Informational interviews provide invaluable first-hand insights about companies, roles, and
industries. These types of interviews allow you to speak with professionals with relevant
experience. Unlike a job interview, the objective is seeking advice rather than being interviewed
for an open position. In fact, an informational interview is similar to an interview of a notable
person you might see on TV; you are like the journalist questioning a more senior lawyer about
their career. Informational interview meetings offer many benefits to lawyers across career
stages.
How Can Law Students Benefit from Informational Interviewing?
Law students can discover more about various legal career paths by speaking to attorneys in
the practice areas and settings that interest them. Questions about what a lawyer’s typical day
looks like, how they got into a particular practice group, and what working for a particular
employer looks like, among others, can help you make your own career choices. Building these
connections is important in legal practice and making these early professional contacts lays that
important groundwork.
Insights from recruiters on conveying your value to employers based on your specific
credentials are extremely useful. Information gathering from various sources aids decision
making when applying for competitive roles and summer associate positions.
How Can Junior Attorneys Benefit from Informational
Interviewing?
The advice junior attorneys can obtain from more senior lawyers in their specialty is also
valuable to their career development. Junior attorneys may feel overwhelmed in navigating
organizational dynamics or in dealing with their workloads. They may also want more
information about industry trends, balancing personal and professional obligations, or the next
step(s) in their careers. Conducting informational interviews with more seasoned lawyers can
provide much-needed hands-on guidance in these areas and many more. Feedback from
respected veterans also provides reassurance and helps build resilience in demanding legal
careers.
How Can Senior Attorneys Benefit from Informational
Interviewing?
More senior lawyers can also benefit tremendously from informational interviews. Speaking with
more senior lawyers can assist in identifying effective strategies for building business or taking
on more leadership roles at their employer; how to gain the experience necessary to fill in any
potential gaps in experience necessary to ascend to a more senior position; or how to find a
position in areas outside of traditional legal practice.
How to Start Informational Interviewing
Don’t know where to begin? Identify more senior lawyers in practice areas or settings of interest
by contacting your law school’s alumni office or searching an online alumni database, and
contact them via email. You may also do your research on professional networking platforms
such as LinkedIn.
As you build your contacts and establish relationships, make sure you stay engaged with each
new contact. Make sure to send thank you notes after your contact, and make sure to keep
them informed on your career progress over time. Many of the lawyers you will encounter in
your informational interviews may become mentors to you, and may be willing to keep you
notified of job opportunities that may be of interest.
Final Thoughts
Informational interviewing serves learning needs at every rung of a modern legal career ladder.
The act of seeking guidance on career-related issues proactively helps you take control of your
own career trajectory, rather than leaving your career in an employer’s hands. So get out there
and schedule those informational coffees or telephone/Zoom calls!
