Informational interviews are conversations you schedule with a professional to gain information about a career field. This is a great opportunity to gain insight into careers and establish relationships. These contacts will be more likely to make referrals to other individuals to help you expand your network as well as keep you in mind for openings if you have established a positive relationship. Find additional tips and information on how to conduct an info interview, examples of questions to ask, and more on pg. 26 of our Career Guide.
If you’re not sure how to find people to actually conduct an info interview with, here are a few ideas:
1. Start with your own circle. Do you have any neighbors, family members, extended family members, friends or acquaintances that have careers that interest you? Great! Reach out to them for an information interview.
2. Join Mentor Match and connect with alumni mentors. There are currently hundreds of alumni mentors waiting to connect with you in Mentor Match, Binghamton’s online mentoring platform! Sign up now to get matched with alumni in your field of interest. Learn more and join now for free!
3. Look on-campus. Tap into faculty and staff on-campus! You can even tap into other students who have completed internships with organizations you are interested in applying to or working for. Are there any clubs or organizations on-campus related to that career field? Consider joining to get connected to other students that have similar career interests.
4. Connect on LinkedIn. Binghamton alumni were students like you once, and they’re willing to help! Join the Binghamton University Alumni Association Professional Network on LinkedIn. You can also connect with industry professionals outside of the University. Use LinkedIn’s ‘people search’ tool to identify individuals in your career field of interest. (See pg. 30 of our Career Guide for more info!)
Don’t forget: Always send a personalized note in your connection requests! Find some additional helpful resources here.
