Information Interviewing

Purpose: This activity can take place regarding any aspect of major selection or career development. The principles of the interviewing will be the same, but certainly the questions will differ. To find examples of questions, see the links below. Interviewing’s greatest advantage and disadvantage center around the same aspect of the activity. The interview gives you the opportunity to receive a hands-on account of what work or study in a field is like from an individual’s viewpoint. Although this can be very useful, it is still the limited viewpoint of one person so conducting multiple interviews is very helpful.

As a result of this activity you will be able to:

• Articulate a description of the field of work or study from the viewpoint of a person actively engaged in the field in some way.
• Receive answers to questions that only people actively engaged in the field can answer.

Process:

1. Identify potential individuals to contact and what to ask for when establishing an appointment (using the Online Networking Activity).
2. Write several desired outcomes for the interviewing experience. This is important in focusing your interviews.
3. Develop appropriate questions and areas of discussion.

4. Create a plan for the interview and include at least the following considerations:

   • In-person or phone interview
   • Appropriate dress for the interview
   • Introduction statement
   • Order in which to ask the questions
   • How you will ask follow-up questions and make the interview conversational
   • How you will end the interview

Websites with example questions and recommendation for the question asking process:

• http://jobsearch.about.com/od/infointerviews/a/infointervquest.htm
• http://www.activateed.org/sites/default/files/resources/200_Great_Informational_Interview_Questions.pdf
• http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/InfoInterviews.html
• http://ucs.byu.edu/sites/default/files/Informational-Interview.pdf

Example (from a student):

My interview rocked. I was glad to see what being an accountant is, I really like what they do. I keep getting told that I will be bored, but he said he was never bored. It was nice to see somebody who actually wanted to affirm that my decision is a good one.