Information Interviews

Posted by on July 8, 2014

I ♥ Information Interviews

If you’ve been reading these blogs and thinking about all those activities that have interested you throughout your life, perhaps you’ve already made the leap and are currently enjoying being engaged in a wonderful hobby.  Or maybe you want to learn more about a potential career.  For that, I love information interviews.  How do I love thee/them?  Let me count the ways…

  1. Information interviews allow curious people of any age at any life stage to learn more about something: an occupation, an organization, an industry, a skill, etc.
  2. They allow people to practice interviewing skills in a no-stress environment, since there’s no job at stake.
  3. They help people build relationships and their networks.
  4. The interviewee may give the person leads on other folks to speak with.  Bigger network, more learning – yay!
  5. And lastly, they are a tremendous source of free information.  In fact, if you are hoping to get a job similar to the person you are interviewing, their satisfaction level is actually a much better predictor of whether you’d be happy in that job than is your own best guess!  (Strange, I know, but the studies prove it; read “Stumbling On Happiness” by Daniel Gilbert if you need convincing.)

One more note…  I know I said that information interviews are no-stress, but when you do them, you should treat them like a real interview.  Come prepared with your questions, be a good listener, keep it brief, and thank the person for giving you their time and attention.  And when someone asks you for an information interview, pay it back by graciously accepting.

So what do you want to learn about?  Where is your curiosity leading?  Who can you reach out to today?

Happy interviewing!