Most jobs aren't filled through job ads. They're filled through conversations that started months before the role opened. The informational interview is the most underused tool for getting into those conversations.

It's a 20–30 minute chat with someone who works in a role, company, or industry you care about. You're not asking for a job. You're asking what their work is actually like. Done well, it does two things at once: it teaches you what to aim for, and it puts you on the radar of someone with the power to refer you when the right opening shows up.

What an informational interview is — and isn't

It's a conversation. Specifically:

• About 25 minutes. Long enough to learn something, short enough to respect their day.
• You ask the questions. They're the expert. Your job is to listen.
• You don't ask for a job. The moment you do, the dynamic flips and the rapport breaks.
• You don't pitch. You're learning.

It isn't a job interview, a sales call, or a networking event in disguise. The discipline of holding the line is what makes it work.

Why it works

Three mechanics, all compounding:

• People like talking about their work. A respectful, well-prepared question about someone's day is almost universally received as a compliment.
• You learn the unwritten parts. The skills people actually use, the tools nobody mentions in the job ad, the hiring patterns. None of this is on a careers page.
• You get on the referral list. When that person hears about an opening, you're already a known face — not a CV in the pile of 400.

The last point alone is worth the effort. In most companies, referrals get priority screening and have a hire rate 4–6× higher than cold applicants.

Who to ask

The target list, in order:

1. People doing the exact role you want. Same title, different company. They know what the work looks like day-to-day.
2. People one level above that role. Often they did the hiring for it and know the patterns.
3. People who recently moved from your current background to the one you want. They navigated the same transition you're trying to make.

Find them on LinkedIn. The 2nd-degree connections are the warmest path — a mutual contact lowers the bar for a reply.

Avoid the temptation to message C-level executives at large companies. Their inbox is a graveyard, their time is structured around their team, and a cold message from a stranger asking for 25 minutes is the easiest reject of their day.

The request message

A good request is short, specific, and gives them an obvious yes-or-no. The template:

Hi {name}, I'm a {your current role} looking to move into {target role}. I noticed you made a similar move from {their previous role} to {their current role}. I'd love to ask 4–5 questions about how you approached that — would you be open to a 20-minute call in the next two weeks? Happy to work around your schedule.

Three things this gets right:

• Specific signal of why this person. Not a copy-pasted blast — you noticed something specific about their path.
• A defined, small ask. 20 minutes, 4–5 questions. Concrete enough to commit to.
• A flexible time window. Two weeks is a long enough runway that they can fit it in without scheduling pressure.

Don't attach your CV. Don't mention you're looking for a job. Don't say "pick your brain" — it's a phrase recipients are tired of.

Preparing for the call

A prepared call returns 5× more than an improvised one. Spend 30 minutes ahead of time on three things:

• Read their last 6 months of LinkedIn activity and posts. What are they thinking about? What did they recently celebrate or complain about? Match the tone of the call to where their head is.
• Look up the company. Recent funding, recent layoffs, recent product launches. Don't ask about anything they posted about themselves last week — use that as context, not a question.
• Write 6–8 questions. You'll only get to 4 or 5, but having extras lets you steer based on their answers.

The best questions are open and specific. Bad: "How did you become a PM?" Better: "When you moved from engineering to PM, what was the part you underestimated most?"

During the call

First 60 seconds: thank them, recap your situation in 2 sentences, ask the first question. Don't open with a long monologue about yourself.

Let silences happen. People say the most interesting things in the 5 seconds after they thought they were done. Don't rush to fill them.

Take notes in another tab, not on camera. Active-looking listening is more valuable than typing.

At minute 22, signal you're wrapping up: "I want to be respectful of your time — last question if that's ok." This is rare enough that they remember it.

The follow-up

This is where most informational interviews die. Within 24 hours, send a short thank-you message. Reference one specific thing they said that changed your thinking. Not generic gratitude — a sentence that proves you listened.

Then, every 8–10 weeks, send a one-line update. Something concrete: "Just finished the {course} you mentioned" or "Started doing {practice} you suggested — already paid off in {situation}." Keep it brief, no ask attached.

Four or five of these light touches over a year is how you stay top-of-mind without being annoying.

A note on tools

Keep a simple tracker: name, company, date of call, top takeaway, next-touch date. A spreadsheet works. A notes app works. If you're already using something like Postulit to track applications, add a tab for conversations — the two lists feed each other, since today's informational interview is often next quarter's referral.

Informational interviews are the slow, high-leverage layer of a job search. They don't pay off this week. They pay off six months from now, when someone forwards your name to a colleague before the role ever hits the public board.