Conduct an Informational Interview

Conduct an Informational Interview

PURPOSE: Informational interviews provide you the opportunity to learn more about the career from someone currently working
in the industry.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:   After doing this assignment you will better understand what you can do  with your major and a potential career path you can take.  You will also  gain insight on the skills & experience you may need to gain to be  successful in that career.

TASK: For this assignment, you will conduct an informational interview with someone who works in your chosen career field (no relatives! This assignment is to also help you grow your network of contacts in the industry).  You have all semester to network by attending events, meeting employers at the fair, reaching out to alumni. After  the Informational Interview is complete, write a 300 word (minimum)  reflection paper that answers the following 4 questions:

Q1:Who did you meet with? Where do they work? What is their title? Why did you want to meet with them?
Q2: Based on this conversation, what did you like most about their position/career? And what did you like least?
Q3: How did this interview help you with your career plans or develop new ideas of what you might need to do in order to
get to your future goals? Please explain.
Q4: If you are still interested in this field, what will you do next to further your exploration/preparation for it? If you are
no longer interested in this field as a result of your informational interview, what will you do next to continue your
career exploration?

SUBMISSION PROCESS: PDF or WORD DOC uploaded into Canvas.

Additional Details:

You can select questions that are appropriate for your target career or use these to help you develop your own
questions. The goal of this interview is to learn more about a person’s work, how to get started in this career, or how to
effectively search for a job in this field. The interview can take place in person, over the phone or a video
conferencing platform.  Use your best judgement to decide which questions and how many questions you want to ask.

The following list provides some example questions you can ask:

What are your main responsibilities as a…?
What is a typical day (or week) like for you?
What do you like most about your work?
What do you like least about your work?
What kinds of problems do you deal with?
What kinds of decisions do you make?
How does your job affect your general lifestyle?
What current issues and trends in the field should I know about/be aware of?
What are some common career paths in this field?
What kinds of accomplishments tend to be valued and rewarded in this field?
What related fields do you think I should consider looking into?
How did you become interested in this field?
How did you begin your career?
How do most people get into this field?
What are common entry-level jobs?
What steps would you recommend I take to prepare to enter this field?
What kind of education, training, or background does your job require?
What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential to success in your job/this field?
What are the most effective strategies for seeking a position in this field?
If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?
What advice would you give someone who is considering this type of job (or field)?