Potential Career Change Informational Interview Email Request Example
Here is an example of an informational interview request written by an individual who is considering changing careers:
Subject: Johnathon Greenbergâinformational interview request
Dear Mackenzie Lee,
My name is Johnathon Greenberg, and I am an accountant at Davis & Reynolds Associates. I’m reaching out because I was impressed when I learned about your successful transition from working in a law firm to leading the content management department for All In One Online Marketing Group. As a professional considering making a career change into marketing myself, I would love to learn more from you about the skills and experiences that were most impactful to your success.
I’m sure you are incredibly busy, so even 20 minutes of your time would be greatly appreciated. I am available at the following times:
Please let me know if you can meet at one of those times or if there’s a better time for you.
I appreciate your time and thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
How To Get An Informational Interview
Whether you are performing research to choose your career path, considering a career change or looking for a job, an informational interview is a powerful networking tool you can use to gather expert industry insight and build strong professional relationships. While getting busy professionals who are strangers to agree to discuss their career with you may seem challenging, knowing the right way to ask is crucial for securing a meeting.
In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about getting an informational interview including how to ask for the interview with an email template, tips and examples.
How To Get An Interview And Secure A Job Offer
When you apply for an open position, you are often one of many qualified applicants. A job interview is critical for advancing through the hiring process, positioning yourself as a strong candidate and accepting a job offer. It is essential to create a strategy that best demonstrates your qualifications and elevates you above your competition. In this article, we explore the ways you can improve your ability to get an interview and secure a job offer.
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Create A Customized Resume
When you apply for a job, take some time to customize your resume for the position. Submitting a resume that responds to the listings requirements allows the hiring team to identify your qualifications and assess how well they meet the organizations needs. When you make it easier for the hiring team to select you as a top candidate, you have a better chance of getting an interview.
To create a customized resume, think about including only the experience, education and accomplishments that relate directly to the job listing. For example, when applying for a retail position, you might mention previous retail, sales and customer service jobs along with the sales goals you met. You can also pull keywords from the listing, such as specific ways to phrase a skill or experience, to better align your qualifications with their expectations.
Related:Resume Format Guide
Make Connections In Your Industry
You may find interesting job listings on public career boards or industry websites, but popular listings can lead to increased competition. Instead, consider making connections in your industry to increase the chance of learning about less publicized openings or hearing about listings before other qualified candidates do.
To network effectively, find online communities and local groups that focus on your industry. Identify people you want to meet, such as employees of companies where you want to work. Then consider ways you can offer value to your connections, such as providing a new perspective on an industry trend.
Related:Become a Networking Expert in 7 Steps
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Know Your Selling Points
Once you advance to the next stage of the hiring process, start preparing for the interview. Identify your three main selling points or the primary reasons you are the right candidate for the job. Think about the most effective ways to introduce these during your interview, including anecdotes and data points.
If you are applying for a management position that requires leadership skills, think about examples, objectives or awards that demonstrate your leadership. For example, you may have received a leadership award from your current company or achieved a goal that proves your teambuilding capabilities.
Professional Email Tips For An Informational Interview Request
Here are a few general tips to remember when sending an email to request an informational interview:
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Recommend a phone interview. If you are willing to conduct your interview over the phone, say so in your email. This makes it easier for the person to respond positively to your request because they don’t have to plan for a commute or an in-person meeting.
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Avoid asking for a job. Even if you are currently looking for a job, you should not make this obvious as part of your informational interview request. Instead, identify your interest in the person’s career or industry and state what you hope to learn more about from them.
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Include a calendar invite. Adding a calendar invite to your informational interview email request can make it easy for the person to respond and helps you ensure the interview won’t be forgotten or overlooked.
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Think About Your Goals For The Interview
Next, you should think about your goals for the informational interview. Think about whether you want to learn more about this professional’s specific skills or experiences, the corporate culture in the company they work for or insider information about the industry.
You will be more likely to receive a positive response to your interview request if you clearly state in your email the reason or reasons you want to talk. Having a clear idea of what your goals are will also help you prepare targeted questions for the interview.
Thank The Hiring Manager
After your interview, remember to thank the hiring manager and express your appreciation for their time and consideration. When you take this key step, you get a final chance to position yourself as a top candidate for the role and encourage the hiring manager to offer you the job.
To follow up after an interview, email a thank-you note within 24 hours. Thank your interviewer, restate your experience and goals, and mention an accomplishment that makes you uniquely qualified for the role. You can also include a detail discussed in your interview to demonstrate that you were invested in the conversation and valued their perspective. End by conveying your interest in moving forward with the hiring process to increase your likelihood of getting the job.
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Timing Makes A Big Difference
We have to admit that the time when you apply for Google can make a big difference. When it was around 2014, it was kind of the best time for tech companies in Silicon Valley. New startups were born every day and every big company was trying to attract engineers. There seemed to be enormous opportunities.
The result is that you were more likely to get an interview with Google than any time later. From Gainlos user report of late 2016, most people didnt get any reply from Google recruiters. Another good example is Uber and the best time is around 2015.
You may not be able to control when to apply Google, but knowing the fact that timing can make a big difference at least can make you more carefree when you get no reply from recruiters. Also, different companies may have different timing. You should always keep your mind open.
Ways To Get A Job Interview And One Way Not To
CEO, Performance-based Hiring Learning Systems. Author, Hire with Your Head and The Essential Guide for Hiring.
