Conducting informational interviews are an effective way to learn more about a career path yet so many people do not take advantage of it. If you are curious about a certain career or organization, an information interview is the route to go. It provides you with an opportunity to talk one-on-one with a person to gain information that will help you to make a decision on whether or not to pursue a certain career or employment at an organization. You can potentially learn about the types of opportunities that are available in a field, build your professional network, gain valuable professional advice, and develop a plan for entering a career or organization.
The first step to conducting an informational interview is determining who you would like to interview. You can decide this by examining your personal and professional network which would include your friends, family, professors, co-workers, current or former supervisors, etc. Are there any individuals in your circle that hold positions that you aspire to be in or do they work for organizations that you’re interested in working for? These are good starting points. Other people to look to for informational interviews are alumni, professional organizations, and company recruiters who attend the career fairs.
The next step would be requesting a meeting which can be done by calling or emailing the person that you would like to interview. When requesting the meeting, you’ll want to introduce yourself, let them know how you received their contact information, and your intentions of the informational interview. The best case scenario would be to hold a face-to-face informational interview but that does not always work out. The interviewee may have a busy schedule so may only be able to have the interview over the phone or even through email. Whichever situation works out, be grateful to the interviewee for their time and the invaluable information that they would be sharing with you.
Before the interview make sure that you prepare a list of goals for the meeting and gear you questions towards achieving the outcomes. What do you want to know? Why did you choose this person to interview? What kind of information were you hoping that this person would be able to share with you? Also, you should strive for no more than a twenty – thirty minute meeting to respect the interviewee’s time.
During the interview, it is important that you conduct yourself as if it were a professional interview. You will want to arrive early and dress professionally. Bring your questions and take notes. After the meeting, be sure to send a thank you card to the interviewee.
It’s important to know that you can do as many or as little informational interviews that you want. The goal is to get as much information to make informed decisions about your career.
Good luck!
Melissa Mayfield
Cynthia Bacheller
Emmanuela Stanislaus
usfcareerguestblogger
