A consultation with a professional can help you understand a career before you apply for it. If you are targeting M&A, private equity, venture capital, strategy consulting, transaction services or audit, the most useful conversation is usually a focused informational interview: a chance to learn from someone who does the job you want.
The goal is not to secure an offer in one call. It is to replace assumptions with practical information, identify gaps in your preparation and decide what to do next.
On Call an Insider, you can book a free, 15-minute phone call with an insider. Access to the insider directory requires sponsorship from two members. Once you have booked a call, the insider calls you at the agreed time.
What Should a Consultation With an Insider Achieve?
A useful career conversation should help you answer a specific question that a job description cannot fully resolve.
For example:
- What does a junior actually spend time doing?
- Which experiences make a student application more credible?
- How does the team assess candidates during interviews?
- What is different about working in this sector rather than a related one?
- What should you prioritize before applying for an internship?
You do not need to cover all of these. In 15 minutes, one clear objective and three thoughtful questions are more useful than a long checklist.
If you are unsure whether M&A or transaction services fits your interests, focus on the work itself. If you already know your target sector, focus on application preparation, interview expectations or how to understand a particular type of team.
Choose Someone Whose Experience Matches Your Question
The most senior person is not automatically the most useful person to speak with. Relevance matters more than title.
A professional close to entry level may offer a recent perspective on recruitment and the transition from university. Someone more experienced may offer broader insight into team expectations and career progression. Neither perspective is universal, so treat each conversation as one informed view.
Before choosing an insider, consider:
| Your current question | Experience to look for |
|---|---|
| “What would a typical junior week involve?” | Someone familiar with day-to-day junior responsibilities |
| “How should an internship candidate prepare?” | Someone able to discuss recruitment and interview expectations |
| “Which of these two sectors suits my interests?” | Someone who can explain the realities of one of those sectors |
| “How can this application become more convincing?” | Someone comfortable discussing candidate profiles and preparation |
On Call an Insider, professionals create their profiles from LinkedIn and select three to five topics they can help with. Those topics give you a practical starting point for choosing a relevant conversation.
Prepare Before the Call
Preparation should make the conversation sharper, not turn it into a performance.
Write a one-sentence objective
Complete this sentence before booking:
“By the end of this call, you want to understand…”
Your answer might be “how to prepare for a first audit internship interview” or “whether strategy consulting involves the type of problem-solving you enjoy.”
A specific objective helps you avoid spending the entire call on broad career advice.
Review the insider’s background
Read the information available on the insider’s profile. Note their sector, career path and selected help topics.
Avoid using valuable call time to ask questions that the profile already answers. Instead, use those details to make your questions more relevant.
For example, rather than asking someone to repeat their career history, ask what influenced a particular move or what surprised them when entering the sector.
Prepare a short introduction
Keep your introduction to around 30 seconds. Include:
- Your current stage of study
- The sector or internship you are exploring
- The question you hope the conversation will clarify
You do not need to recite your CV. Give enough context for the insider to tailor their answers.
Questions to Ask, by Sector
The best questions invite concrete explanations rather than general encouragement. Choose the ones that match both your objective and the insider’s experience.
M&A
- What tasks take up most of a junior’s time on your team?
- What do students often misunderstand about the role?
- Beyond technical preparation, what makes an internship candidate stand out?
Private equity
- Which previous experiences are most useful for understanding the work?
- How do junior responsibilities vary between teams?
- What should a student investigate before deciding to pursue private equity?
Venture capital
- How do junior team members contribute to research and investment discussions?
- How can a student demonstrate genuine interest in a sector?
- What distinguishes thoughtful startup analysis from a superficial opinion?
Strategy consulting
- What does a junior consultant contribute during a typical project?
- Which habits help new joiners become useful to a team?
- Apart from case practice, what preparation helps candidates understand the job?
Transaction services
- What does a junior typically contribute during an engagement?
- How does the work differ from what students expect?
- Which experiences help candidates explain their motivation convincingly?
Audit
- What responsibilities can an intern reasonably expect?
- Which parts of the job involve the most interaction with clients and colleagues?
- What should students understand about the team’s working rhythm before applying?
Technical subjects may come up, including valuation, accounting or financial modelling. Use the conversation to understand what knowledge matters and how it is assessed, rather than asking the insider to deliver a technical tutorial.
A Simple Structure for a 15-Minute Call
A short call works best when you leave room for answers.
| Time | Focus |
|---|---|
| First 1-2 minutes | Thank the insider, introduce yourself and state your objective |
| Next 8-10 minutes | Explore two or three priority questions |
| Final 2-3 minutes | Clarify your next step and close on time |
Treat this as a guide, not a rigid script. If an answer reveals something important, ask a follow-up instead of rushing to the next prepared question.
Useful follow-ups include:
- “What would that look like for an intern?”
- “Could you give an example without sharing confidential information?”
- “What would you recommend preparing first?”
Be ready to receive the call at the agreed time, somewhere quiet, with your questions and a way to take brief notes.
Should You Ask for a Referral?
A referral should not be the assumed outcome of an informational conversation.
An insider may not know your work well enough to recommend you. Their team may not be hiring, or their employer may have a specific recruitment process. None of that makes the conversation unsuccessful.
A more useful first question is:
“Based on this discussion, what would be the most sensible next step before applying?”
If there is a relevant opening, you can ask how candidates should apply. Let the insider decide whether to offer further help. Avoid making an introduction, referral or CV review feel like an obligation.
Turn the Conversation Into Action
After the call, write down:
- What you learned: one or two facts that changed your understanding.
- What remains uncertain: a question to explore through another relevant conversation.
- What you will do next: a concrete preparation or application task.
That next step might be improving how you explain your motivation, reviewing sector-specific interview questions or speaking with someone in a different team.
If you have an appropriate way to follow up, send a short thank-you message. Mention one useful takeaway and the action you plan to take. Ask permission before sending additional material or requesting more time.
Call an Insider also hosts career and interview questions by sector, answered by the community. These can help you prepare for your conversation or explore questions that remain afterward.
Book a Focused Career Conversation
Visit Call an Insider to explore careers in M&A, private equity, venture capital, strategy consulting, transaction services and audit. With sponsorship from two members, you can access the insider directory and book a free, 15-minute call. Choose a relevant topic, prepare a few specific questions and be ready when the insider calls.