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 Career Services
Career Development: Information Interviews
Created by the Florida State University Career Center
http://www.career.fsu.edu
An information interview is an appointment which you schedule with a particular individual for the purpose of gaining current and sometimes regional information from an "insider" point of view. Unlike job interviews, information interviews do not require you to sell yourself to an employer. While an employer may not grant a job interview because vacancies do not exist, information interviews can often be arranged regardless of an existing vacancy. Information interviews are arranged with those likely to provide information directly or with those who can refer you to persons with information. If you are in the process of choosing an academic major, making career choices, changing careers, or beginning a job hunt, then information interviews may help you explore your possibilities.
WHY DO INFORMATION INTERVIEWS?
- To get valuable information for your job hunting and career planning (i.e. choosing an academic major or career). It's a good way to "reality check" what you've read, heard and think.
- To learn about a particular organization, how you might fit in, and what problems or needs the employer has. Knowing these things will help you slant your qualifications towards the needs of the organization.
- To gain experience and self-confidence in interviewing with professionals through discussing yourself and your career interests.
- To enlarge your circle of "expert" contacts in the area. REMEMBER, IT IS WHO YOU KNOW (OR GET TO KNOW) THAT GETS YOU A JOB. It's never too early to establish contacts.
- To ask for other referrals (i.e., "Can you suggest some other people that I might talk to about careers in this field?")
WHO TO CONTACT?
Identifying who to talk to is often the block that people don't get beyond. ("I don't know anyone in this field..."). Look for those who:
- Share a common academic major or interest, enthusiasm or involvement in some activity or lifestyle that appeals to you...or
- Work in a setting you like (e.g. hospitals, textile company, colleges, airlines)...or
- Work in career areas you're interested in (e.g. counseling psychologist, market researcher, public relations)...or
- Work in specific jobs in specific organizations (e.g., counseling psychologist at University counseling center, consumer education representative at Utility company, market researcher at IBM).
WHERE TO FIND THESE PEOPLE?
- Ask friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, former employers...anyone you know for an information interview or for a referral.
- Contact faculty, Career Center personnel, other University offices. Use The Career Center's Seminole Connection network to find alumni and other individuals willing to speak with you. Career Placement Services also has the names of many employer contacts
- Call community service agencies, trade and professional organizations (e.g., women's organizations, Chamber of Commerce, Information Management Association).
- Scan the Yellow Pages, articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals.
- Attend meetings (local, state, regional) for professional associations in your career interest field(s).
HOW TO PREPARE?
Remember, people are generally interested in talking about what they do and how they do it. But, don't waste their time or your time-be prepared! Know your interests, skills, values and how they relate to the career field represented by the persons you're interviewing.
Read about the career area and organization in which the person you'll be interviewing is engaged. Know exactly what kinds of information you want by having a list of questions in mind. Generally, don't ask something routine that is readily available elsewhere. First, check out materials in The Career Center Library for information. If no printed materials are available, you may want to call and ask the organization to send you any literature they might have (annual report, promotional brochures, etc.). You can also check the Internet for any web sites associated with the organization or career field in which you're interested. Use the following list of questions to help in formulating your own.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR THE INFORMATION INTERVIEW
- (Background) Tell me how you got started in this field. What was your education? What educational background or related experience might be helpful in entering this field?
- (Work Environment) What are the daily duties of the job? What are the working conditions? What skills/abilities are utilized in this work?
- (Problems) What are the toughest problems you deal with? What problems does the organization as a whole have? What is being done to solve these problems?
- (Life Style) What obligation does your work put on you outside the work week? How much flexibility do you have in terms of dress, work hours, vacations?
- (Rewards) What do you find most rewarding about this work, besides the money?
- (Salary) What salary level would a new person start with? What are the fringe benefits? What are other forms of compensation? (bonuses, commissions, securities).
- (Potential) Where do you see yourself going in a few years? What are your long term goals?
- (Promotional) Is turnover high? How does one move from position to position? Do people normally move to another company/division/agency? What is your policy about promotions from within? What happened to the person(s) who last held this position? How many have held this job in the last 5 years? How are employees evaluated?
