So, you have a coffee meeting with a company contact. What now?

What is an informal interview?

Let’s start with some basics. An informal interview is one that occurs in an informal setting and is generally positioned as a casual exchange of dialogue. You may have a friend of a friend that works at XYZ company, and she knows someone, and recommends you meet this guy from the P Department, and there you go, a meeting is born.

All is good right? But what do you wear? Can you be candid during the session or put on your professional face? Find out.

Attire

Since this is an informal meeting, you may want to gauge how you should dress by a) the company culture (ie. If you apply for a job as a funeral director, then suit up), b) the type of job that which you are applying, and c) information provided by your contact (ie. Keep it casual says your contact).

To be candid or not to be..

You may be thinking that you can get away with speaking your mind, but remember that old saying, loose lips, sink ships. You don’t want to sink this ship, so play it safe and find a happy medium between formal interview, and meeting with a buddy. Keep things professional, but you can relax and enjoy the meeting, without worrying about some of details one would commonly find in a sit-down grilling session.

Other items that could be helpful

Make sure you bring your resume, and something from which to record notes. It’s still important to be on-top of your game, so stay sharp and think about the nature of the meeting and what you want to accomplish before the end of the session. These meetings are a great way to get insight into the job via an off-the-record setup.

Caution

Getting to know more about the job seems like a good idea, but just keep in mind this person could affect the chances of getting a job with this company. When in doubt fall back to the formal interview planning techniques that we provided, and you’ll do fine.

Hope you enjoyed this article, and good luck with your interview!