The Coffee Meeting/ Informational Interview

Congrats! You landed a coffee meeting (also known as an informational interview). While the coffee meeting isn’t a formal interview, you still need to think of it as a professional encounter. Everything you do professionally-speaking should be treated like an interview.

Even if you’re meeting a friend for coffee to talk about their job in your field, that's an interview. It may not feel formal, and you may not get asked questions that you’d expect in an interview. Nonetheless, if a conversation could lead to an introduction to someone in a person’s network (where there may be a potential opportunity), prepare to be evaluated. People offer to open their networks to people they know will reflect positively on them.

Below are key things you should do before, during, and after your coffee meeting.

Before Going to Your Coffee Meeting

Address time upfront, then stick to it. Time is arguably worth more than money. This is especially true when it comes to high-powered people’s time. If you request for 30 minutes, stick to 30 minutes. During your coffee meeting, some people will be direct when the 30 minutes have passed. Others will not, but still may hold it against you if you take up more time than initially requested.

Research. Before heading to your meeting, do your homework. Know who you’ll be talking to, and come prepared with questions. Doing your research on both the person and their company demonstrates your interest and dedication to your job search and that you’re a candidate who should be taken seriously. Plus, it’s flattering for the person. Example: “I read your blog post about A, and I found it really helpful for B reasons.” Remember that you called this meeting, so you need to be prepared to run it! Think about what information you want, and what you want to take away from it.

Go where they are. If you’re meeting in-person, make sure to go to wherever is most convenient for them. Remember: you’re the one who asked them to meet. They’re taking time out of their schedule to meet with you.

During the Coffee Meeting

Be conversational. Don’t be too professional or formal. Or look like a robot with super memorized answers. Be likeable, and let the conversation flow naturally.

Listen more than you talk. Don’t waste their precious time by rattling off your life story. If you requested feedback in your initial email, make sure to set the stage by saying why you wanted it. But then, let them talk. Don’t cut them off, or try to add a bunch of your own insights. They're the expert you wanted to connect with, remember? Now, if they ask you questions, answer. Still be aware of how long your answers are.

Take notes. This demonstrates that you value and care about what they say. It also shows that you’re detail-oriented. If you think of something interesting to say while the other person is talking, jot down a note to remind yourself to bring up that topic later in the conversation.

Demonstrate value. Like all other phases of the networking process, you want to provide value during the coffee meeting. This person just took out time in their day. Try to return the favor by understanding what they need right now, and how you can help in a way that relates. Perhaps they are looking for a new employee/teammate—you can offer to make an introduction. Or maybe they’re looking to grow their blog’s audience, and you know a thing or two about that.

Offer to pay. Depending on the person, they may insist that they pay. Still, it’s a nice gesture.

After the Coffee Meeting

When you’re finished with your coffee meeting, follow up after via email with a thank you. Here are four things you should include in your message.

1. Thank them for taking the time to meet with you. See examples of great thank you emails in an upcoming lession.

2. Review (or recap) what you discussed. For example, “Great to chat with you about A, B, C. Your insight on C was helpful in X way.”

3. Provide value. You can provide a book recommendation you know they’d enjoy. Or, invite them to an event you’re going to in the future that might interested them.

4. Make an ask. Keep propelling the conversation forward—one ask at a time. An example of a follow-up ask might be, “You’d mentioned your friend at Company X might be up for a chat - would you be comfortable making the intro? Thank you for thinking of it.”

It's All About Relationship Building

While not every coffee meeting will turn into a formal job interview (remember the funnel from an earlier lesson?), there is always something to gain from every interaction. Even if nothing else comes out of it, it’s still good practice. And, of course, a new connection that you can nurture over time. Who knows where it may take you in the future.