The Best Informational Interview Questions to Ask
Most people burn the 15 minutes on things they could have Googled. The right questions build a genuine connection — and are what quietly turn a coffee chat into a referral.
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✍️ Ready-to-send intro“Hi — we both studied at [your school]. I’d love to hear about your path to a company you are targeting before I apply…”
… plus everyone else in your network who can put in a good word.
See who can refer you in — pick your target company:
Four questions that build a real connection
You have about 15 minutes, so spend them on what only this person can tell you — not on facts. In order:
- Their path. "How did you get into [role/field] — and what surprised you once you were actually doing it?" People love telling their story, and it opens them up.
- What is changing. "What is shifting on your team right now that people on the outside do not really see?" This gets you real, current signal you cannot search for.
- Advice for you specifically. "If you were in my position, what would you focus on over the next few months?" You are asking them to invest a little — which makes them root for you.
- The closer. "Is there anyone else you would suggest I talk to?" End here. This single question is how one conversation becomes three.
Why you never ask for a job in the room
The fastest way to make the conversation stiff is to turn it into a job interview. You asked for advice, not a role — keep that promise. When someone senses you actually want a referral, the generous, curious mood evaporates.
The referral almost always comes later and unprompted: once they like how you think and understand what you are after, offering to help is the natural next move for them, not a favor you had to extract. Your job in the room is to be genuinely interesting and easy to help.
Line up the right people to ask
These questions only work if you are talking to the right people — someone at a company you care about who shares a real signal with you (same school, a past employer in common, the same field) so the chat is warm from the first message.
FindWarmIntros finds exactly those people at any target company and drafts the opener, so the hard part — figuring out who to even have the conversation with — is done for you. Free, no signup.