The Informational Interview: Both Crucial and Dangerous
By Nonprofit Times Jobs
The informational interview can help further define what you’re looking for in a job. It can give you a sense of who are the major players in a particular segment of the nonprofit community. And ultimately it can lead to consideration for a specific position within that community. But if you’re looking for a job at the place where you conducted the informational interview, things can get dicey.
According to experts, informational interviews are especially helpful if you’re switching careers and don’t know the types of experience, education and skills required. “I think it’s better for just building a general knowledge of practice and preparing yourself,” said James Weinberg, founder and CEO of Commongood Careers.
Weinberg recommends an informational interview for job seekers who are trying to figure out exactly what role they want to play at an organization, and moreover, for which type of organization they want to work. He emphasizes its importance “especially early in the job search process, getting out there to similar peer organizations and speaking to people who are doing the job you are interested in getting.”
Weinberg and other recruitment experts advise that you limit this type of interview to 20 or 30 minutes, and be prepared with specific questions, including:
- What’s the position like on a daily basis?
- How do you think I should position myself for a job like this at another organization?
- What jobs and education prepared you for this position?
- What aspects of your job do you love and why?
The jury is still out on whether dropping off an unsolicited resume during an informational interview is a good idea. Although Weinberg said that, no matter what, you should always carry a resume, he advised waiting for the interviewee to request it.
“But,” warned Weinberg, “if you’re looking for a job at the place where you conducted the informational interview, it can become an uncomfortable situation because (the person you’re interviewing knows) they aren’t supposed to be meeting with you. You’re supposed to go through the (human resources) department.” Things can get even dicier when the person you are interviewing that has the job you want realizes this is the case, he added.
This article was originally printed in Nonprofit Times Jobs, Vol. 2, Issue 7, April 12, 2006. Once a week, NPT Jobs will helps all levels of nonprofit executives looking to advance their career prospects by providing featured articles on employment trends and highlighted job opportunities in the nonprofit sector.