Question Thought Starters
Extended List
Think of this like a shopping list of questions; you’ll never get the opportunity to ask anywhere near this many questions in an informational interview. Decide which questions are most important for you and are aligned to the expertise of a given interview candidate.
Exploring Their Career
How long have you been in your current job?
How long have you been with your current company?
What does your current role entail? What does a typical day look like?
Do you manage other people in your role?
What kind of decisions or issues are you often faced with in your job?
What type of training or education prepared you for your current role?
What is the toughest situation you’ve ever been faced with professionally?
What other groups or departments do you interact with in your current role?
Do you interact directly with customers?
Does your job involve regular hours, or can they vary?
What is the best part of your current role?
What is your least favourite part of your current role?
What type of education do you recommend for your job? Would you recommend graduate school (e.g., MBA, MSc) for this role?
When you reflect on your career so far, what would you do more of? What would you do less of?
Exploring Their Career Preparation
When you were at my stage, how much planning did you do for your career/life?
How does your career relate to your formal education?
Is your formal education essential to your career?
What courses at school best prepared you for your career?
If you could go back to school and start all over again, would you do anything differently?
How important are grades for getting into your field?
What are the best university/college programs in your field?
Did you do a co-op or internship in college/university? Would you recommend this? Why?
Did you work part-time when you went to school? Would you recommend this? Why?
Are there specific extracurricular activities that might help me prepare for a career in this area?
What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position?
What kinds of things did you do before you entered this occupation?
Which aspects of your background are most helpful?
What other jobs can you get with the same background?
Based on our discussion, what other field or industries would you suggest I consider?
Would you recommend anyone in your network I should reach out to for a discussion?
Which professional journals and publications should I be reading to learn about this career?
Are there any professional or industry associations I should consider joining?
Are there volunteer activities I should consider that would support my entry into this field/industry?
What would you recommend I do to keep up to date on trends in this field/industry?
Do you have any written job descriptions of positions in this field/company?
Would you take a short look at my resume/LinkedIn profile and make any recommendations on how I could improve it to be better positioned for success in your field/industry?
Are you willing to answer more questions, by phone, email or in person, if I need additional advice in the future?
Exploring Their Professional Field (e.g., Accounting) or Industry (e.g., Retail)
What are the different types of careers in this field/industry?
Is this field changing? If so, what is driving this change?
Is the field growing? Why? Why not?
In what industries is this field growing the fastest?
In what cities is this field growing the fastest?
What type of education do they require in this industry?
What are the most important competencies demanded today in this field?
What is the starting salary in this field?
What is the best thing about working in this field?
Do people stay in this field for their career, or do they tend to leave?
If they leave, what are the common reasons?
What do the common entry-level positions in this field generally entail?
When you look at people who have succeeded in this field, what characteristics do they tend to have?
What would you suggest is the most important thing someone entering this field should know?
If you were going to do it all over again, would you enter this field again?
To progress in this field, is moving cities required?
What international opportunities exist in this field?
What do you wish you’d known before you entered this field?
Exploring Their Non-Professional Life
How do you define success?
How do you balance your professional and life goals?
Have you ever had to decide to pursue financial gain in your career at the cost of other elements of your life? If so, what compromises did you have to make?
Have you ever had to move to advance your career? Was this a difficult decision?
Do you find you’ve been able to balance friends and family with your professional goals? At any time, did you have to sacrifice one or the other?
What are your hobbies or interests? Does your job relate at all to these interests?
Have you found stress in your career? If so, what do you do to manage this stress?
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