Informational Interview

Student:

Semester:

Employer:

Position:

Interviewee:

Interviewee Job Title:

Interview Date:

  1. What kind of training/schooling prepared you for this type of work?
  2. How did you get this job, and what kinds of experience (work or volunteer) and preparation helped you most?
  3. Who would you say has been the most help in your career? How did they help you?
  4. What are your major responsibilities in this position?
  5. What are 3 things that you enjoy most about working at your company/organization?
  6. What do you like most, least about this job? What kind of stress do you deal with?
  7. Knowing what you know now, what advice do you have for getting into this work?
  8. What personal qualities or abilities are important for doing well in this kind of work? What skills are required for your job?
  9. For you, what part of this job is most satisfying? most challenging?
  10. What kind of changes do you see coming in this line of work?
  11. If you were going to change direction now, where would you go? How would you do it?
  12. If you had a chance to do it all over again, what would you have done differently?
  13. Can you recommend the best entry level jobs to get started in this line of work?
  14. What qualifications, experience, do you look for when interviewing new people in this field?
  15. What impresses you in a resume from someone who is applying for a career in this field?
  16. What advice would you have for someone like me, who is considering this field?
  17. What resources, such as websites, journals or professional associations, would you recommend that I check out to learn more about this career? [Tip: Research the associations and organizations in advance so that you are knowledgeable about the more popular ones. You can then ask better questions as well as make a great impression by showing that you've obviously done your homework.]
  18. What do you see as the major problems for those working in this field today? What do you think needs to be changed?
  19. What kind of opportunities are there for advancement in this field, and how would one qualify?
Summary

Summarize in one paragraph your observations and learning from this informational interview and is the take away for you.