Informational interviews are designed to get as much information as you can about the industry and career you're seeking a job in from people who are already in that career.

Many job seekers don’t conduct informational interviews because the purpose of this type of interview is NOT to ask for a job. But, when you talk with people in your area of interest, you establish rapport with them, get salary ranges for the position and hopefully, have your name passed along to the hiring manager when there is an opening in their company.

Conducting an informational interview can be a very powerful job seeking tool for you. As you conduct these interviews, you’re:

Establishing several important contacts
learning more about the industry you want to work for
and getting your name out there before anyone else in case a job opens up.

You can also take the information you gathered from these informational interviews and apply them to a regular one-on-one job interview. For example, you’ll be able to negotiate your salary better because you found out beforehand what the salary range was for the job you’re seeking.

The informational interview is almost like a hidden secret for job hunting success, since so few people use this technique. Get the advantage over other job seekers by adding this powerful tool to your job search.

Michelle Roebuck provides job interview tips and resume writing advice at http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com/ To sign up for her FREE monthly newsletter go to http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com/newsletter.html