Sample informational interview questions

In a recent post - here - I looked at an infographic created by (Al-Ani et al., 2020). In that post, I looked at the reasons why we might want to undertake an informational interview. 

What I did not do was to consider what questions someone would want to ask in an informational interview, and where they might find a list of potential questions to spark inspiration. However, that is exactly what the Canadian creators of the accompanying infographic did (Al-Ani et al., 2020). So I think - rather than reinventing the wheel - it would make sense to look at what they and their respondents came up with. 

Their questions were as follows (Al-Ani et al., 2020):

1. "What is it like to work in this career?
2. "What is the typical salary range? What is the long-term salary potential?
3. "How did you get started doing this type of work?
4. "What most surprised you when you started working in this field?
5. "What connections would be most helpful to hired here?
6. "What education, skills and experience are needed?
7. "How does one get hired into this part of the organisation?
8. "What are employers looking for when hiring people for this kind of work?
9. "How do my qualifications compare with employer expectations?
10. "What parts of the job do you find the most challenging? The most enjoyable?
11. "What are the skills you use most in your work?
12. "What are the opportunities in this career path?
13. "What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started in this industry?
14. "Why do people leave this field?
15. "How do you see this industry developing in the future? How is your industry changing?
16. "What is the typical career path for people in this field?
17. "May I have your business card?
18. "Could I follow you on LinkedIn?
19. "Could you suggest one or two other people I could talk to about my career development?
20. "Is there anything else you think I need to know?"  (Al-Ani et al., 2020, p. 35). 

Click on the infographic immediately above to open it in your web browser. 

This is, in my view, a very helpful guide for those who are seeking information on career options :-)

Sam

References:

Al-Ani, A., Bourhill, T., & Rancourt, D. E. (2020). Embedding Informational Interviews into Postsecondary Curriculum. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 19(2), 33-44. https://cjcd.ceric.ca/index.php/cjcd/article/download/16/7