The informational interview is the most under-used tool in a job search and the most over-romanticized when it is used. People treat it as networking magic. In practice, most informational interviews accomplish nothing because both sides default to vague chat. The candidate doesn't have specific questions. The person being interviewed doesn't have anything specific to offer. Both walk away with "that was nice."

A working informational interview has a structure, an ask, and a follow-up. This post is that structure.

Why you're actually doing this

The honest reason to do an informational interview is not "networking." It's to get information that isn't publicly available — the texture of a role, the trajectory of a team, the specific bottlenecks in a transition you're considering, the names of people you should talk to next. Treat it like research with a specific hypothesis you're testing.

The wrong reason — and it's common — is to get a job. The person on the other end of the call almost always knows when this is the real reason. The conversation becomes uncomfortable because the unstated ask is too big for the relationship. The acceptance rate on follow-on requests drops.

For the related (and adjacent) topic of recruiter outreach, see recruiter-outreach-script.

The structure

A working call has six moves, takes 25 minutes, and ends with a specific next step.

Move 1: Open with respect for time. "Thanks for taking 25 minutes — I'll keep us on time. I'm reaching out because [specific reason that's actually about them]." Avoid "pick your brain." The phrase is so worn out it now signals the opposite of what you want — that you haven't thought about what you actually want.

Move 2: Tell them, in 60 seconds, who you are. Current role, the move you're exploring, why their experience is relevant. Specific. The point isn't to perform; it's to give them enough context to be useful.

Move 3: Ask 3-5 prepared questions. Three is the floor; five is the ceiling. The questions should be specific to their experience, not generic to the industry. "How did you decide between PM and TPM tracks at $LAST_COMPANY?" lands; "What's the PM career path like?" doesn't.

Move 4: Ask for one concrete thing. This is the whole point of the call. The ask should be small enough that saying yes costs the other person almost nothing. Two introductions; a piece of writing they'd recommend; a follow-up question via email in two months. Don't ask for a job, a referral, or a resume review — those asks are too big for a first call.

Move 5: Confirm what you'll do next. "I'll send a follow-up note this week with what I learned. If it's useful, I'll let you know how the introductions you mentioned go." Closes the loop and gives you a natural reason to follow up later.

Move 6: Send a thank-you within 24 hours. Email, not LinkedIn. Reference one specific thing they said. Include the LinkedIn URLs of the people they suggested and your concrete plan for following up.

Asks that work, asks that don't

The asks that work share two properties: they're small enough to say yes to in 30 seconds, and they don't put the other person's reputation on the line. Suggesting two people you should also talk to is low-effort. Pointing you to a piece of writing is low-effort. Sharing a take on the field is low-effort.

The asks that flop share the inverse: they require the other person to vouch for you in some way. Referring you to a specific role at their company puts their reputation on the line for someone they've spent 25 minutes talking to. Reviewing your resume implies a longer relationship than you have. Asking for another call signals you didn't get what you needed from the first one.

A useful internal heuristic: would saying yes to your ask cost the other person more than 5 minutes of effort or any reputational exposure? If yes, the ask is too big for a first informational interview.

The pick-your-brain problem

"Pick your brain" was once a fresh phrase. It is no longer. It now signals two things, both bad: that you don't have a plan, and that the call will drift toward generic chat without producing anything actionable. The acceptance rate on requests using the phrase is meaningfully lower than on requests with a specific named ask.

Replace with something concrete: "I'm exploring a transition into developer platform engineering and your move from product engineering 3 years ago looks directly relevant — would you be open to a 25-minute call?" The structure is "what I'm doing + why your experience is relevant + specific time budget." It signals a plan exists.

What to do if the person says yes

A common candidate failure: getting the yes and then under-preparing. The other person agreed because the request was specific; if you show up without specific questions, you've cashed in their initial good impression for nothing.

A working pre-call routine:

• Re-read their LinkedIn within 24 hours of the call. Note specific roles, transitions, posts they've written. Reference one of these in the call.
• Prepare 5 questions, written down. You'll deploy 3-5; the extra one or two are insurance.
• Have one specific ask ready. "If you had two names I should also be talking to, who would they be?" or "is there a writeup you'd send me?"
• Be on time on a quiet line. Same logistics rules as a recruiter screen.

For the broader question of whom to reach out to, see hidden-job-market-truth and alumni-network-outreach-script.

What to do if the person says no, or doesn't reply

Most outreach to people you don't know goes unanswered. This is normal — assume a 15-25% reply rate from cold LinkedIn messages, and a 40-60% reply rate from warm ones (referrals, alumni connections, mutual contacts). The non-replies aren't personal. Move on.

If you do get a no — usually politely worded ("not the right time," "too many calls right now") — accept it cleanly. "Totally understand, thanks for the quick reply. If your schedule clears, I'd be glad to find a time later." Don't argue.

What this isn't

A few clarifications:

• It's not a job interview. Don't perform; don't try to impress. The person isn't evaluating you for a role; pretending they are makes the call awkward.
• It's not a referral request in disguise. If your end goal is a referral at their company, the path is more than one call. Build the relationship first; ask for the referral after you've had real interaction.
• It's not networking theater. Skip if you're not ready with specific questions. A bad informational interview burns the relationship.

The short version: 25 minutes, six moves, one specific ask, follow-up within 24 hours. Skip "pick your brain." Treat it as research with a hypothesis, not networking magic. Done well, two or three good informational interviews can do more for your search than 50 cold applications.