Find Someone Who Actually Works at Your Target Company (And Ask Them This)

You research companies online. You read their About pages, review Glassdoor, check LinkedIn. This gives you public information every other candidate also has.

Today you find someone who actually works there and get information other candidates won't have.

Why this matters now:

Public company research tells you what organizations want you to know. Current employees tell you what actually happens inside the organization.

Interviewers notice when candidates demonstrate genuine understanding of company challenges, culture, and priorities beyond what's on the website. That understanding comes from talking to people who work there, not from reading press releases.

How to identify the right insider contact:

You need someone currently employed at your target company who:

Works in a function adjacent to the role you're targeting

Has been there long enough to understand culture and operations (1+ years typically)

Is accessible through your network or reasonable cold outreach

Is not the hiring manager or directly involved in your interview process

The goal is intelligence gathering, not asking for referrals or favors. You want information that helps you interview better and assess whether this company is actually where you want to work.

Where to find current employees:

Start with your existing network:

Search LinkedIn connections for people who work at target companies

Check if any former colleagues, classmates, or professional contacts work there

Look for alumni from your school currently employed there

Review second-degree connections who could introduce you

If you have no direct connections:

Identify employees in roles similar to what you're targeting

Review their profiles to see if you share professional associations, alumni status, or other connection points

Send brief, specific LinkedIn messages requesting 15-minute informational conversations

Join company or industry Slack/Discord communities where employees participate

The success rate for cold outreach to current employees is higher than you'd expect. Most people are willing to spend 15 minutes helping someone who asks respectfully with specific questions.

What makes outreach more likely to succeed:

Your message is brief (3-4 sentences maximum) and specific about what you're asking for

You demonstrate genuine interest in the company, not just generic job seeking

You ask for 15 minutes of their time, not an open-ended conversation

You're clear about what you want to learn and why you're asking them specifically

You make it easy to say yes by offering specific times and phone/video options

Example outreach message:

"Hi [Name], I'm interviewing for a [role] position at [Company] and noticed you work in [related function]. I'm trying to understand more about [specific aspect of company] beyond what's on the website. Would you be willing to spend 15 minutes sharing your perspective? I'm available [specific days/times] for a brief phone call if that works for you."

This works because it's specific, bounded, and shows you've done basic research.

The five questions that provide real intelligence:

Once you connect with a current employee, you have limited time. These questions provide the most useful intelligence:

Question 1: "What's the biggest challenge your team or department is facing right now?"

This reveals actual operational reality versus public messaging. It tells you what problems need solving, what leadership is focused on, and where opportunities exist.

What you learn: Real problems you could help solve, whether to emphasize certain skills in interviews, if company challenges align with your strengths or expose misalignment.

Question 2: "How would you describe the actual culture versus how the company describes it publicly?"

This exposes the gap between marketing and reality. Every company claims to be collaborative, innovative, and supportive. This question gets past the PR language.

What you learn: Whether culture claims are accurate, what the real work environment feels like, if stated values match actual behavior.

Question 3: "What surprised you most when you started working here compared to what you expected?"

This question surfaces things that aren't obvious from outside. It reveals both positive surprises and disappointments that help you calibrate expectations.

What you learn: What the company doesn't advertise about itself, what to expect that's different from other organizations, where your assumptions might be wrong.

Question 4: "If you were interviewing for a role here now, what would you want to know that you didn't know when you joined?"

This gets directly at information gaps that matter. People often wish they'd asked about things they discovered later.

What you learn: What questions to ask in your interviews, what red flags to watch for, what actually matters versus what seems important from outside.

Question 5: "What type of person succeeds here versus struggles?"

This reveals cultural fit factors and success patterns that job descriptions don't capture. It helps you assess whether your working style matches what the environment rewards.

What you learn: Whether your work style fits, what skills or approaches matter most, if you're likely to thrive or struggle in this environment.

What to avoid asking:

Don't ask questions easily answered by public research. This wastes their time and suggests you haven't done basic homework.

Don't ask them to refer you or connect you to hiring managers. That's a favor request, not information gathering. If they offer, great. Don't ask.

Don't ask about salary, benefits, or compensation unless they bring it up. These are legitimate questions but inappropriate for informational conversations with people who aren't hiring you.

Don't ask them to critique your resume or give you interview tips. That's career coaching, not company intelligence gathering.

Don't record or extensively note-take during the conversation. This makes people uncomfortable and prevents natural dialogue.

How to use the intelligence you gather:

Information from current employees gives you three advantages:

Interview advantage: You can reference genuine understanding of company challenges and culture rather than generic research. "I know the team is focused on [specific challenge the employee mentioned], which aligns well with my experience in [relevant area]."

Question advantage: You can ask informed questions that demonstrate insider knowledge. "How does the role fit into the broader initiative around [thing employee mentioned]?"

Decision advantage: You have realistic picture of what working there would actually be like versus what the company projects. This helps you assess whether accepting an offer makes sense.

The follow-up and gratitude requirement:

After the conversation:

Send thank-you message within 24 hours referencing specific insights they provided

If you interview, let them know how it went (brief update, not detailed play-by-play)

If you get the job, definitely tell them and thank them again

If you don't pursue the opportunity based on what you learned, it's fine not to follow up beyond initial thank-you

Current employees who help you are doing a favor. Treat their time and insights as valuable by following up appropriately.

What multiple conversations reveal:

One conversation gives you one perspective. That person might be unusually positive or negative about the company.

If possible, talk to 2-3 current employees. Patterns across multiple conversations are more reliable than single opinions.

If all three people mention the same challenges or praise the same aspects, that's signal. If one person loves it and two others express concerns, that's meaningful data about variability in experience or possible issues.

When insider information contradicts public messaging:

Sometimes current employees describe a company very differently than public materials suggest.

Company website emphasizes work-life balance; employees describe 60-hour weeks as standard expectation.

Job posting emphasizes innovation; employees describe bureaucratic slow-moving environment.

Leadership talks about growth opportunities; employees describe limited advancement and high turnover.

When you find significant gaps between messaging and reality, weight the insider perspective more heavily than public claims. People lying to impress job seekers on informational calls is rare. Marketing departments overstating company culture is common.

The networking versus intelligence distinction:

This approach prioritizes gathering information over building relationships. You're not trying to create networking contacts who might help your career long-term. You're trying to understand specific companies where you're interviewing.

If relationships develop, that's beneficial. But the primary goal is intelligence, not networking. Don't approach these conversations trying to impress people or position yourself. Approach them trying to learn.

Common insider outreach mistakes:

The first mistake is asking for conversations but having no specific questions prepared. This wastes their time and makes you look unprepared.

The second mistake is turning informational conversations into sales pitches for yourself. They agreed to share information, not evaluate you as a candidate.

The third mistake is asking only surface questions you could have answered through Google. This signals you didn't do basic research.

The fourth mistake is forgetting to follow up with thank-you messages. This is basic professional courtesy many people skip.

Next step:

Identify one target company where you're interviewing or hoping to interview. Find one current employee through your network or LinkedIn. Reach out today requesting a 15-minute conversation. Prepare the five key questions. Tomorrow you'll develop your networking follow-up system. But first you need to gather actual insider intelligence that gives you interview advantage over candidates relying only on public research.