Which of the Following Is Not Art of the Job Search Preparation Checklist

Informational Interviewing

Benefits of Informational Interviewing
Half dozen Steps of Informational Interviewing
Sample Questions for Informational Interviews
Career Centre Video: Informational Interviewing for Career Exploration

The nigh current and specific information virtually a career field may not be available online. The most helpful information tin can come up from people who are really working in that field.

An informational interview is an breezy conversation yous can accept with someone working in an area of interest to you. It is an effective research tool and is best washed later preliminary online research. It is non a task interview, and the objective is not to discover task openings.

You may feel awkward reaching out to people you don't know. Even so, most people actually enjoy taking a bit of time out of their solar day to reflect on their professional life and requite advice to someone interested in their field.

Benefits of Informational Interviewing

• Get firsthand, relevant information nearly the realities of working within a item field, industry or position.
• Observe out nigh career paths you lot did not know existed.
• Get tips and insider cognition nigh how to prepare for and land your first career position.
• Acquire what it's similar to work at a specific organization.
• Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network of contacts in a specific career field; run across people who may forward job leads to yous in the future.

Half dozen Steps of Informational Interviewing

Research Career Fields

• Do some initial research on the career field or employer using internet and impress resources.

Identify people to interview

• Pursue your own contacts. People you lot already know, even if they aren't in fields of involvement to yous, can lead you to people who are. This includes family unit, friends, teaching assistants, professors and former employers.
• Identify Cal alumni to contact; they often accept a special interest in "giving back" to Cal students. Utilize the Berkeley Career Network and LinkedIn to notice them.
• Review the Book of Lists, a directory of leading employers in major urban areas, available at the Thomas J. Long Business concern Library.
  

Real-Life Example: Finding a Person to Interview
Lucy had become interested in marketing but wasn't sure how to notice people in the field to talk to. She had worked as a clerk/typist in the payroll office of University Extension for several years.

She mentioned her career interest to her supervisor, who pointed out that Extension had a marketing section and that she'd be happy to introduce her to the manager. This "right in your ain dorsum yard" referral led to a great informational interview and lots of other contacts.

Prepare for the interview

• Develop a brief introduction of yourself and your hopes for the meeting.
• Plan open up-ended questions to ask.

Initiate contact

• Contact the person by email or phone, or through LinkedIn.
• Mention how you got his or her name.
• Emphasize that you are looking for information, not a job.
• If you achieve the person past phone, enquire whether information technology'southward a adept time to talk for a few minutes.
• If the person is not bachelor when you telephone call, ask for a convenient time to accept a 20-30 infinitesimal appointment.
• Be ready to ask questions on the spot if the person says it is a skilful time for him/her and that s/he won't exist readily available otherwise.

Conduct the advisory interview

• Dress neatly and appropriately, as y'all would for a job interview.
• If coming together in person, arrive on time or a few minutes early on.
• Bring your list of questions and have notes if yous like.
• Recapitulate that your objective is to get information and advice, non a chore.
• Give a brief overview of yourself and your education and/or work groundwork.
• Be prepared to directly the interview, but also let the chat flow naturally and encourage the interviewee to exercise most of the talking.
• Respect the person'due south time. Limit the meeting to the agreed-upon timeframe.
• Inquire the person if you may contact them once again in the hereafter with other questions.
• Enquire for names of other people to meet then as to gain different perspectives.

Note: Yous can bring a resume, but don't take it out right abroad or your interviewee may think you are really fishing for a task. At some point you may wish to ask for input nearly it, but outset establish a comfortable rapport with the person.

Follow-upward

• Keep records. Write downwardly what you learned, what more you'd like to know, and next steps you programme to accept.
• Transport a thank-you note within 1-2 days to limited your appreciation for the fourth dimension and information given. Based on whether the advisory interview was relatively breezy or more businesslike, this may be a brief handwritten note, an email, or a business letter of the alphabet. See the sample thanks letter below.
• Go on in touch with the person, especially if you had a particularly nice interaction; let them know that yous followed upwards on their advice and the outcome. This person could become an of import role of your network.

Sample electronic mail thanks note:

Dear Mr. Watson,

Give thanks you for meeting with me today to talk near your piece of work as the Ethnic Arts Heart'southward Public Relations Managing director. I at present take a much ameliorate understanding of the PR field, peculiarly within a big nonprofit arts organization. It was helpful to hear that an entry-level position ofttimes requires some experience in media relations. I have decided to accept on those responsibilities for the almanac fundraising event sponsored by my student organization. I have also contacted your colleague, Cindy Jones, at the Due east Asian Fine art Gallery to set up a meeting to speak with her.

I very much appreciate having had the opportunity to talk with y'all. Thank you once again for your time and advice.

Sincerely,
Tamar Espinoza

<< Back to Informational Interviewing

<< Dorsum to Networking

scorfieldhaddery.blogspot.com

Source: https://career.berkeley.edu/Info/InfoInterview

Share this post