Informational Interview Questions That Get You Real Answers
An informational interview is a conversation with someone doing the job or working in the industry you are considering. You are not asking for work. You are asking how something actually operates, from a person who would know — and in Australia and New Zealand, where a great deal of hiring happens through referral rather than advertisement, that conversation is often worth more than an application.
What it is and what it is not
The distinction matters, because getting it wrong is what makes people stop replying.
- It is a bounded conversation about their work, their industry and how they got there.
- It is not a job interview, a pitch, or a way to hand over your CV sideways.
- It is twenty to thirty minutes, ended by you, on time.
- It is not a standing claim on their attention afterwards.
If a role exists, it will come up on its own. If you raise it, you have converted a generous favour into a transaction — and lost the thing that made the conversation valuable.
Getting the meeting
Short, specific, easy to refuse. Say why you're asking them in particular, ask for a defined slice of time, and give a graceful exit:
Hi Daniel — I'm a civil engineer moving into project management and trying to understand how that transition actually works in Australian infrastructure. You've done exactly that at two firms. Would you be open to twenty minutes in the next few weeks? Happy to work around you, and no problem at all if the timing is bad.
Do not attach a CV. Do not ask to "pick your brain". Do not follow up more than twice.
The questions
Opening — the first five minutes
- How did you end up in this role? I'm guessing it wasn't a straight line.
- What does a normal week actually look like?
- What are you working on at the moment that you find genuinely interesting?
The work itself
- What's the part of this job that people outside it misunderstand?
- What do you spend time on that you did not expect to?
- What separates someone who does this well from someone who does it adequately?
- What's the hardest decision you've had to make in this role?
- What would make you say no to a candidate who looked good on paper?
The industry here
- How does this field differ in Australia from overseas?
- Where do people in this industry actually get hired from — advertised roles, referrals, agencies?
- Which qualifications or registrations genuinely matter here, and which are treated as optional?
- What's changing in the next couple of years that people aren't ready for?
- Which employers have a reputation worth knowing about, good or bad?
Your own path
- Looking at my background, what would you say is the obvious gap?
- If you were making this move today, what would you do first?
- What did you underestimate when you were at my stage?
That last group is where the real value lies, and it is the group people run out of time for. Ask those questions by the twenty-minute mark.
Closing it properly
Two questions, always, and then end on time:
- "Who else do you think I should be talking to?" One referral per conversation is what turns a handful of meetings into a map of an industry.
- "Is there anything I should have asked that I didn't?" This routinely produces the most useful thing said all meeting.
Then stop. Ending at twenty minutes when you asked for twenty minutes is the strongest signal you can send that a second conversation would be worth their time.
What happens next
Send a short message within two days referring to something specific they said. If they suggested someone, contact that person and then tell the first person how it went — closing that loop is the cheapest way to stay in someone's mind. Our guide to following up covers the mechanics.
If the relationship develops naturally over several conversations, it may become something ongoing — which is a different request, handled in how to ask someone to be your mentor.
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