Finding a job in your 50s or 60s is certainly no-joke. First, most jobs found on local ads are age-specific and require skills that scream “young blood!!”. There may be some lucky seniors who are bound to become a supervisor or perhaps a consultant with a decent salary to boot but that will require years of experience or a college degree—something that not all seniors have. Nonetheless, this should never stop us from getting the job we want at any age as there are ways to be on top of everybody else when applying for your dream job!

This is where informational interview comes in handy. Informational interview is not your conventional “hire-me” interview, in fact, instead of the company getting to know you, informational interview is the other way around since it is you who are getting to know the company or a certain field. In a way, an informational interview will give you an edge over your fellow job seekers since you have firsthand, inside information of what you need to land your dream job.

I would like to consider informational interview as part of your research when trying to establish expertise over a field. We do know that at your age, it is important that you already have at least one “expertise” under your belt to be considered as “hire-worthy”. Moreover, informational interviews will help you determine if you are a good fit for a job or if you’ll be able to handle the demands that come with it. Only a person with experience on a certain job will know for sure, and they should be the one to interview. Consider them as your resource person. Your resource person can be found through friends, family and even associations, depending on the type of job you are aiming for.

Now that you know what an informational interview is, interviewing your resource person still requires some etiquette, the same ones you are most likely to throw at a hiring manager. It will also help if you do basic research on the job prior to interviewing your resource person as it will help you with the right questions to ask and basically putting you on the same page with the person you are about to interview. As much as possible, know your resource person as well so you won’t risk asking offensive questions or make such remarks. Typically, you would want to ask questions like how many hours per day the work will take and how a typical day at work is. This will give you an idea if you will be able to keep up with the work demand. Don’t forget to thank you resource person after the interview. A small token of appreciation will go a long way!