If you’re weighing a career change after 40, the fastest way to find out whether a field is actually a fit isn’t another hour scrolling job boards. It’s a 20-minute conversation with someone already doing the work. That’s the whole idea behind an informational interview: a short, low-pressure conversation with someone in a role, company, or industry you’re curious about. Not a job interview. Not a networking mixer. Six steps below, plus a script you can copy and adjust for your own situation.
What an informational interview actually is (and isn’t)
An informational interview is a conversation you request, usually 20 to 30 minutes, to learn about someone’s field, role, or path into it. You ask the questions. There’s no resume attached, no evaluation, and no offer at the end. That’s precisely what makes it useful if you’re considering a career change at 40: it lets you test an assumption against someone’s actual daily experience before you spend months retraining for something you’ve only imagined from the outside.
It’s also not a backdoor way to ask for a job. If you turn the conversation into a pitch for yourself, most people notice, and it’s the fastest way to burn a contact you might have wanted to keep for years. Keep the ask narrow: information now, relationship later.
How to ask for an informational interview, step by step
Six steps, and most people can go from “I don’t know anyone in this field” to a scheduled call in about two weeks, if they don’t let step three sit in a draft folder.
1. Get clear on why you’re asking
“Can I pick your brain?” is vague enough that most people either ignore it or say yes out of politeness, then wonder what you actually want once you’re on the call. Before you reach out, write one sentence for yourself: what specific thing do you want to understand that you can’t get from a job posting or a Google search? “What the first year actually looks like” is a real reason. “Networking” is not.
2. Find the right person
Aim for someone one or two steps ahead of where you want to be, not the department head. A director has less time and more distance from the day-to-day than someone who made the same move you’re considering two or three years ago. Start with people you already have some connection to: former colleagues, alumni from the same school, people in your LinkedIn network or theirs. A mutual connection helps your reply rate, but it isn’t required. Plenty of people will talk to a stranger who asks well.
3. Send the request
Email tends to get a reply faster than a cold LinkedIn message, especially from someone you don’t know well, but use whichever channel actually reaches them. Keep the message to four or five sentences: who you are, why this person specifically, what you’re asking for, and how little time it will take. Two templates below, adjust the bracketed parts.
Hi [Name], I came across your profile while researching [field/role] and saw you made a similar move from [background] a few years back. I’m exploring the same shift and would love 15-20 minutes of your time to hear how you got started and what surprised you most. Would you be open to a short call sometime in the next couple of weeks?
LinkedIn message template
Subject: Quick question about your move into [field] Hi [Name], [Mutual connection] suggested I reach out, or: I found your profile while researching [field]. I’m currently in [current role/situation] and considering a move into [field]. I’d really value 20 minutes of your time to ask a few questions about how you got started and what the day-to-day actually looks like. I’m flexible on timing, whatever works best for you. Thank you for considering it, [Your name]
Email template
4. Prepare 5 to 7 questions
Bring more questions than you think you’ll need, the conversation will answer some of them on its own. A few that consistently work well for career changers:
- How did you get into this field, and what would you do differently if you were starting today?
- What does a typical week actually look like in this role, beyond the job description?
- What skills or experience mattered more than you expected going in, and what mattered less?
- What’s the most common misconception people have about this work from the outside?
- What would make a career changer’s application stand out to you?
- Is there anyone else you’d suggest I talk to?
Skip anything you could have answered yourself with ten minutes of research. It signals you didn’t prepare, and it wastes time you asked for as a favor.
5. Run the actual conversation
Plan for 20 minutes even if you asked for 30, and watch the clock yourself so you’re not the one who runs long. A workable shape: two minutes on who you are and why you reached out, 15 to 18 minutes on your questions, and a couple of minutes to ask if there’s anyone else worth talking to and to thank them. If they offer to keep talking past your stated time, that’s their call to make, not an invitation you engineered.
6. Follow up and keep the door open
Send a thank-you note within a day or two, referencing one specific thing they said rather than a generic “thanks for your time.” If they mentioned a book, a conference, or a person worth following, that’s your natural reason to reconnect a few months later, ideally with an update on where your search stands, not just another ask. This is also the piece that makes networking work as a strategy against ageism in job search: a referral from someone who already vouches for you routes around the filters that a cold application has to fight through.
Mistakes that kill an informational interview
- Asking for a job or an application referral during the call itself, before any trust is built.
- Showing up with no questions prepared and coasting on “so, tell me about your job.”
- Running well past the time you asked for.
- Treating it as a one-time transaction instead of the start of a relationship.
- Only reaching back out to that person when you need something again.
Before you send the first request, check that your profile backs up what you say in it: how to update your LinkedIn profile after 40 covers that in seven steps. If you’re coming back after time away, reentering the workforce after 40 shows where these conversations fit in a realistic timeline.
Frequently asked questions
Is it okay to ask for a job during an informational interview?
No. Keep the conversation about information, not an opening. If they know of one and want to mention it, they will. Asking directly turns a favor into a pitch, and it’s the fastest way to make the other person feel used.
How long should an informational interview last?
Ask for 15 to 20 minutes, plan your questions for that window, and treat anything longer as a bonus the other person offered, not something you assumed.
Should I reach out by email or LinkedIn?
Either works. Email generally gets a faster response, especially from a second- or third-degree connection, but a LinkedIn message is fine if that’s the only way you can reach someone.
What if they say no or don’t respond at all?
Expect it from some people. Send one polite follow-up after a week if you hear nothing, then move to the next name on your list. It’s rarely personal. Busy people miss messages constantly.
Do I need a specific job title in mind before I do this?
No, and for a career change at 40, that’s often the point. “I’m exploring this field and trying to figure out where I’d fit” is a legitimate reason to ask, not something to apologize for.
