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Information Interview Guidelines

The document provides guidelines for conducting informational interviews, including tips for setting them up, questions to ask during the interview, and follow-up steps after the interview. Informational interviews are meant to gather career information rather than obtain a job, and doing several interviews can increase the chance of a job offer.

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62 views6 pages

Information Interview Guidelines

The document provides guidelines for conducting informational interviews, including tips for setting them up, questions to ask during the interview, and follow-up steps after the interview. Informational interviews are meant to gather career information rather than obtain a job, and doing several interviews can increase the chance of a job offer.

Uploaded by

jeffe333
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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You are on page 1/ 6

Guidelines For The Information Interview

By Gregory P.M. Neidert, Ph.D.


Adapted for use in PSY 201, San Diego State University

by Emilio C. Ulloa, Ph.D., San Diego State University

Published by: World of work, Inc. 410 West 1st Street, Suite 103 Tempe, Arizona 85281 Phone (480)966-5100 Fax: (480) 966-6200 Website: www.wowi.com Copyright 2004, 2002, 1997, 1985, 1978. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The purpose of an Informational Interview.


The information interview is not a job interview so do not go expecting to get a job. The purpose of a job interview is to get a job. The purpose of the information interview is to collect information about careers and develop your network of professionals (i.e. do not bring a resume with youyou can send one to them later and it will serve as an excuse to stay in contact, but bringing one compromises your intention). The point to these interviews is to gather numerous additional perspectives and references for information. This is a long term, on-going process. The Benefits of Doing Information Interviews There are two major advantages of performing information interviews. These advantages are both quite substantial and rewarding. First: By gathering this information you may learn that the career you were interested in is NOT the career for you. Such information is essential in helping you to avoid potential job mismatches. By gathering this information you will narrow down your ideas about school and career. This knowledge will help you narrow down the available career options and permit you to focus on other viable alternatives which are in-line with your personality. By gathering this information you will learn effective methods for obtaining your career goals Second: You will also likely profit in another important way: your probability of a job offer will increase as you do more information interviews. For instance, if you perform three of these interviews for the same occupational area, your chance of getting a job offer is about 25%. If on the other hand, you opt to do eight or more information interviews, then the likelihood of a job offer increases to about 95%.
A caveat: There is one very important caveat I must interject at this time. People often take the job offer information to heart and bring their resumes with them on information interviews. However, the purpose of the information interview is definitely not to obtain a job or a job offer. As I stated above, it is to gather information. The job offers you may obtain are just a pleasant and desireable side-effect of the process. Never compromise the intent of the information interview by bringing a resume with you. The individual with whom you are speaking will rightly interpret your behavior as an attempt to subvert the normal job interview process. Such behavior is clearly unacceptable, and an insult to the person who has agreed to take some time out of his or her busy schedule to provide you with helpful career information. So please, never, ever carry your resume with you to the information interview. However, be ready to send it to them if they ask for it.

Obtaining an information interview

For the first few: Never call ahead, just go there instead
Go to the place of interest and present yourself personally (stats: those who call ahead get an interview 5% of the time vs. those who just go there get an interview 95% of the time) (it is much easier for someone to simply put you off or hang up on you over the phone) After a few of these you will get referrals to others and it then becomes more appropriate to call and set up an appointment with your referrals.

Never go on Monday morning or Friday afternoon


Bad timing at these times. On Monday mornings individuals are just starting to catch up with work that they have left unfinished from Friday. They are also trying to pick up speed and get into the swing of work for the week Therefore if you are going to go on an interview Monday, go on a Monday AFTERNOON. Friday afternoons are times that individuals are trying to wrap things up and leave work. Peoples minds are on attempting to get out of the office and begin their weekend activities. They will have little time to sit and speak with anyone while they are so preoccupied. Consequently, if you are going to perform an information interview on a Friday, go in the morning.

Go between the hours of 9:00 and 10:00am or 1:30 and 2:30pm


Most people dont usually have other meetings until about 10:00 or so. After lunch people dont usually begin again until after 2:30

Tell the receptionist that you are requesting an information interview, not a job interview
Make sure that the receptionist is clear that you are here to gather information about this persons career and/or position. Not to learn about job opportunities. Explain that you are considering different careers and evidence from your career self-assessment indicates that that the positionyou have indicated appears to be an appropriate option for you. Also mention that you are doing this as part of a course about careers. Once your objective is clear many receptionists will be very helpful. In fact they may help you get the interview also. If no one is currently available ask the receptionist to request an appointment for a more convenient time.

