Networking and Informational Interviews

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, you learned to use AI for career pivot acceleration — skills gap analysis in minutes, job market intelligence at scale, application optimization, and mock interview practice that polishes your career change story. Now you’ll tackle the highest-impact career pivot strategy: networking into your target field through informational interviews and relationship building.

The 85% Reality

Research consistently shows that approximately 85% of jobs are filled through networking — personal connections, referrals, and relationships. For career changers, this number matters even more. When your resume shows experience in a different field, a personal introduction from someone the hiring manager trusts is worth more than the most perfectly optimized application.

The challenge: you’re networking into a field where you don’t know anyone yet.

The Informational Interview

An informational interview is a 20-30 minute conversation with someone in your target field. Its purpose is information and relationship, not job hunting.

What it accomplishes:

• Reveals what the role is actually like (beyond job descriptions)
• Uncovers hidden requirements and real success factors
• Builds relationships that produce referrals and introductions
• Tests your interest — sometimes learning the reality changes your direction

The informational interview structure:

The golden rule: Never ask about job openings in an informational interview. The moment you do, it transforms from a peer conversation into a sales pitch — and the person regrets saying yes.

✅ Quick Check: Why should you ask for 2-3 additional names at the end of every informational interview? Because each conversation should expand your network, not just add one contact. If 5 interviews each produce 2 new names, you have 10 more conversations available. After 15-20 informational interviews, you have a genuine network in your target field — people who know your name, your story, and your capabilities. That network is what produces the referral that gets you hired.

The Networking Sequence for Career Changers

For people entering a field where they know no one, this sequence builds from scratch:

Week 1-2: Research and map. Identify 20-30 target contacts on LinkedIn. Prioritize: people who pivoted themselves, people at companies you want, and community leaders. Join 2-3 relevant online communities (Slack groups, forums, subreddits).

Week 3-4: Warm up and contribute. Engage with your targets’ content (thoughtful comments, not just likes). Contribute to communities by answering questions, sharing resources, or starting discussions. Be visible and helpful before you ask for anything.

Week 5-8: Reach out and interview. Send informational interview requests to your warmest connections. Each conversation produces 2-3 more names. Aim for 2-3 conversations per week.

Week 9+: Maintain and convert. Stay in your contacts’ orbit by sharing value. Provide progress updates. When specific opportunities arise, ask for specific introductions. The relationship you built in weeks 5-8 is what makes the ask in week 9+ feel natural, not transactional.

Help me prepare for an informational interview.

My background: [current role and field]
Target field: [where I'm pivoting]
Person I'm meeting: [their role, company, anything
you know about them]

Prepare:
1. 5 questions that reveal insider knowledge I can't
   find in job postings or articles
2. 3 ways to naturally bridge my current experience
   to their field during conversation
3. A 60-second "about me" that frames my pivot
   positively
4. A graceful way to ask for additional contacts
5. A follow-up message template for after the
   conversation

Follow-Up That Maintains Relationships

The informational interview isn’t the goal — the ongoing relationship is. Most people do great in the conversation and then disappear. The follow-up is where networking converts to career opportunities.

Within 24 hours: Thank-you message referencing something specific they said.

Within 2 weeks: Share something relevant — an article about their company, a resource related to a topic they mentioned.

Monthly: Brief touchpoint — like or comment on their content, share a progress update, or send something useful.

When an opportunity appears: Make a specific ask — not “are there openings?” but “I saw [specific role] at [company]. Given your knowledge of the team, do you think my [specific experience] would be relevant?”

✅ Quick Check: Why is “provide value before asking” the foundational networking principle for career changers? Because career changers start with a relationship deficit — they’re new to the field and haven’t built credibility yet. Providing value first (sharing relevant articles, making thoughtful introductions, contributing expertise) builds social capital that makes future asks feel natural. Asking without first providing feels extractive — and people avoid helping those who only take.

Key Takeaways

• 85% of jobs are filled through networking — and for career changers, personal introductions from trusted contacts are even more important because they overcome the “wrong background” barrier that resume screening creates
• Informational interviews are the career changer’s most powerful tool: 20-30 minute conversations that reveal hidden requirements, build relationships, and expand your network (always ask for 2-3 additional names)
• Never ask about job openings in an informational interview — it transforms a peer conversation into a sales pitch and kills future help
• The networking sequence (map → warm up → contribute → reach out → maintain → convert) builds a genuine network from scratch in 8-10 weeks
• Follow-up is where networking converts to opportunities — provide value first, share progress updates, and make specific asks when specific opportunities appear

Up Next: You’ll learn to manage the transition itself — building financial safeguards, creating phased timelines, and developing the psychological resilience that carries you through the uncertainty of a career change.