Unexpected Outcome from an Informational Interview

One of the “big” assignments in my career planning and exploration course is for students to conduct an informational interview and then do a writeup based on their experience.

Informational interviews are typically done for job search purposes, but the students in my classes conduct informational interviews primarily for career exploration and information gathering purposes. Their main goal is to utilize the insights that they get from inside sources and try to figure out, or confirm, whether or not a particular career path is a good one for them.

Interestingly, in one of my classes just this past academic quarter while doing the informational interview assignment, a student received an unexpected job offer for a position very relevant to her career field of interest.

Aline, a first-year college student, hadn’t heard of the phrase “informational interview” prior to taking the career planning and exploration course. After learning what an informational interview was, she was eager to find someone to talk to who could give some advice regarding her interest in majoring in international business. She managed to schedule an appointment to interview an individual who owned an electronics hardware manufacturing company that did business with other countries.

To make a long story short, Aline had prepared for the informational interview with a list of carefully selected questions. Then at the interview, before she could even ask her second question, the person she was interviewing turned the tables on her. He began to ask her a series of questions, including the one that actual job seekers love to hear:

“Do you want a job working here?”

After much discussion with her family members – and even me – she ultimately decided to accept the job offer!

Now, this all happened about a month ago, and I had the opportunity to recently catch up with her by phone. I was very curious about how things were going for her with her new job.

In her usual enthusiastic and articulate manner, she let me know that things were great, that she liked what she was doing, and that she was learning so much, despite the challenges of not only being new to the job but also working in a role that had high levels of both deadline pressures and customer expectations.

Yet she was quick to point out how her work directly related to her major of international business. In her dealings with China and India and the requisite laws for import and export, as well as seeing firsthand how the success of a business depends on how the overall markets are doing, she is getting invaluable, practical experience right now.

She again expressed how she had no idea that such a career opportunity could possibly happen, especially since she was not expecting a job offer at all from the informational interview. As she continues to learn and thrive in her new job, she has already set her sights on some middle to longer term goals for herself and the company.

Congratulations, again, Aline, and best wishes to you! Thanks for letting me share your story.