Discovering a world of post-academic possibilities: How to benefit from informational interviewing

This guest post was written by Liza Shoenfeld, a blogger who studied neuroscience at Bowdoin College before working as a research technician, and is now a second year grad student funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. By day I research how Lou Gehrig’s disease slowly obliterates muscle control, but by night she explores the many career options open to graduate students in the sciences.



When I decided not to pursue academic science, I suddenly confronted, as I’m sure many of you have, the enormous task of trying to choose between all of the other careers that there are. Worse, I had no clear idea of what these possibilities even were – only that there lay a vast, hazy world of jobs out there that did not involve test tubes or spectrometers or grant applications.

I came to this decision during my first year of grad school, already embedded in an institution so divorced from the reality of its trainees’ futures that it seems to hold a restraining order against the grim statistical evidence that fewer than 15% of PhDs in the biological sciences go on to attain a tenure-track position within 6 years of graduating. Yet this was precisely the career for which we were trained. There was little room for – or even interest in – a discussion of more realistic career options.

So I embarked on a project to meet with people who had left grad school to pursue careers in a variety of different fields. I wanted to learn from these people: How did you get where you are today? Which skills have you carried with you from grad school, and what have you learned since then? What do you find most meaningful in your work now? What is your advice for someone in my position?

I met with people in consulting, insurance, policy-making, competitive intelligence, teaching, grantmaking, project management, freelance writing, technology transfer, human resources, communications, university administration, and more. Some had quit grad school and found fulfillment elsewhere. Some had come from academia, some from other graduate
backgrounds, and I also spoke with some who had found success without ever stepping foot in the fluorescently lit halls of graduate school.

I learned that this type of conversation is generally called an “informational interview,” and aside from its obvious networking benefits, I found the process enormously inspiring for two reasons: One, it opened my eyes to a world of fulfilling and successful careers outside of academia. And two, each conversation taught me something new about how I might find my place in that world.

My interviewing project, now in its second year, was born out of my frustration that my graduate program is training me for a career that I’ve come to view as both unrealistic and undesirable. By talking with so many people outside of my graduate school bubble, I’ve learned how to branch out from the narrow path of the academic pipeline.

For those who have not yet benefitted from informational interviewing, I highly recommend it. I knew little about the process when I started, but in the last year have conducted over 2 dozen of these conversations. I have since created a website called, called “branching points”, designed to give graduate students ideas and resources for careers outside of academia. While much of the site is
targeted to students in the sciences, there are a number of resources that I hope are helpful to people of any background. You can find my beginner’s guide to informational interviews, which includes how to find people to interview, how to ask for an interview, 10 tips for informational interview success, and 10 questions you should ask. Also included are profiles of nearly a dozen “alternative” careers. Q&A’s with recent grad-school-grads, resource guides, and my thoughts on branching out from academia.

A Brief Intro to Networking for Post-Acs

Networking is one of those things that may feel impossible when moving out of academia. Oh sure, we've all rubbed shoulders with fellow Victorianists interested in the ethics of literary experience at MLA, but self-promotion and glad-handing are not really a part of our academic repertoire. It can feel a little too close to, ya know, begging. Or lying, if you're feeling completely defeated and inadequate.

But networking is crucial to post-academic life, and once you learn some tactics, it's not as bad as you think. One thing to remember is that while this is all foreign and new to you, people in the real world expect you to ask questions, add them on Linked In, probe about openings at their company, etc. We have some excellent guest posts about networking and linked in headed your way, but in the meantime, revisit some advice from Worst Professor Ever, who wrote a short series called "Networking for Misanthropes and Introverts." She writes:

If you’re feeling awkward about the whole idea, the best way to get over it is to keep doing it. The learning curve is no worse than teaching, trust me. Play to your strengths, which are listening and remembering names and stuff. Check out these Forbes tips for conversational success. And these tips for not feeling sleazy. And consider that introvert leaders may yet take over the world with their mad but stealthy skillz  that extroverts ‘just can’t access’.

She briefly covers informational interviewing, cold contacts, etc. She reminds us that teaching is just as social, charged, and draining as networking, but with a lot more payoff potential!

The bottom line is, you have to network if you want to transition. As I’ve told several people, HR is likely to discard your unorthodox job experience without a second look; you need an actual person to tell them not to. Think of networking as the groundwork for sending off an application, or better yet, a way to meet someone who runs a smaller business and might be willing to give you a shot in a way a large corporation won’t.

Success in any endeavor requires you to do things that aren’t particularly fun. And I’m still gonna say that, as tiring as I find active networking, meeting potentially interesting grownups beats the hell out of killing myself for students — because, let’s face it, teaching is possibly the worst, most exhausting job for introverts. As I learned the hard way.

Be sure to read the comments for even more tidbits about networking for post-academics.Versatile PhD has oodles of info on informational interviewing, which is a great way to start learning about careers outside of academia and making connections. For example, I have been interested in faculty development as a possible career, so I requested an informational interview with the director of my university's Center for Teaching before I left. It was really helpful, and now she knows my name and face. All I had to do was think of the questions I had for her -- genuine questions! -- and ask them! This could also help you figure out what you don't want to do. If you have a friend or colleague who works in a position that you find interesting, drop them a line and ask if you can talk to them about what it's like, their insights, etc.So start networking on today! Sign up at Versatile PhD, and start commenting on other blogs! Earlier this fall, a post-ac blogger shared an opening at her workplace that was ideal for post-acers. This is how you get your foot in the door.