Informational Interview Best Practices for Students
- Keep in mind that these are alumni who have volunteered to participate; they are expecting your calls/emails but aren’t sure when they will occur. It may be best to email the alumnus first to ask when a good time to talk by phone might be (if speaking by phone).
- Please reach out to no more than three alumni at a time (we don’t want our alumni to be overwhelmed with inquiries)
- If you leave a voicemail, be sure to state that you are a newly admitted student to the School and that you are interested in talking with them about their student experience.
- If you have questions that do not relate directly to the alum’s personal student experience, please contact the MPH Program Office at .
Phone Call Talking Points
Student: “Hello, my name is ______and I am a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Healthnewly admitted studentcalling to ask you a few questions about your student experience at the School!My undergraduate degree is from ______and I graduated in _____. <Share other degree information, as applicable.>
- Can you share details about your current job with me? I’d love to know how you obtained the job and how your time at the School helped you get your current job or a past job.
- Did you make connections at the school that helped you?
- Did the Career Services office help you with finding a job?
- Tell me about where you lived while you were a student at the school?
- Tell me about what a day in your life in the program was like?
- Which class was the most difficult and why?
- Tell me about how the people you met while you were a student continue to benefit you?
- What is the culture of the school like?
Ending the call
“Do you have any other experiences fromJHSPH that you’d like to share with me?
Would it be okay for me to reach out again if I think of any other questions?
Well,(______), I enjoyed speaking with you and thank you again for taking the time to talk with me.”
Email Template
“Dear XXX,
My name is XXX and I am a newly admitted <Degree Program> student in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of <Department Name>. I am currently located in <City>, <State> working as a <Job Title> at the <Organization/Company/Unit Name>. I am interested in asking you a few questions about your experience while you were a student at the School.
Would you be willing to set up a time when we might Skype or talk by phone? I’d love to learn from your experiences as an MPH student. Perhaps we could talk about: 1) Where you lived while you were a student at the school? 2) What a day in your life in the program was like? 3) Which class was the most difficult and why? 4) Are you still in touch with some of your MPH classmates5) What is the culture of the school like?>
Thank you for taking the time to communicate with me.
Sincerely,
XXX”
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