Assignment
Let's begin with what this assignment is not: it's not an interview for a job. You'll have plenty of those, but this will involve contacting a professional in the industry you hope to enter to request a conversation via phone or in person. An informational interview is a form of primary (first-hand) research in which the interviewer asks a series of well-planned questions to gain insight into a career path and/or organization. This will give you an opportunity to explore your possible profession and establish a meaningful connection.
In short, the goals of this assignment are to:
• Help you enrich your professional network
• Encourage primary research into industries that may interest you
• Provide practice with various business communication genres (in this case, a persuasive e-mail, informational report, and informal presentation)
This assignment will contain three parts:
1. Informational Report (memo to me) -
Each is described in more detail below. Please refer to our daily assignment schedule for due dates and related class activities.
E-Mail of Request and Tentative Questions
This will be a professional e-mail with a list of your questions attached. Your goal is to formally request - and be granted - the interview that you seek. (You'll need to have a "plan B" in mind in case your person does not accept.) Decide whether you wish this interview to provide information about your possible career OR about an organization that you wish to work for. We'll be discussing options for people to choose in class.
A few requirements for the questions (7-10 total):
1. You should have some questions from each of the following three categories: Organization/Department, Industry/Field, and Person/Position.
2. At least one question must be related to workplace writing: the types of writing they do, their suggestions or strategies, etc.
3. At least one question should incorporate some informal research you've done. Examples:
"I recently read that .... How do you see this trend impacting your industry over the next 5 years?"
"In my X class we recently discussed Y. What is your view of this topic based on your experience?"
Informational Report
Following your interview, you'll prepare a written report in memo format, addressed to me. This should include:
• A clear introduction which establishes context and background (interviewee's position and company; date, location, and length of the interview; and your reason for selecting this person).
• Discussion of your primary findings divided by descriptive headings. NOTE: This should not be organized as a transcript of the interview ("I asked, he said"). Instead, you'll determine three (or so) key takeaways and develop those with your interviewee's insights and your reactions.
• A distinct conclusion which provides recommendations to your fellow students and reflects on the overall experience.
Your audience should know:
• Basic information about interviewee (job title, experience, etc.)
• Why you selected this person and what you were hoping the most to learn about
• Your key takeaways and how they compared to your expectations
• An element of your informal research that you incorporated into the interview
Although these discussions will be informal, come prepared to engage your group and learn valuable information from your classmates' insights and experiences. You must be present, of course, and actively engaged in the discussions to earn points for this part of the assignment. I will also check for written notes (separate from the report itself) showing your preparation for this discussion. A handwritten list is fine.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.