Informational Interviews: The Most Underused Career Tool in India

Every year, millions of Indian graduates flood job portals with applications. They optimise their resumes, prep for aptitude tests, and refresh their inbox waiting for callbacks. What almost none of them do is pick up the phone — or write a LinkedIn message — and simply ask a professional in their target field for a 20-minute conversation.

That conversation has a name: the informational interview. It is not a job interview. You are not asking for a job. You are asking for knowledge — about a role, a company, an industry, or a career path. And the return on that one conversation can be staggering: insider knowledge, a referral, a mentor, or a direct introduction to a hiring manager.

In India, where relationships and trust still drive a significant share of hiring decisions — especially in sectors like finance, consulting, media, and startups — informational interviews are not just useful. They are a competitive advantage that almost nobody in your peer group is using.

The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity. But the first step is always a conversation.

An informational interview is a short, structured conversation — typically 20 to 30 minutes — where you ask a professional about their career, their industry, and their company. You are in the driver's seat. You ask the questions. They share their experience. No job is on the table, and neither party is being evaluated for a role.

The term was popularised by Richard Bolles in What Color Is Your Parachute?, one of the best-selling career books of all time. But in India, the concept remains largely foreign to most job seekers — partly because career counselling in colleges rarely covers it, and partly because students are taught to apply for jobs, not to build relationships with the people inside them.

• Freshers use them to understand what a role actually involves before applying.
• Career switchers use them to validate whether a new industry is the right fit.
• MBA students use them to build relationships before campus placements begin.
• Senior professionals use them to research companies before accepting offers or board roles.
• Entrepreneurs use them to do customer discovery and market research.

India's professional culture has always been relationship-first. The concept of jugaad — finding creative solutions through people and networks — is embedded in how business gets done. A warm introduction from a mutual contact carries far more weight with an Indian hiring manager than a cold application through a job portal.

Studies by the Indian Staffing Federation consistently show that referral hiring accounts for 40-50% of placements at large Indian IT companies, and an even higher percentage at startups and family-run businesses. When a Tata Consultancy Services employee refers a candidate, that resume gets reviewed. When an unknown candidate applies through Naukri, it goes into a pile of 800 others.

In 15 years of hiring at Indian tech companies, I can count on one hand the number of CVs I pulled from a portal unprompted. Almost every great hire started with someone I knew saying, 'You should talk to this person.'

Beyond referrals, the Indian job market has pockets that are almost entirely invisible to job portals. Roles at early-stage startups in the Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR ecosystems are often filled through AngelList DMs, Twitter threads, and WhatsApp groups — not Naukri listings. An informational interview with someone inside that ecosystem is often the only way in.

The biggest reason people do not do informational interviews is simple: they do not know who to talk to. But finding the right people is easier than it seems — especially with LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and alumni networks at your disposal.

1. Your College Alumni Network

Your alumni network is the single most underused resource in India. Every IIT, NIT, IIM, XLRI, or Symbiosis alumnus who is five years ahead of you has lived the career you are trying to build. Most alumni are genuinely happy to help fellow graduates — they were once in your position. Use your college's LinkedIn alumni search, official alumni portals, or WhatsApp groups to find alumni in your target role or company.

2. LinkedIn Second-Degree Connections

LinkedIn's search filters are extraordinarily powerful when used correctly. Search for people with your target job title at your target company, filter by India or a specific city, and then look at whether you share a mutual connection. A second-degree connection gives you a warm introduction path — ask your mutual contact to make an intro, or mention the connection in your outreach message.

3. Industry Events and Twitter/X

Speakers at industry conferences, authors of insightful LinkedIn posts, and active voices on Twitter/X in your field are often more reachable than you think. Many senior professionals are on social media precisely because they enjoy sharing and mentoring. A thoughtful reply to their post followed by a DM is a legitimate and surprisingly effective approach.

The most common fear is: "Why would a senior person agree to talk to me?" The answer is that most people genuinely enjoy talking about their work and careers — especially when asked respectfully, with clear intent and zero pressure. Your request message has one job: make it easy and low-risk to say yes.

LinkedIn Message Template (Cold Outreach)

"Hi [Name], I've been following your work in [field/company] and found your post on [specific topic] particularly insightful. I'm currently [a final-year student at / transitioning from X to] Y and am keen to learn more about what a career in [specific role] really involves. Would you be open to a 20-minute call or coffee at your convenience? I have specific questions ready and will respect your time completely. No agenda beyond learning from your experience."

Alumni Email Template (Warm Outreach)

"Subject: [College Name] Alumnus Seeking 20 Minutes of Your Insight Dear [Name], I came across your profile through [College] alumni network. I'm currently in my final year of [programme] and am exploring a career in [field]. Your path from [College] to [current role at Company] is exactly the trajectory I'm hoping to understand better. Would you be willing to spare 20 minutes for a quick call? I have a focused set of questions and would be grateful for any perspective you can share. Happy to work around your schedule entirely. Thank you for considering this. [Your name] | [College, Year] | [LinkedIn URL]"

• Keep it under 100 words for LinkedIn messages — brevity signals respect for their time.
• Reference something specific they wrote, posted, or spoke about — it proves you've done your homework.
• State a clear ask with a time boundary: '20 minutes' is non-threatening.
• Offer flexibility: 'Happy to work around your schedule' removes friction.
• Never attach your resume in the initial request — it turns a conversation ask into a job application.

