Informational Interviewing

One of the best ways of gathering information about what’s happening in an occupation or an industry is to talk to people working in the field! This process is called informational or research interviewing. An informational interview is an interview that you initiate - you ask the questions. The purpose is to obtain information, not to get a job.

Following are some good REASONS TO CONDUCT INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS:

· to explore careers and clarify your career goal
· to discover employment opportunities that are not advertised
· to build confidence for your job interviews
· to access the most up-to-date career information
· to identify your professional strengths and weaknesses

Listed below are STEPS TO FOLLOW TO CONDUCT AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW:

Identify the Job You Wish to Learn About
Look at your own interests, abilities, and skills, and evaluate the labor market and trends to decide which are the best fields to research.

Prepare for the Interview
Read all you can about the job before going to the interview. Decide what information you would like to get about the occupation/industry. Prepare a list of questions that you would like to ask.

Identify People to Interview
Start with lists of people you already know - friends, relatives, present or past co-workers, supervisors, neighbours, etc... You may also call an organization and ask for the name of the person by job title.

Arrange the Interview
Contact the person to set up an interview.

Conduct the Interview
Dress appropriately, arrive on time, be polite and professional. Refer to your list of prepared questions; stay on track, but allow for spontaneous discussion. Before leaving, ask your contact to suggest names of others who might be helpful to you and ask permission to use your contact’s name when contacting these new contacts.

Follow Up
Immediately following the interview, record the information gathered. Be sure to send a thank-you note to your contact within one week of the interview.