# Test a new career with informational interviews

Outreach messages, smart questions, and a scorecard to learn what a career is really like before you commit.

- Topic: Career & Job Search
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Career, Plan, Fill-in Template, Step-by-step
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/test-a-new-career-with-informational-interviews

## Prompt

```text
Help me use informational interviews to test whether a new career is right for me. This is step 1 of my career-switch plan; what I learn here feeds my learning plan (step 2) and my career-change story (step 3).

**Target career:** [ROLE / FIELD]
**What I'm unsure about:** [e.g. "day-to-day reality", "pay at entry level", "whether my background counts"]
**People I could contact:** [e.g. "former colleague's spouse", "alumni on LinkedIn", "strangers in a professional group"]
**My background in one line:** [SUMMARY]
**Skills I think transfer, and gaps I suspect:** [LIST - optional, used to tailor the questions]

Give me:
1. Three short outreach messages (under 90 words each): warm contact, alumni or shared-group connection, and cold contact. Ask for 20 minutes, make it easy to say yes, and don't ask for a job.
2. 12 questions, grouped: the real work (what a typical week looks like, what they wish they'd known), getting in (how people like me actually break in, which credentials matter), and the trade-offs (pay range, stress, growth).
3. A one-paragraph way to introduce my switch that invites advice.
4. A thank-you note template that mentions one specific thing I learned.
5. A scorecard I fill in after each conversation: Energized or drained? Realistic entry path? Dealbreakers? Who else should I talk to?

Aim for 5-8 conversations before deciding. Remind me to ask each person for one more introduction.
```

## What to fill in

- ROLE / FIELD
- SUMMARY
- LIST - optional, used to tailor the questions

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.