Center for
vocation &
Career
Networking and
Informational Interviewing
An intro to networking and informational interviews
Wheaton College  Career Development Center
www.wheaton.edu/cvc  630.752.5048  [email protected]
Networking
Networking is nothing more than asking the people you know to help you learn about the job market and
meet those who are actually doing the hiring.
Mark S. Granovetter, a Harvard sociologist, reported to Forbes magazine that “informal contacts” account for
almost 75% of all successful job searches. Networking means meeting with people to exchange information.
Some people use networking to find a new job or increase their business, some use it to help improve their
professional and personal skills, and others simply want to develop a supportive cast of new acquaintances.
Networking is a technique and process centered on specific goals. As such, it involves purposeful development
of relations with others by connecting and interacting with individuals through prospecting, networking, and
informational interviewing. Its purpose is to exchange information and to acquire advice and referrals. This
information will assist you in promoting your ultimate job search goal: getting job interviews and offers. The
networking process enables you to build, expand, and activate your contacts.
Networking means:
1. developing and maintaining relationships with others
2. staying in touch with people to keep track of new ideas, services, or job openings
When networking works, it leads you from one contact to another. One of the best ways to identify members
in your network is to develop a detailed contact list. Begin by making a list of 200 people you know. This list will
most likely include relatives, neighbors, fellow workers, former employers, alumni, friends, acquaintances,
bankers, doctors, lawyers, ministers, class-mates, etc. Just about everyone you know, whether he or she is
employed or not, can generate contacts for you.
Do not hesitate to talk to friends, acquaintances, and neighbors about your job search. In reality, you are
asking for advice, not charity. Most of the people you contact will be willing to help you, if only you will tell
them how. The key to making progress is to start asking the right people for the right kind of assistance.
Direct contact with the hiring authority is the most effective job-hunting method—most of your energy should
be devoted to direct contact. The contacts you make during your preliminary informational interviewing will be
the core of your network in your job hunt. You will also want to zero in on other contacts within your career
area. Your goal is to get referred to the person who has the power to hire you.
To make new contacts in your career area, use the following resources:
 People you know in the career or related area.
 Professional organizations, associations, or unions.
 Community service organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Lions, or Rotary.
 Department chairmen in your field at colleges and universities.
 Professional or trade magazines.
 Newspaper articles.
 Yellow pages.
 Directories at the library such as:
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
Dun & Bradstreet's and Gale Industry Reference Handbooks
Who's Who in America
Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
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Informational Interviewing
The informational interview is a means of:
1. exchanging information about jobs relevant to your interests, experience, and qualifications
2. learning how to strengthen your job search
3. receiving referrals for expanding your networks
When you have your meeting with a network contact person, make a presentation about what you have done
in your work, what you want to do, and then ask for advice, ideas, and opinions. As is true of any employment
interview, you must make a successful sales presentation to get what you want. You must convince the interviewer that you are a winner and that you deserve his help in your job search.
The help the interviewer provides is usually in the form of suggestions to meet new people or contact certain
employers. Following your successful meeting, the interviewer introduces you to additional persons, each of
whom may provide additional leads. In this way, you spend most of your time interviewing, not staying at
home waiting for the telephone to ring or the mail to arrive.
A job does not have to be vacant in order for you to have a successful meeting with a hiring authority. If you
convince an employer that you would make a good addition to his/her staff, the employer might create a job
for you where none existed before. In this way, networking taps the "hidden job market."
Suggested Questions for the Informational Interview
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What does the job entail on a day-to-day basis? What is a typical day like?
How did you get to this point in your career? How did you happen to choose it?
What type of practical experience would you deem most important to prepare for a position like yours?
What undergraduate classes have been most valuable to you in your job setting?
What training and/or experience is required? What skills are needed?
What types of problems are you working on?
What do you find most appealing about the work itself, apart from external motivators, such as salary,
fringe benefits, travel, etc.?
8. What do you like and dislike about your career field, industry, or company?
9. What kind of people tend to do well in your job?
10. What titles are often assigned to this type of work?
11. What salary range do you see for this type of work?
12. What professional associations or industrial organizations do you find helpful? Is there a local chapter?
13. What is the current health of this industry?
14. What is the best way to enter this career field? How do people find out about these jobs?
15. What advice do you have for someone like me? (Be prepared to provide a "thumbnail sketch" about
yourself.)
16. Could you give me the names of any other persons you think would be able to give me expert advice like
you have? (This is the crucial question for continuing to gather information and build a network of career
advisor/consultants.) May I say that you suggested I contact them?
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Rules for Networking Success
1. Look for a job that is fit for you rather than try to fit yourself into an available position.
2. Target your job search toward specific positions, organizations, and individuals. Most unfocused,
wide-ranging approaches tend to be ineffective.
3. Conduct a persistent prospecting campaign to continually expand your network and replenish contacts
that lead to more contacts and informational interviews.
4. Increase your number of acceptances by conducting many informational interviews. When you ask for
information, advice, and referrals, few people will turn you down. Most people you ask will be flattered
and eager to assist you.
5. Always send a thank-you letter to those who take time to talk with you. Thoughtful people tend to be
remembered people.
While networking may ultimately lead to interviews and job offers, the purpose of networking is to get
information, advice, and referrals. Regardless of how well you perform a job or write resumes and letters,
networking should play a central role in your job search and career development. Getting a job is a people-topeople business. It requires knowing how to make contacts and build relationships with those individuals who
can help you reach your job objective.
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