Informational Interview Questions That Actually Get You Answers

Before you write any questions

An informational interview only works if the other person knows what it is. Say in your first message that you're not asking for a job, that you'd like 20 to 30 minutes, and name the one thing you're trying to work out. Vague requests get ignored; specific ones get answered.

Then do the reading you can do alone. Every minute you spend asking what the company does is a minute you don't spend on the things only they can tell you.

• Decide the single decision you're trying to inform.
• Look up the role, the company and their own route first.
• Ask for a fixed, short slot and end it on time.

Questions about how they got there

Career paths look inevitable in hindsight and almost never were. These questions surface the branch points, which is where your own decision actually lives.

• What were you doing two years before this job, and how did you get from there to here?
• Which parts of your degree or training turned out to matter, and which didn't?
• Was there a point where you nearly did something else? What tipped it?
• What did you apply for that you didn't get, and did it change anything?
• If you were starting again now, what would you skip?

Questions about the ordinary working day

This is the part job descriptions can't do and the reason the conversation is worth having. Ask for last week, not for a typical week — people describe real weeks accurately and typical weeks aspirationally.

• What did you actually do last Tuesday, hour by hour?
• How much of your week is meetings, and how much is focused work?
• What's the task you do most often that people outside the job never picture?
• Who do you work with daily, and who decides what you work on?
• When does the job get stressful, and is it predictable?

Questions about the parts nobody advertises

Asked plainly and late in the call, these get honest answers. Frame them as being about the role rather than about them personally, and don't press if they deflect.

• What's the most common reason people leave this team or this field?
• What surprised you most in your first six months?
• What do you wish someone had told you before you took the job?
• What's the realistic salary range for someone entering at my level?
• What does progression look like from here, and how long does it usually take?

Closing the conversation

The last three minutes decide whether this becomes a relationship or a one-off. Don't fill them with thanks — use them to be concrete.

Then follow up in writing within a day, short, naming the specific thing that changed your thinking. That single detail is what makes people remember you and reply next time.

• Given what I've told you, what would you do in my position this term?
• Is there something I should read, try or build before we speak again?
• Is there anyone else whose route I should hear about?

Having these conversations on Weave

Weave was built around one honest 30-minute conversation — not long-term mentoring and not a job pipeline. You describe where you are and what you're deciding, and you're introduced to a student, graduate or early professional whose path overlaps yours.

It goes both ways: everyone who joins agrees to answer questions from people a step behind them as well as asking their own, and each person sets a cap on how many introductions they take.

Frequently asked questions

What is an informational interview?

It's a short conversation with someone doing the work you're curious about, where you ask about their experience instead of asking for a job. Usually 20 to 30 minutes, usually a call, and the only outcome is that you understand the path better than you did.

How many questions should I prepare?

Prepare eight to ten and expect to ask five. A half-hour call moves slowly once answers get specific, and the best material usually comes from following up on something they said rather than working down your list.

What should I not ask in an informational interview?

Don't ask for a job, a referral, or a review of your CV in a first conversation — it changes what the other person is willing to say. Also skip anything you could have looked up, like what the company does or what the graduate scheme pays on paper.

Should I ask about salary?

You can, but ask about the range for the role rather than what they personally earn, and ask it late. Most people answer the general version freely and the personal version not at all.

How do I end an informational interview well?

Finish on time, say back one thing you'll do differently because of the call, and ask whether there's anyone else they'd suggest you speak to. Then send a short thank-you that names the specific thing that helped.

How do I find someone to have an informational interview with?

Start one or two steps ahead of you rather than at the top — recent graduates and people two years into the role remember the details and are far more likely to reply. Weave exists for exactly this: it introduces you to one person whose path overlaps yours for a single 30-minute conversation.