Tips for a good Information Interview


Dress well-dress appropriately for that environment. Be relaxed and sit at a

comfortable distance from the person you are interviewing. Shake this persons hand and thank them for taking the time to speak with you. In addition, state again the purpose of the interview and be prepared to clarify the distinction between an information interview and a job interview, if you are requested to do so.

Question List
Questions You Might Want to Ask In the position that you now hold, what do you do on a typical day? What are the most interesting aspects of your job? What were the jobs you had that led to your present position? How long does it usually take to move from one step to the next in this career path? 5. What is the top position to which you can aspire in this career path? 6. What is the next step in your career path? 7. Are there positions in this field that are similar to your position? 8. What are the required qualifications and training for entry-level positions in this field? 9. Are there specific courses a student should take to be qualified to work in this field? 10. What are the entry-level jobs in this field? 11. What types of training are provided to persons entering this field? 12. What are the salary ranges your organization typically offers to entry-level candidates for positions in this filed? 13. How much does a person in this field expect to make in a year, 5 years? 14. What special advice would you give a person entering this field? 15. Do you see this field as a growing one? 16. How do you see the content of the entry-level jobs in this field changing over the next two years? 17. What can I do to prepare myself for these changes? 18. What things can I do to make myself marketable in this area? What is the best way to obtain a position that will start me on a career in this field? 19. Do you have any information on job specifications and descriptions that I may have? 20. What related occupational fields would you suggest I explore? 21. How could I improve my resume for a career in this field? 22. What is your job title? 23. What exactly do you do? What percent of your time do you spend in these tasks? 24. How long have you worked in this field? 1. 2. 3. 4.

25. What makes you want to come to work or look forward to coming to work everyday? 26. What do like least about your job? 27. What would you like to change about your job if you could? 28. How did you get here? Education? Training? Experience? 29. I still have more interviews to do, can you suggest someone I might talk with about their job? Who else would you suggest I talk to, both in you organization and in other organizations? 30. May I say that you recommended them to me?

Questions You Might Have to Answer 1. Where did you get my name, or how did you find out about this organization? 2. What are your career goals? 3. What kind of job are you interested in? 4. What do you know about this organization and this industry? 5. How do you know youre prepared to undertake and entry-level position in this industry? 6. What course work have you done that is related to you career interests? 7. What are your short-term career goals? 8. What are your long-term career goals? 9. Do you plan to obtain additional formal education? 10. What contributions have you made to previous employers? 11. Which of your previous jobs have you enjoyed the most and why? 12. What are you particularly good at doing? 13. What shortcomings have you had to face in previous employment? 14. What are your three greatest strengths? 15. Describe how comfortable you feel with your communication style.

The end of the interview


Shake the persons hand and thank them. Also ask them for a card and send them a thank you letter. Follow up on any/all recommendations they gave you.

The thank you letter


Send it out the next day Thank them for taking the time to listen, answer questions, and help you in you career exploration. When the person receives the letter they will feel like it was time well spent. If they enjoyed the interview (most people do) and they thought you were intelligent (which they will for asking for an interview in the first place) they are likely to remember you when they do hear about opportunities and contact you to let you know about them. On the following page is an example of a thank you letter.

10 March 2004 Josh Jones 1020 N. Clearway Pl. Phoenix AZ 85001 Ms. Felicia Doyle Personnel Supervisor Alton Industries 2043 W. Camelback Tempe, AZ 85281 Dear Ms. Doyle: Thank you for the time you spent with me the other day. It was very useful in helping me think more clearly about the career direction in which I am now moving. As you recommended, I have set up an appointment with Joe Smith at XOXO Corporation and will be meeting with him next week. Thank you so much for suggesting I speak with him. I look forward to the interview and to gathering further information about a career in the Personnel/Human Resources field. Again, I want to say how much I appreciate all the time you spent with me. It was very thoughtful and helpful. Sincerely,

Joseph Jones

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