Assignment:
Purpose:
One of the best ways to gather information on a career is by talking with professionals that are already working in the field. Conducting informational interviews, where you "interview" a professional, is a great way to learn about industries you may want to pursue. It also gives you an opportunity to ask questions about a job and see if it fits your interests, skills, and personality. Through informational interviews, you can gather information on the requirements, rewards, and even day-to-day responsibilities of working in a specific industry or corporation from someone on the inside. An informational interview is not asking for a job, rather it is about getting "AIR: Advice, Information and Referrals/Resources."
The purpose of this assignment is for you to receive advice and information to gain more clarity in your career exploration, feel empowered with your career development process and gain confidence in your communication skills. More specifically, conducting informational interviews helps you to develop career readiness competencies such as career management, communication and professionalism.
Instructions (1250 words)
A common experience student's face is that they think they know what a career is like, only to enter into it and find out that it is completely different from their expectations!
Before spending years of training in the wrong career, it is important to truly understand what you are getting into. To this end, you will conduct an informational interview in which you will meet with someone in your field of interest (not necessarily at your field site) to discuss their typical day, the pros and cons of their career, what types of strengths make someone well-suited to their position, what types of qualifications are necessary to achieve the position, what they feel are major challenge or problems in the field. After this interview, you will write a 1250-word reflection piece on what you learned from the experience, whether the career choice seems like a good fit for you and why, and what steps you will take to move towards this career (or towards a different career, depending on the outcome of your interview).
Part 1: Review the following resources on conducting informational interviews
- Watch the video titled, "What Is an Informational Interview?"
Part 2: Conduct an Informational Interview
Submit the Informational Interview Reflection after completing all of the following.
1. Identify someone you would like to meet with to learn more about the work they do. Ideally, this would be someone at your fieldwork site but could also be a family friend, professor, employer, alumni. Need Assignment Help?
2. Contact the professional and ask if you can meet with them and learn more about their background, experiences, and what it is like to work in their occupation. Set a meeting time and place that is convenient for them (meeting at their work is always a plus). Depending on the circumstances, a virtual meeting may also be more feasible or convenient.
3. Prepare for the conversation and create a list of interview questions using the provided informational interview guides. Make sure your questions will allow you to answer all of the following questions in your reflection:
a. What is a typical day like for the interviewee?
b. What are the pros and cons of interviewee's career?
c. What types of strengths make someone well-suited to their position?
d. What qualifications are necessary to achieve the position?
e. What do they feel are major challenges or problems in the field?
f. What did you learn from the experience?
g. Does this career choice seems like a good fit for you and why or why not?
h. What steps you will take to move towards this career (or towards a new career, depending on the outcome of your interview)?
4. Send a thank you email within 24 hours of the meeting and follow-up as appropriate with updates.
5. Process what you learned from the meeting. Use the worksheet linked above to help capture and reflect on what you learned.