CFA Career Center: Design

Background and Benefits:

An Informational Interview is simply talking with professionals who are currently in occupations you are considering in order to gain information and insights about a career, industry or company. This information can be used in choosing a major, exploring career options, or preparing for a summer or professional job search. Be clear with yourself and the professional you are interviewing that this is not a job interview.

Informational interviews are an important part of career preparation and a good supplement to your academic knowledge because they can provide:

"Real World" information about careers
Suggestions on how to use your college years to gain experience and prepare for the job search
A network of contacts for your job search/internship search
Insights into what employers look for in candidates
An avenue to explore potential job search questions like:
"Why did you choose this field?" or "What are your skills for this job?"

Preparation and Procedure:

Before you request valuable time of a professional in the field, learn as much information about the career or industry as you can. This will allow you to ask more in depth questions and make better use of the time.

If you are just beginning to sort through career options, you may want to use the Career Consulting Services at the Career Center to better define which careers you most want to explore. Schedule an appointment through the receptionist to meet with a career consultant, 268-2064.

If you clearly know which careers you want to explore and why they interest you, familiarize yourself with written information about the field. The Career Resource Center in the lower level of the University Centerl has many resources to do this.

Informational Interviews can be conducted with people you already know or with professionals referred to you through informal contacts--faculty, family, friends, alumni, professional associations, and the Career Center staff. You may want to inquire of the Alumni Relations Office about events of Alumni Clan organizations and other opportunities for networking. To identify other leads, consider browsing recent and back issues of the Carnegie Magazine, which contains alumni career information. The Career Center has available the Career Contact and Alumni Network through TartanTRAK. Some academic departments may also have formal or informal alumni lists.

Informational interviews can also be obtained through "cold calls". If you know an organization you want to explore or identify one through the Yellow Pages, simply ask for the appropriate department or explain your request to the personnel office, and they may refer you to someone.

In arranging for an informational interview, contact individuals at least a week ahead, either by telephone or through an introductory letter followed up by a call to arrange an appointment. Two sample request letters are included at the end of this resource handout. Ask them for about a half hour of their time. Always clarify your objective - that you are seeking information rather than a job. Click here to view two sample request letters.

The Interview:

The following questions should give you some ideas of information to seek. After reviewing written career information you should be able to add more specific questions to the list.

What is a typical day like on this job?... or, What did you do yesterday?
What do you like most about your work? Least?
How did you come to choose this profession? This particular job? What steps did you take to get where you are?
Approximately how many hours do you work per week?
What types of people do you deal with?
Do you find your job satisfying? What makes it that way? What effects (positive and negative) does this job have on your family and personal life (leisure time)?
What personal qualities are necessary to succeed at this type of work?
Do you think that the prospects for success for a person entering this field will grow or decline over the next decade?
What kind of position could a college graduate anticipate when entering this field?
What is the starting salary range for a college graduate? The eventual range?
Are there courses that you would advise me to take in college to help me prepare for this career?
What are your career goals for the future?
If you could give only one piece of advice to a young person seeking a career such as yours, what would that advice be?
What methods would you recommend for doing a job search in this field?

Prepare the questions that you want to ask ahead of time. Having them in writing and taking some notes is fine. Preparation, promptness and staying on target are important, since after all the person you are seeing is doing you a favor. Since you initiated the contact and have some control of how the interview goes, keep your purpose in mind and get your questions answered. You'll find that people love to talk about themselves and their careers and may likely digress.

At the conclusion of your meeting ask for two or three other names of people to contact for informational interviews so you can begin building your "network". Confirm permission to use the individual's name when contacting the referrals.

If the meeting goes particularly well, you may feel comfortable asking the individual if you could spend some time "shadowing" him/her during a typical day's activities. If getting work experience or exposure is your goal, you may consider volunteering your services on a project that needs attention - this may later lead to a job contact or reference.

After the Interview:

Immediately following the meeting go to the nearest relaxation spot, take out a pocket journal and debrief yourself. Analyze the interview. Think about the information that you obtained and evaluate it objectively. Ask yourself the following:

Did I get answers to questions I needed to have clarified?
What did I leave out? What new questions do I have?
Do I feel caught up in the enthusiasm of this professional?
Do I need to see more people to obtain a more objective opinion?
What characteristics did this person have that I need to or want to develop?
What ideas for future career advancement strategies did I obtain?

A most important follow-up to the meeting should be mailing a letter thanking the individual for his/her time and assistance. Keep a record of your contacts. At a future date you may want to contact them for additional advice. Click here to view a sample thank you letter.

What To Do If The Informational Interview Turns Into A Job Interview:

This may occur if the interviewer likes you and feels you would be an asset to his/her organization. How do you handle that kind of possibility? You have several alternatives:

If you are comfortable and prepared, you can accept the job interview on the spot and play it by ear.
If you are not prepared for a job interview at this time, you can honestly state that your purpose today is to obtain information and thank the person, and make an appointment for a later date for a job interview.
You can thank the person, and state that you will contact them at a later date, since you are considering other job offers.

Whatever you choose to do, be definite in your answer, and follow through with what you decide to tell them.

REMEMBER TO SEND THE THANK YOU NOTE!!

REMEMBER TO ASK FOR NAMES OF OTHER CONTACTS!!

HAVE FUN WITH THE PROCESS!!

Request Letter Through Independent Research
	Your Address City, State, Zip Today's Date
Name Title Organization Address City, State, Zip Dear Mr.____________________: Your name came to my attention in an Aviation Magazine article while researching the aerospace industry as a place to apply my skills and experiences. At this time I am exploring a variety of professional roles as a way to discover those that would be the most appropriate focus for my attention in a job search. I will complete my Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering next May at Carnegie Mellon University, and am using these months to plan ahead for that time. My coursework has led me to believe that there are several possible directions my career could take. During the summers between academic years, I have worked at XYZ Auto in the Quality Control area which I found very interesting. I am interested in other areas of manufacturing management as well as design. Based on your knowledge of the industry, you could help me considerably by discussing the typical kinds of jobs that exist for recent graduate with my background and interests. Within the next week, I will contact your office to arrange a convenient time for our meeting. I know you are busy, and will keep our conversation to 30 minutes. If you would like to speak with me in the meantime, I can be reached at (412)123-4567 or by e-mail at yourname@andrew.cmu.edu. Thank you for your consideration.
	Very truly yours, (Your signature) Your name typed

Back

Thank You After Informational Interview
	Your Address City, State, Zip Today's Date
Name Title Organization Address City, State, Zip Dear Mr._______________________: Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me Thursday to discuss the professional possibilities in the healthcare industry. I was impressed by your knowledge of today's complicated issues and appreciated your insight regarding the ways I can apply my Operations Research and Business Administration majors to contribute to hospital administration . You gave me the name of Harriet Health at ABC HMO to contact, and we have an appointment early next month when she returns from a business trip. I will be in contact from time to time, to keep you posted on my career research . I will send a copy of my resume to your office as soon as it is ready and thank you in advance for your generous offer of a resume critique. Thank you for your help and valuable information.
	Sincerely yours, (Your signature) Your name typed.

Letters adapted from: Information Interviewing, Martha Stoodley,1990.