Do: Make your request brief—the reader should be able to read and respond to it in 2 minutes.

• Here are sample informational interview invitations.

Avoid: Including too much background information about yourself to the request, making it take too long to read.

Do: State your connection early on.

• "I saw that you were also in the Neuroscience Program at UCSF. I'm currently wrapping up my 5th year in the program."
• "I noticed we are both connected to A. How do you know them? I first met A at Z."
• "It was great meeting you at Z. I enjoyed our conversation about X, and appreciated your ideas about Y."

Avoid: Leading with a generic and impersonal opener.

Do: Be specific about your request.

• "I'd like to learn more about your transition into medical writing after completing your PhD."
• "I read your LinkedIn and am curious about your experience working at a start-up and big pharma."

Avoid: Using the less-specific "Can we talk?"

Do: Offer several times to chat in person or over the phone, and include how much time you are asking them for.

• "Do you have 30 minutes next week for a coffee chat? A Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon would be great, but feel free to let me know what time works best for you."
• "Would you be open to a 20-minute Zoom call sometime next week?"

Avoid: Being vague about the time and energy you're asking from them.

Informational Interviews: A guide to preparing for the conversation walks you through:

1. The arc of an informational interview and topics you can ask about
2. The steps to creating your questions for the conversation

• Explore our guide on how to follow up after a networking event.
• Here are sample follow-up notes to send after an informational interview.

• Use LinkedIn to build your network by connecting with professionals in career paths or organizations of interest. Often you can do this through an already shared contact.
  • Learn how to build your LinkedIn profile and use it to search effectively
  • Tips for contacting someone via LinkedIn
• Join a professional society and attend their events to make connections with professionals with common interests and goals. For ideas on professional societies to join, check out our Every Month Series pages. Find the career type you're interested in and look under "Find your community."
• Volunteer at conferences

Video series

Sara Ayazi, Program Manager at the Office of Career and Professional Development, developed a four-part video series to get you ready for successful networking. Use the links below if you want to access each video separately:

1. The Purpose of Networking and Creating Your Goals
2. Identify Where to Network and How to Initiate a Networking Request
3. Identify the Types of Questions to Ask During a Networking Interaction
4. Summarize How to Follow Up After a Networking Interaction

Career Tips

Sara Ayazi's Career Tips cover questions including:

• How to gracefully exit a networking conversation
• How to network at virtual conferences
• How do I write a networking request that will get noticed?

Slides from past workshops:

• How to network as a means to explore different careers
• How to network to get a job in industry