Build Your Network & Make Smarter Career Decisions with Informational Interviews
The Informational Interview is a powerful tool for strengthening your network and making informed career decisions. And yet, many scientists and engineers haven’t heard of it. It wasn’t until I transitioned from my career as an industry scientist and into a policy fellowship that I was introduced to the concept. It is both elegant and simple: the Informational Interview is a meeting where the only agenda is to learn about the other person and their work.
Here is how you can use Informational Interviews to benefit you, your network, and your career:
Knowing How to Help
Within a Sustainable Networking framework, the goal is to be generous and to find ways to help others in our network. If (ideally) everyone does this, it creates a virtuous cycle of success where there is always an abundance of the resource of “professional assistance” within our networks. Only, how do you know what someone needs or how to help them? By talking to them and learning about their work and interests! The better informed we are with this sort of background information, the more able we are to provide valuable assistance. Having an Informational Interview with someone provides you with the details you need to help this person when the opportunity arises.
Upgrading Your Network
Another principle of the Sustainable Networking philosophy is that you can wield your network as a problem-solving multitool. For Dr. Who fans, I like to think of my network as the always narratively convenient sonic screwdriver. Any problem, any career question—your network can help you solve it. Whether it’s a tricky bit of math, how to interpret a proposal requirement, or making a tough career decision, someone in your network can help you figure it out. Only, that means knowing the right person in your network to call upon in your moment of need! By spending time sitting down with someone for an Informational Interview, you map out their areas of expertise so that you know what sorts of issues you can bring to them when you need help.
Career Changes and Job Hunts
The Informational Interview is also an excellent way to inform your decisions when planning a career change or looking for a new job. Hearing about someone else’s career path is a great way to learn how to navigate your own. Humans are storytellers. In ancient days, when one human regaled another about how they escaped the jaws of the proverbial sabertooth tiger, I’m sure it wasn’t just for fun. It was also valuable information about how to survive. Sharing career journeys and insights is just the modern equivalent.
Informational Interviews can be targeted to answer very specific career or job search questions. If you are interested in a certain type of position, you can have Informational Interviews with people who already hold that role to vicariously see what it’s like. If you are interested in working at a particular company or joining a particular research group, an Informational Interview with someone on the inside can help you figure out if it’s a good fit. If you’re looking to change sectors or disciplines, talking to someone who has made a similar change can help you navigate your own leap.
Creating a Cultural Change
As I mentioned, I only became aware of the concept of the Informational Interview when I transitioned from the tech industry and into policy. I got used to this concept while working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, where people network at a varsity level and one’s connections are critical for getting work done. It was an unexpected reverse-culture shock for me when I transitioned back to industry and subsequently confused someone by inviting them for an Informational Interview. He kindly made time for me, but when we sat down, he was deeply befuddled as to my intended agenda for the meeting.
That is why I wanted to write this newsletter! Informational Interviews are a valuable tool for each of us in our daily work lives and for making decisions that support our career success and happiness. I would love to see more scientists and engineers taking advantage of it. I would love to see our culture change and for Informational Interviews to become more common in industry.
Call to Action
I encourage you to schedule one Informational Interview right now. One of the easiest ways to do this is to find someone at your workplace whom you interact with occasionally, but you don’t really know what their job is. Invite them for a coffee or lunch and spend some time discovering more about their background and what they do at your organization. (Incidentally, being well-networked within your place of employment can improve your job performance!) Or you can pick someone in your network who has an interesting job, recently changed roles, or announced a significant accomplishment. And if you are in the middle of a job search, start scheduling Informational Interviews at companies that interest you or with people who hold the kind of roles you are looking for.
People might be confused initially, and of course, we are all busy. However, most people love to talk about themselves and will probably be able to find some time—even 15 minutes is enough for an Informational Interview. You can also share this newsletter with them as a reference for your request.
I hope that the Informational Interview becomes a well-loved tool in your networking toolbox!
Addendum on Mutual Exchange
The concept of mutual exchange—equitable sharing of information between two people during networking interactions—is an important one for Sustainable Networking. It feeds the virtuous cycle of you being able to support them and them being able to support you.
How much you focus on mutual exchange in an Informational Interview will depend on the nature of that particular interview. If it’s a coworker, as in the example above, allow there to be a strong emphasis on mutual exchange so that you both get to know each other well. This makes your workplace network stronger. On the other hand, if you did cold outreach to someone at a company you are interested in, you will want to share about yourself and make a good impression, but there can be more emphasis on you learning about the company and the person than them learning about you.
Keep mutual exchange in the back of your mind during Informational Interviews, and adapt your use of it according to the circumstances.
First published in the Virtuous Cycles Newsletter on 9.21.2025
By Christina C. C. Willis
Sustainable Networking 