Informational Interview Worksheet (.pdf)
The most dependable and up to date information on jobs and careers is not found in books or on the Internet. It's found by going out and talking to people, says Richard Bolles.
One of the best career tools your students can use to gather information and learn from others is to prepare and conduct effective informational interviews. An informational interview is not a job interview. It is a short, 10- to 20-minute interview with a person who has a job or is in an industry that interests your student. In the process of planning, setting up and conducting an informational interview your students will gain insight into particular professions and the workplace at large. The short activity below will help students get their arms around what an informational feels like and looks like.
- Give students a copy of the attached worksheet, and ask them to read what two students said about informational interviews.
- Discuss informational interviewing by asking questions like: What is an informational interview? Who has conducted an informational interview? Why would an informational interview be valuable?
- Explain informational interview assignment: In class today, we are going to practice informational interviews. On your student worksheet, you will find some appropriate informational interview questions. (Discuss the questions.) Select several questions you would like to use for your interview. Find a partner, someone you do not know, and conduct short interviews with each other.
- Conduct in class interview and then discuss: What questions gave you the best information? What did you learn? How would you do it differently or better next time?
- Next Step! Show students a copy of the booklet, You and Your Next Job. Assign students the task of going by the Campus Career Center to pick up their free copy of this booklet. In addition, remind students that this is a perfect time to gather information about careers that interest them and to find out about other career services offered on their campus. You may want to consider giving students extra credit for conducting and reporting on informational interviews, getting the booklet and/or discovering something special the career center has to offer.
Experts say we are moving away from the traditional "permanent job," so knowledge of formalized networking will be a required skill in tomorrow's economy. This activity helps students develop the skills and format to approach people with tact and poise, to effectively enlist their help in getting information. A Foot in the Door, Katherine Hansen