Walking into an informational interview without a focused set of questions is the fastest way to waste both your time and theirs. Prepare 8-10 questions, prioritise your top 5, and let the conversation flow naturally from there. The goal is a genuine dialogue, not a scripted interrogation.

Questions About Their Career Path

1. 1.How did you move from [their earlier role] into [current role]? Was it a planned transition or an unexpected opportunity?
2. 2.What do you wish you'd known at the start of your career in this field that you know now?
3. 3.What skills or experiences made the biggest difference in your growth?

Questions About the Role and Industry

1. 1.What does a typical week look like for someone in your position?
2. 2.What skills or qualifications do you see companies in this space consistently looking for?
3. 3.What trends are reshaping this industry in India over the next 2-3 years?
4. 4.Which companies do you think are doing the most interesting work in this space right now?

Questions to Unlock the Network

1. 1.Is there anyone else you'd recommend I speak with to get a broader picture of this field?
2. 2.Are there any communities, events, or newsletters you'd suggest following?
3. 3.Based on what I've shared about my background, is there anything you'd suggest I do differently to be a stronger candidate in this space?

The informational interview itself is just the beginning. The follow-up is where the real career value is unlocked. Most people send a perfunctory 'thank you' email and then go silent. The professionals who build lasting careers from these conversations do something different: they stay in touch, they add value, and they create genuine relationships.

Step 1: The Thank-You Note (Within 24 Hours)

Send a personalised thank-you email or LinkedIn message within 24 hours. Reference a specific insight from the conversation — not just a generic 'thanks for your time.' Something like: 'Your point about product analytics being undervalued in early-stage Indian startups shifted how I'm thinking about which skills to build first. Thank you for that.' This shows you were genuinely listening and processing what they shared.

Step 2: Follow Up on the Referrals They Gave You

If they suggested you speak with someone else, do it within a week — and then report back to your original contact. A message like: 'I had a great conversation with [Name] on your recommendation — she gave me brilliant context on the product management landscape at Series A companies. Thank you for the introduction.' This closes the loop and deepens the relationship with your original contact.

Step 3: Keep the Relationship Warm Over Time

Stay in light, consistent contact every 2-3 months. Share an article relevant to their work. Comment thoughtfully on their LinkedIn posts. Notify them when you get a new role, certification, or achieve a milestone. The goal is to be in their mind — not as someone who asked for a favour, but as someone who is genuinely building in the space they care about.

Even when job seekers do attempt informational interviews, several avoidable mistakes reduce the chances of a meaningful outcome. Here are the most common patterns — and how to correct them.

• Asking for a job instead of asking for insight: The moment you say 'I was hoping you could put in a word for me', the other person becomes a gatekeeper instead of a mentor. Earn that referral through genuine relationship-building first.
• Doing zero research before the call: Asking 'What does your company do?' tells the person you did not respect them enough to spend 10 minutes on their LinkedIn or company website. This is a deal-breaker in India's relationship-driven culture.
• Treating it as a one-time transaction: Many Indian students send one message, get a reply, have one call, and never follow up. The relationship evaporates. Recurring, light-touch engagement is what converts a conversation into a career asset.
• Only approaching people they already know: Limiting outreach to friends-of-friends keeps you inside your own bubble. The most valuable insights come from people two or three steps outside your current network.
• Being too vague about what they want to learn: 'I just want to know about your career' is not a focused ask. 'I'd love to understand how you broke into fintech from a non-finance background' gives the person something specific and engaging to respond to.
• Ignoring the second-tier network: Freshers especially tend to target only top-tier companies and senior executives. A product manager at a mid-sized SaaS company can be just as valuable a contact — and far more accessible.

Most people overestimate the risk of reaching out to a stranger and underestimate how much a stranger is willing to help them if asked the right way.

One informational interview is a good start. A dozen over three months is a career strategy. The most effective job seekers treat informational interviewing as a habit — a consistent, scheduled practice rather than a last-minute scramble when they need something.

The framework is simple: identify 2-3 new people to reach out to each week, have 1-2 conversations per month, and maintain a simple tracker that logs who you spoke to, what you learned, and when to follow up. This does not require a CRM or complex software — a shared Google Sheet or Notion page works perfectly.

In the Indian context, where most job seekers are passively waiting for a portal to deliver them an opportunity, this systematic approach creates a compounding advantage. Each conversation expands your network, each referral opens a new door, and each follow-up deepens a relationship. Six months of consistent informational interviewing can produce a warm professional network that most people spend a decade building haphazardly.

The informational interview is not a networking hack or a manipulation technique. It is the most human way to build a career: by genuinely connecting with people who are doing what you want to do and asking them what they know. The fact that it is underused in India is not a problem — it is your opportunity.

While your peers are submitting their 50th cold application on Naukri and wondering why nothing is working, you can be having a coffee with a product manager at Zepto, a conversation on LinkedIn with an investment analyst at a top Mumbai PE firm, or a 20-minute call with an IIT senior who built the exact career you want. Those conversations do not just inform you — they change who knows your name.

Your network is the net worth of your career. But networks are not built in bulk — they are built one honest conversation at a time.