In a “perfect” world, you start the career exploration and planning process while you are still in school, getting a degree that will eventually lead to a job. But what if that’s not where you are at? What if it’s been a few (or more) years since you were in school? Maybe you pursued other…
One of the “big” assignments in my career planning and exploration course is for students to conduct an informational interview and then do a write up based on the experience itself and, of course, the information collected. Informational interviews are typically done for job searching purposes, but the students in my classes conduct informational interviews…
I’ve now written a series of posts on conducting an informational interview. I’ve discussed how many people utilize the informational interview as a job hunting tool, taking advantage of such opportunities to network and meet new people, find out about potential job leads, ask for referrals, and gain insights to an industry or a particular…
If you’re exploring careers and interested in learning more about a particular job or career field, then the following list of questions I believe are the best questions to ask during an informational interview. In fact, this is the list of possible informational interviewing questions that I recommend to my students. Nineteen questions will likely…
Talking to someone who works, or has worked, in a job or field that you want to learn more about is the basic concept of conducting an informational interview. The following strategies will help you maximize your chances for a successful informational interview. All About Being in Information Gathering Mode A critical aspect in doing…
I’ve found that most students who actually conduct informational interviews receive the following benefits: They learn about particular industries, companies, and possible job opportunities and leads They learn about career paths with particular college majors They get to meet new people or get to know acquaintances better They get to improve their networking and communication…
