• About Us
• Events
• Go Global
  • Get Ready
  • Plan Your Own Adventure
  • Kines Students Abroad
  • Health and Safety
• Advising
  • Undergraduate Advising
  • Graduate Advising
  • Kinesiology Bulletin
  • Wolverine Access
• Career Services
  • Career Planning Timeline
  • What Can I Do with My Major?
  • Alumni & Their Careers
  • Job Search Preparation
  • Internships
  • Job Postings
  • Job Search Links
  • Information for Prospective Employers
• Parents
  • Why Kinesiology?
  • Parents' FAQs
  • Events for Parents to Explore Kinesiology
• Public Programs
• Visit Us

Informational Interviewing

Job Search Tools:
Resume Writing
Cover Letters
⇒Informational Interviewing
Interviewing
Networking
Employer Research

Printer-friendly version of this page PDF

An informational interview is your chance to ask someone who works in a field that you are considering questions about their job. The informational interview is something that you initiate and you ask the questions. You are looking for information and not for a job. It is a good way to learn about a career field, narrow down options, obtain advice, network for the future, and discover how to enter a field.

Try to find a person in which you have a common major or interest, in a work setting you like, in a career area you are interested in, and in a specific job and organization. Ask friends, family, neighbors, friends of parents, parents of friends, and anyone that you can think of for suggestions of people to talk to. Utilize Kinesiology OSS staff as well as the U-M Career Center and Alumni Association to get in touch with Michigan alumni. Also, try the local chamber and yellow pages.

Prepare an introduction of yourself for people that you are planning to contact. Explain to them that you are interested in the type of work they do and would like to ask them a few questions. Phone or write your request for an appointment.

Do some research about the area in which the person works before the interview. Then make a list of potential questions. Think of questions that are relevant to what you want to know.

Examples of Potential Questions:

1. Tell me how you got started in this field.
2. What is your educational background?
3. What education and/or experience would be helpful in pursuing this career?
4. What are some of the challenges in your position?
5. What do you enjoy most about your position?
6. How much flexibility do you have in terms of hours, dress, vacations, etc?
7. What would be a typical starting salary and what are the benefits of this type of position?
8. What trends do you see for the industry in the next 3-5 years?
9. What types of employers hire people in this line of work?
10. What are the most important factors in making a hiring decision?
11. What advice do you have for me?
12. What is a typical day like for someone in this position?
13. Which professional organizations, journals, etc. would help me to learn more about this field?
14. Do you have any suggestions for improving my resume?
15. Do you have a recommendation for someone else that I could talk to about this career area?

Dress professionally and take a copy of your resume to the interview. Remember that you are the interviewer and that you should be prepared to initiate the conversation. Keep to the appointment time that you have set up.

After your interview, send a thank you letter to the person that you met with. Evaluate the information that you received and how it relates to and /or affects your future career goals.

Back to Top