Nowadays, most of the work I do involves helping recruiters and hiring managers find and hire perfect people for imperfect jobs. In the manual I give them I also provide a bunch of countermeasures for candidates to use whenever they meet interviewers who dont follow the steps I recommend. Some of these are highlighted below.
Job Hunting Tip #1: dontapply directly to any job posting. The only exception to this rule is if youre a perfect fit based on the skills, experiences and titles listed on the job description. If youre not a perfect, you shouldnt spend more than 20% of your time applying to jobs. However, if you think you can do the job, even if youre not a perfect match on the requirements listed, there are many things you can do to get an interview. Here are my favorites:
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Send An Email Asking For The Interview
Next, you will need to send a cold email to the person you are interested in interviewing asking them to agree to the informational interview. Your email should be drafted in a way that is easy to understand and clearly state the reasons you have chosen to ask this person for an informational interview. Because this is a cold email likely being sent to someone you don’t already know or have a relationship with, it is very important to remain professional and polite throughout the email.
Related: How To Create an Informational Interview Email
Follow Up With The Hiring Manager
After submitting your application, follow up with the hiring manager if two weeks have passed without a response. Connecting with the hiring manager after applying gives you another chance to establish yourself as a top candidate.
Try emailing or calling the hiring manager to confirm receipt of your resume and express your continued interest in the position. Consider encouraging the hiring manager to contact you for an interview or other next steps, and provide your email address or phone number.
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Follow Up After The Interview
Finally, immediately following the informational interview, you should send an email thanking the person for taking the time to discuss their career with you. Hopefully, this informational interview went well and you can add this person to your professional network. Then, every few months you should follow up with this person to help you maintain that professional relationship.
What Is An Informational Interview
An informational interview is a meeting or discussion in which you gather information from the person you are interviewing about their career. You can use an informational interview to gather insight about the industry you are interested in, the corporate culture of a specific company or the career path of an individual who inspires you.
You can also use an informational interview as a networking opportunity to build a professional relationship with the person you are interviewing. While an informational interview gives you the opportunity to make a connection with a professional who is already working in the industry or company you are interested in, it also gives the professional you are interviewing the opportunity to gather insight into who you are and use this information to include you in a potential candidate pool for future positions.
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Do You Have A Compelling Resume
A good resume wont necessarily get you an interview, but a bad one will absolutely get you rejected. If all you need is several hours to polish your resume, which might give you some advantages, I dont see any reason you should not do it.
The most important two factors about a resume are being concise and easy to understand.
As an interviewer/recruiter, when I get a 10-page resume, my first reaction is to ignore it. Recruiters have hundreds and thousands resumes to read and no one has time to read a book. Lets just make it simple, your resume should be single page. Remember that having too much content means things you want to highlight are more likely to be ignored.
Additionally, you should find a nice balance between details and simplicity. More often than not, I see two extreme cases. One is that the resume lists all kinds of technical details of each project with stats. If you go overboard, people will get confused. The most common mistake is putting a lot of company-specific technical details, which makes no sense to people outside the company.
The other extreme case is being too simple and sometimes with almost no information at all. One common example is saying something like Ive built the backend server. No one can evaluate the complexity of this project because building a backend server can mean having a complicated backend system that supports millions of requests, it can also mean a simple web server with 30 lines of code.
Practice Common Interview Questions
Before the interview, read through common questions and prepare answers. Even if your interview does not include all of the most frequently asked questions, considering your answers gives you a chance to review your experience, qualifications and goals. Taking this step also allows you to identify specific examples so that you can mention them readily during the interview.
For example, you can consider your answers to personal questions like How would you describe yourself? and What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? You can also think about job-specific questions like Why do you want to work here? and Why should we hire you?
You may also consider researching what questions are common for the specific role or company youre interviewing with. These questions can help you anticipate what this company expects or what prospective employers need to know about candidates for specific positions. Practice your answers to these questions to ensure you are prepared for a variety of general, company- and role-specific questions. This preparation can lead to a stronger connection with your interviewer.
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Student Informational Interview Email Request Example
Here is an example of an informational interview request written by a student looking for information about the career path they are interested in:
Subject: Camille Andersonâinformational interview request
Dear Stephanie Rodriguez,
My name is Camille Anderson, and I am a student at the University of Texas – Houston. I’m reaching out because I find the work you perform incredibly interesting and would like to know more about . .
I’m sure you are incredibly busy, so even 20 minutes of your time would be greatly appreciated. I am available at the following times:
Please let me know if you can meet at one of those times or if there’s a better time for you.
I appreciate your time and thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Camille Anderson
Write An Effective Cover Letter
Since your cover letter serves as your first chance to make a good impression on the hiring team, customize this introductory note for the job listing. Consider mentioning specific aspects of the company that appeal to you, qualifications that make you an ideal candidate for the job and contributions you would make if you took the role. Be sure to provide more details about your experience that might not be explained in your resume.
At the end of the cover letter, prompt the hiring manager to take the next step in the application process. For example, you can encourage the hiring manager to schedule an interview with you to discuss the job opening further.
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Informational Interview Email Template
Use the following template to create your own email asking for an informational interview:
Subject: âinformational interview request
Dear ,
My name is , and I am a in . I’m reaching out because I find the work you perform incredibly interesting and would like to know more about . .
I’m sure you are incredibly busy, so even 20 minutes of your time would be greatly appreciated. I am available at the following times:
Please let me know if you can meet at one of those times or if there’s a better time for you.
I appreciate your time and thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
