January 2026 - Higher Education Jobs - Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

Informational Interviews: Job seeker interviews a higher ed professional

In higher education, the traditional application process of CVs, cover letters, and formal interviews can feel like sending your work into a void. Positions are competitive, committees are busy, and decisions often hinge on factors beyond your control. That’s where informational interviews come in: informal conversations that can unlock opportunities far beyond what a standard application can achieve.

Build Relationships Before a Job Exists

Informational interviews aren’t about asking for a job. They’re about understanding departments, programs, and culture while making a lasting impression. By connecting with faculty, administrators, or staff, you position yourself as a known, trusted professional when positions do arise. Done well, these conversations can provide insider knowledge, expand your network, and even lead directly to opportunities.

Gain Insider Knowledge: Application materials rarely tell the full story. Informational interviews provide insights into hiring priorities, departmental culture, and nuances of the role that can give you a competitive edge.
Expand Your Network Strategically: Each conversation can lead to more connections. A single informational interview can result in introductions to colleagues, collaborators, or mentors, sometimes directly leading to opportunities that aren’t publicly advertised.
Demonstrate Initiative and Professionalism: Reaching out for an informational interview shows that you’re proactive, thoughtful, and invested in the field. Many hiring committees value candidates who already have a sense of departmental culture and needs.
Learn and Reflect to Strengthen Applications: Even if a job doesn’t materialize immediately, the insights gained make your future applications stronger. You’ll know what experiences, skills, or accomplishments to highlight, making your next application sharper and more aligned with the institution’s goals.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to make the most of every interview you line up.

1. Identify the Right People

Start with faculty, administrators, or staff in departments or institutions that interest you. Don’t limit yourself to open positions; think about individuals whose work aligns with your research, teaching, or professional goals.

Action step: Make a short list of five to ten people to reach out to. Look for those active in conferences, publications, or online discussions relevant to your field.

2. Craft a Thoughtful Outreach Email

Keep your email concise, respectful, and focused on learning rather than asking for a job.

Example:

Subject: Seeking Your Advice on [Field/Department]

Dear [Name],
I admire your work on [specific project/publication] and am exploring opportunities in [area]. I would greatly value 20–30 minutes of your time to hear about your career path and any advice you might have for someone entering this field.

Thank you for considering,
[Your Name]

3. Prepare Focused Questions

Go in with questions that encourage insight and conversation. Examples:

How did you get started in this department/field?
What skills or experiences do you see as most valuable for someone entering this role?
What are the department’s priorities or challenges right now?
Who else would you recommend I speak with?

Tip: Avoid asking for a job directly. The goal is to learn and build a connection.

4. Take Notes and Reflect

Document key takeaways after each conversation. Note:

Insights about departmental culture or priorities
Skills, experiences, or gaps to address
Potential contacts or resources

Use this information to tailor your applications or refine your professional development plan.

5. Follow Up Thoughtfully

Send a thank-you email within 24 to 48 hours. Include a specific takeaway from the conversation to show you were attentive and engaged.

Example:

Dear [Name],
Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me. I especially appreciated your insight about [specific takeaway]. I will apply this advice as I explore opportunities in [field].

Best regards,
[Your Name]

6. Keep the Relationship Alive

Stay in touch occasionally by sharing relevant articles, sending the occasional update on your progress, or congratulating them on new achievements, preferably on LinkedIn. Informational interviews are most powerful when they evolve into genuine, ongoing professional relationships.

The Bottom Line: More People, More Opportunities

Every informational interview is a reminder that people shape your career more than any job board. And when you start showing up in conversations instead of just applications, doors open that you could never have predicted.

Check out Top Articles on HERC Jobs.

About the Author: Deepthi Welaratna is a strategist and founder of Tiny Little Cosmos, a studio that helps individuals and organizations navigate moments of change with clarity and creativity. Deepthi has led workforce and leadership initiatives with universities, nonprofits, and companies, including Parsons ELab at The New School, the University of Toronto, The Knowledge House, Google, and the Center for Global Policy Solutions.

In today’s evolving job market, few professionals follow a single, linear career path. Instead, many are designing flexible hybrid careers that blend multiple roles, especially in education, consulting, and creative work. For those navigating a job search or career change, this approach offers an appealing mix of stability, autonomy, and purpose.

What Is a Hybrid Career?

A hybrid career (also known as a portfolio career) involves integrating multiple professional roles or income streams, rather than relying on a single position. It is a personalized mix of work that can evolve over time. This might mean teaching part-time while consulting on institutional projects or maintaining a freelance writing business alongside research or advising. The common theme is flexibility and alignment with one’s strengths.

