’t burn you out?
4. What’s their advice / recommendation for you at this point?
What kinds of skills, experiences do you recommend for someone considering this field / position?
Which companies are leaders in this area? Are there companies / sectors you might recommend to avoid?
Which training / certificate programs seem to be the best ones for this area?
Do you know of internships or part time work in the field?