How to conduct an Informational Interview

You must be thinking that informational interview is a sort of job interview. But informational interview is quite different. The aim of the informational interview is to collect the relevant information related to different field of interest from the experienced professionals of that industry. You can get benefit in shaping your career in the particular field with the help of gathered information.

Following handy tips guide you for informational interview:

1. Select the field of interest and choose the right person who can provide you valuable information and the experience related to that field. You can take the appointment and permission from the person before conducting the interview. The limit of the time should be kept in mind and avoid killing the time of others.
   
2. You should give the introduction about yourself to the person to make the person understand your needs and few qualities like politeness and respect in your communication is must. 
   
3. The questions must be listed according to the priority before approaching the person. The best form of preparation is to get the maximum information in few questions. You should ask everything in detail and always clarify the arising confusions.
   
4. Your dressing sense and professional attitude can impress the person and you may get the opportunity to get the contact numbers of the professionals who can assist you in hunting jobs. Never forget to ask for the business card during conducting of the informational interview.
   
5. Sometimes it is not possible to reach the distant places where the professional is working. It is not necessary to conduct the informational interview face to face. You may arrange telephonic interview or can use messenger to chat with the person. You can even wait for the person to visit to your city on any business travel or holiday vacation.
   
6. You can even ask the person to provide more contacts for gathering the information in same field with different experiences. If you are meeting the person in the company then there is scope for talking to the other professionals of the company too.
   
7. You can even collect the views of the person on your resume and the scope of getting the best career opportunity. Your skills, qualification and qualities should be highlighted in resume to get the best possible feedback.
   
8. Never forget to thank the person for providing you handy information and the precious time. Your manners and etiquettes can help you to impress the person for future interaction.

Informational interview is excellent kind of information gathering for shaping your ideal career.