Hybrid careers have become especially relevant for professionals in higher education and adjacent fields, where expertise and communication skills are highly transferable. Many academics, administrators, and educators find that branching out allows them to stay intellectually engaged, supplement their income, and explore new directions without sacrificing the aspects of their work they value most.

At their best, hybrid careers form a professional ecosystem—each role supports and enriches the others.

Teaching: Sharing Knowledge with Structure

Teaching can be one of the most rewarding components of a hybrid career. Adjunct or part-time faculty positions, online courses, continuing education, and professional development workshops all allow experienced professionals to share their knowledge while maintaining flexibility.

For many, teaching offers an intellectual anchor and sense of community. It builds communication, mentoring, and leadership skills and reinforces credibility within a chosen field. In a hybrid model, teaching often provides a predictable base income and a structured schedule around which consulting and freelance projects can be organized.

Of course, teaching can bring challenges, like variable pay, heavy workloads, and limited stability. Yet when viewed as one part of a broader professional portfolio, it becomes both sustaining and fulfilling. Teaching keeps professionals connected to emerging trends, provides access to learning communities, and enhances their visibility as experts in their field.

Consulting: Turning Expertise into Strategy

Consulting transforms specialized knowledge into practical solutions. For professionals in higher education, consulting can involve curriculum development, inclusion initiatives, student success strategies, assessment planning, or leadership coaching. It is an opportunity to apply expertise across diverse institutions and industries.

Unlike teaching, which follows an academic rhythm, consulting projects are often short-term and outcome-driven. They might involve advising colleges on retention strategies, designing leadership programs, or evaluating online learning programs. The benefits include variety, professional independence, and higher earning potential.

The main challenge lies in visibility. Building a consulting practice requires networking, marketing, and a strong reputation for results. Many hybrid professionals start small, taking on limited projects through referrals or professional associations, before expanding their client base.

Consulting also complements teaching: it keeps educators grounded in real-world applications and current practice, while teaching provides the pedagogical insight and credibility that clients value.

Freelancing: Creative and Flexible Income Streams

Freelancing adds a layer of independence and creativity to a hybrid career. Common examples include writing, editing, research support, or creating educational media. For higher education professionals, freelance projects can be an outlet for skills not always used in formal academic roles, such as storytelling, communication design, or public scholarship.

The biggest advantage of freelancing is flexibility. It allows professionals to accept projects that fit their expertise, schedule, and energy levels. Freelance work can fill financial gaps between consulting projects or teaching terms, or evolve into a long-term creative pursuit.

However, freelancing requires organization and self-discipline. Income can fluctuate, and finding reliable clients takes time. The most successful freelancers treat their work like a business, tracking invoices, contracts, and deadlines carefully. Over time, a strong portfolio of published work or satisfied clients enhances professional credibility across all career areas.

When woven together thoughtfully, freelancing, consulting, and teaching form a balanced ecosystem: teaching provides structure, consulting drives growth, and freelancing fosters creativity and adaptability.

Building a Hybrid Career: Practical Steps

Assess your strengths.
- Identify the skills that span your professional experiences, like communication, leadership, writing, analysis, or mentoring. Then, consider what kind of work structure supports your well-being. Hybrid careers should play to your strengths and align with your lifestyle and goals.
Start small.
- You do not have to balance multiple roles right away. Begin by adding one new professional stream to your current work—perhaps teaching a single course, taking on a short consulting project, or pitching a freelance article.
Network strategically.
- Connections matter. Use professional associations, LinkedIn, and higher education networks to explore opportunities. Collaborate with colleagues, join webinars, or share your work publicly. Visibility often leads to new partnerships and projects.
Structure your time.
- Balancing multiple commitments requires clear boundaries and organization. Create a weekly schedule that protects your teaching prep time, client hours, and creative space. Treat rest and recovery as essential components of long-term productivity.
Maintain a learning mindset.
- Hybrid professionals thrive when they stay adaptable. As industries shift, remain open to upskilling, experimenting, and redefining what “career success” looks like. The ability to evolve is at the heart of hybrid work.

Designing a Career That Fits Your Life

Hybrid careers reflect the changing nature of professional life. Blending roles such as teaching, consulting, and freelancing offers both stability and freedom—the ability to teach, create, and advise on one’s own terms. While building a hybrid path requires planning and persistence, it can lead to a more meaningful and sustainable career.

The future of work is not about choosing a single path. It is about designing a career that aligns with your strengths, values, and the rhythm of your life. For many, combining teaching, consulting, and freelancing, or any mix of complementary roles, is not just a backup plan—it is a blueprint for a thriving, modern career.