16.8 Sharing Your Experiences from Informational Interviews

(LO16.1)

You will conduct two or three informational interviews. Identify some professionals who work in positions you aspire to hold or who do work that you aspire to engage in. Set up 30-minute to 1-hour informational interviews with these individuals.

You should approach these informational interviews with real questions in mind—some issues you really want to understand better.

You’re strongly encouraged to reach out to people whom you don’t know. Ideally, you’ll meet in person. However, online video conversations work as well.

From your informational interviews, you’ll develop a presentation to help your classmates understand professional opportunities and paths. Identify one or two interesting themes from your interviews to share in your presentation.

Ideally, you’ll make your presentation story-based. Talk about the individuals you chose to interview (What are their areas of expertise? What are their accomplishments? Why do you admire or respect them? What are their personalities like? What drives them?). Spend most of your time providing key professional insights from your interviewees. Make sure to clearly identify the takeaway points while providing examples shared by your interviewees.