Listen up – if you’re frustrated by the lack of responses to your job applications or exhausted from applying to hundreds of jobs. Informational interviews are an underused gateway to networking that can be incredibly impactful for growing your community and elevating your brand.

Informational interviews are casual networking opportunities that provide insights and career advice directly from the source.

Imagine you’ve set your sights on a position at RE:WORK TRAINING. The job seems perfect and aligns with your goals and values, but you want to know more about the culture, processes, and other elements you might not discover until you’re actually on the job.

To gain these insights, reach out to people at re:WORK Training, who manage the role you’ve applied for or those who hold similar positions. You can message them on LinkedIn or find their email addresses to set up an informational interview.

It’s important to understand that an informational interview is not a job interview. It’s an opportunity to build your network, learn more about the industry and company, and possibly establish a relationship with someone inside the organization.

This sounds great, but how do you start? Our newsletters taught you that you’re essentially a Business Development Representative (BDR). You’ve created a list of contacts and companies that are ideal for your role.

Don’t overthink it—it’s quite simple:

Check the Company’s LinkedIn Profile: Visit the company’s LinkedIn page and explore the “People” tab. Identify folks who you’re connected to directly or through mutual contacts.

Use Mutual Connections: Ask them for an introduction or recommendations if you have mutual contacts.

Find the Right People: On LinkedIn, look for individuals in similar roles who oversee the position or who are involved in related functions.

Prepare Your Questions: Reach out to people who can answer your questions about the company, culture, and work processes. Ask someone in the industry or at the company you’re interested in to meet for coffee or have a quick Zoom call. These conversations can be as brief as 5-15 minutes.

Set the Agenda: If they agree to an informational interview, make sure you have a clear agenda and stick to it.

In our next newsletter, we’ll dive deeper into how to get the most out of informational interviews.

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