An important aspect of cultivating new ideas and enhancing our personal growth is toget out of our comfort zones, reach out tonew and diverse people,and put ourselves in places that will lead us tonew thinking and expertise. An important aspect of career development is building and nurturing a network of people that can not only expand and contribute to our ideas but helpguide our career journeys. For this assignment, you will reach out totwopeople that you do not already know or do not know well, conduct information interviews with both people and then write a 3-4 page reflection paper on the experience of conducting the informational interviews and reflecting on what you learned from the experience and how you will use what you learned to help you prepare for career success. An important part of your grade for this assignment will be thequalityof your networking contacts. Don't settle for your neighbor or brother's friend, someone you know that will not help you discover a fulfilling career. Connect with people either in jobs or organizations that you believe are a good fit for you and I want you to experience the power of the Biola alumni network in this assignment.

Here is some encouragement from a former student on this assignment. https://www.loom.com/share/af7f067025e748e3899365f056b3a16bLinks to an external site.

Who to network with:

• Biola alumni in a field of interest, an industry or organization that is attractive to you, or a location where you might want to live. Use the Biola Hubhttps://biolahub.biola.edu/ or LinkedIn to identify the alumni. Do not hesitate to contact the Career Planning and Placement centerhttps://www.biola.edu/career-developmentor Alumni relationshttps://www.biola.edu/alumni-relationsfor suggestions on connections. I would also be happy to share my contacts with you.
• Someone at a specific company or organization where you would like to secure an internship or full-time employment. Again, try to start with Biola alums. You are not restricted to only Biola alums, but it needs to be somebody you do not already know, like a family member. Please get my approval first if you plan to network with someone that is not a Biola alum.
• Key opinion leaders or people in your current field that can help you grow and reach your full potential in your current position. We need to be lifelong learners. Who can you learn something new from?

What to talk about: Work out your own agenda from the informational interview guide provided to you. Here are some additional tips. Remember, you are asking for directions relative to your career aspirations.

• In all of your interactions be gracious and respectful of the time of the person you are networking with.
• Study before the interview both their career and the skills they have and ask specific questions about how they prepared for their career and developed their skills.
• This is not a job interview. Do not ask for a job. Acknowledge your purpose - you are interested in the person's career journey, how they prepared for their current role, and in their expertise and ideas.
• End by asking your networking contact to identify another person or two you should meet with and ask them if there is anything you can do for them. You are building your network through this activity.
• A phone or Zoom interview is fine, but a live face-to-face informational interview is better, if possible.

Reflection paper content: (3-4 pages double spaced, write out questions 1-6 first, then answer)

1. Summarize your selection strategy for the two people you interviewed. (Brief)
2. Provide highlights of the conversations. Give a sense of how it went overall and then a couple of examples of the best or most interesting insights.
3. Provide specific career preparation ideas from this networking activity that will help you prepare for career success and help you grow as a creative and innovative leader. Support with specific details and examples. (The Longest portion of the paper).
4. How will you build and nurture your network going forward after this semester?
5. We are encouraged to think biblically about everything at Biola. How does one think biblically about networking? Is there any evidence of networking in the bible?
6. Based on your own effort to connect with Biola alumni and the quality of the paper, what grade from 1 - 100 would you give yourself for this reflection paper? This grade should be based on your networking effort and time spent reflecting to make meaning of your learning. More information on how to conduct information interviews is in the video link below.

Here is a good example of what I am looking for in your reflection paper. Information Interview Assignment Example.docxDownload Information Interview Assignment Example.docx

What is an Information Interview?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Pa4ZB4mvQLinks to an external site.

Rubric

Reflection Papers (See Syllabus for Details)

Criteria

Ratings

Pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeControl of Syntax and Writing/Presentation Mechanics

12pts Outstanding (A)

10pts Very Good (B)

9pts Acceptable (C)

7pts Unacceptable (D/F)

12pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOrganization and Structure of presentation, paper

12pts Outstanding (A)

10pts Very Good (B)

9pts Acceptable (C)

7pts Unacceptable (D/F)

12pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeInteraction with Readings, Class discussions with application to utilizing the learning in the future

12pts Outstanding (A)

10pts Very Good (B)

9pts Acceptable (C)

7pts Unacceptable (D/F)

12pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEvidence of Critical Thinking

12pts Outstanding (A)

10pts Very Good (B)

9pts Acceptable (C)

7pts Unacceptable (D/F)

12pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeFaith Integration

12pts Outstanding (A)

10pts Very Good (B)

9pts Acceptable (C)

7pts Unacceptable (D/F)

12pts

Total Points:60

canvas assignment link: https://canvas.biola.edu/courses/48948/assignments/591587

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