- (The Industry) What trends do you see for this industry in the next 3 to 5 years? What kind of future do you see for this organization? How much of your business is tied to (the economy, government spending, weather, supplies, etc.)?
- (Advice) How well-suited is my background for this field? When the time comes, how would I go about finding a job in this field? What experience, paid or volunteer, would you recommend? What suggestions do you have to help make my resume more effective?
- (Demand) What types of employers hire people in this line of work? Where are they located? What other career areas do you feel are related to your work?
- (Hiring Decision) What are the most important factors used to hire people in this work (education, past experience, personality, special skills). Who makes the hiring decisions for your department? Who supervises the boss? When I am ready to apply for a job, who should I contact?
- (Job Market) How do people find out about your jobs? Are they advertised in the newspaper (which ones?) by word-of-mouth (who spreads the word?) by the personnel office? 14)(Referral to Other Information Opportunities) Can you name a relevant trade journal or magazine you would recommend I review? What professional organizations might have information about this career area?
- (Referral to Others) Based on our conversation today, what other types of people do you believe I should talk to? Can you name a few of these people? May I have permission to use your name when I contact them?
- Do you have any other advice for me?
- Other questions you want to ask:
HOW TO ARRANGE THE INTERVIEW?
- Phone or write to explain your request and obtain an appointment.
- Introduce yourself using a personal referral. If possible, have a mutual acquaintance or The Career Center be the bridge for your contact. (e.g., "I'm Jessica Long, a sophomore at FSU. I received your name from the EXPLORE resource at FSU's Career Center").
- Explain your request to schedule an appointment for gathering information about their career. If questioned, indicate clearly that you are not seeking a job from them but merely conducting career research which will help you make better decisions. A secretary need not deter you from setting up the appointment if you insist only (name) can help you.
- Schedule a 20-30 minute appointment in person or by phone at their convenience. If the present time is too busy for the person you contact, ask when would be a better time in the future.
- If your intent is to make a personal interview appointment (which is optimal), do not let your phone call to schedule the appointment turn into the actual interview. Be sure and ask for directions and parking information.
- Letter requests for appointments are most effective if followed up by a telephone inquiry to confirm an appointment time.
TIPS FOR HANDLING THE INFORMATION INTERVIEW
- Do not exceed your requested time, but be prepared to stay longer in case the contact indicates a willingness to talk longer.
- Dress as if it were an actual job interview. First impressions are always important.
- Get to your appointment a few minutes early and BE COURTEOUS to everyone that you meet - secretary, receptionist, etc.
- Take the initiative in conducting the interview. The interview is in your ball park. You ask the questions, you interview the person. Ask open-ended questions which promote a discussion and cannot be answered with one word responses.
- Once inside the organization, look around. What kind of working environment is there-dress style, communication patterns, sense of humor, etc? Is this a place you would want to work?
FOLLOW-UP
Evaluate your experience. How did you manage in scheduling and conducting the information interview? How sufficiently did you prepare? Did you get the information you sought? What information do you still lack? Do you need to interview more people in order to get more than one biased viewpoint or additional information? What do you need to do next?
Follow-up with a thank-you note. You might thank them for their time and interest as well as cite your conclusions/decisions resulting from the interview. You may decide to follow-up now or later with a resume and an application letter or form.
Record the information that you obtained: names, comments, and new referrals for future reference.
Make appointments to interview the referrals.
SUMMARY
After doing several information interviews you will be more informed. You will be able to make better decisions which are based on accurate, current information.
- If you were trying to choose a major, you now are more familiar with various career paths a major might lead to. You also may have learned numerous methods to prepare for a particular career, not only through academic majors, but also work experience and college activities.
- If you were trying to choose an occupation, you now are more aware of position titles, job descriptions and qualifications, types of employers, the skills utilized, as well as the interests and values expressed in several occupations.
- If you were preparing for a job hunt, you now are more familiar with potential employer contacts and the hiring process. You have developed your interviewing skills and received feedback on your resume and job hunting strategies. You have also demonstrated assertive job hunting behaviors by selecting, scheduling, participating in and following through interview appointments.
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