Week 3: Choose Your Pathway: Informational Interviews or Mentorship Choose Your Pathway: Career Starter (A) or Career Mover (B). Click on one of the discussions below to view the discussion question in its entirety. Important Note Remember, you must complete the assignment based on the pathway you selected in Week 3. If you have questions, please reach out to your professor as soon as possible. Write (A) or (B) at the top of your post to identify your pathway. Career Starters Discussion: Informational Interviews (A) Different from a job interview, an informational interview is a conversation you arrange with someone who works in a field or company that interests you. The goal is to gain first-hand insight about an industry, organization, or specific occupational area. Informational interview questions focus on topics such as how to break into an industry, what a career in that field or organization is really like, and whether it fits your qualifications and interests. Because you are not seeking a job offer, think of informational interviewing as a way to gather information and to prescreen a potential career, industry, or company. Based on DeVry's Informational Interview Guide.pdfLinks to an external site. or another scholarly source, learn about the purpose of conducting an informational interview. Gather information to contribute to our discussion about the process and benefits of conducting an informational interview. You should post on three different days this week and follow these instructions: By Thursday, July 20 at Noon (Central Time) Describe and explain what the value of an informational interview is for you and support your viewpoint with a direct quote from DeVry's Informational Interview Guide or another scholarly source. Cite your sources in APA format. By 12:59 am (Central Time) on Monday, July 24 At least two more responses (at least one more using an outside resource) to another classmate or Professor Wander. Your responses must be at least three complete sentences. So, you should have a total of at least three discussion posts this week on three different days. At least two of your posts/responses should use an outside resource to support the information you share. All of your posts/responses should be checked for correct grammar/spelling/usage and be at least three sentences in length. Looking ahead: Career Starters, you will be conducting an informational interview for your assignment that is due in Week 8. Now is the time to get started! Compile a list of professionals in your target career field who have a minimum of 23 years in that position. Identify people who are working at a company similar to one in which you are interested. Prepare a list of 10 potential questions to learn more about the career and what it's like to work in that occupation. Plan for a 20- to 30-minute informational interview. Reach out and arrange a day and time to conduct your informational interview and be sure to confirm. This can be an in-person interview, Skype/Zoom/WebEx, or phone interviewwhatever works best for both of you. Don't wait until Week 8 to work on this assignment! Career Movers Discussion: Mentorship B Career Movers Discussion: Mentorship (B) As we are learning in Chapter 4: Networking this week, one of the most effective strategies for career development is having a mentor to inspire and guide you. Mentorship also has value for a company's succession plan to fill open positions when employees leave for various reasons, such as retirement, advancement at another or the same organization, or for personal reasons. Our Week 3 Lesson includes more information about succession planning. Here are questions for you to discuss. Please follow the instructions below. You will need to post this week on three different days. By Thursday, July 20 at Noon (Central Time) Who in your professional network can offer help and guidance to support your career goals? Find an outside resource and/or course materials to reference in your post that discusses the kind of person and/or criteria you should be considering to select a mentor. Or, once you have identified potential mentor(s), find an outside resource and/or use course materials to reference in your post about how to work with a mentor. By 12:59 am (Central Time) on Monday, July 24 At least two more responses (at least one more using an outside resource) to the following questions. Your post(s) can be an original or a response to another classmate/Professor Wander. Your responses must be at least three complete sentences. What advice can you offer to your Career Starter classmates about the benefits of mentorship? What mentorship opportunities exist for you to mentor someone who has potential to advance in their career? So, you should have a total of at least three discussion posts this week on three different days. At least two of your posts/responses must use an outside resource to support the information you share. All of your posts/responses should be checked for correct grammar/spelling/usage and be at least three sentences in length. Identify a few potential contacts to interview pertaining to your chosen field of study. How might you reach out to them to conduct an Informational Interview? What are some strategies for finding a mentor who can accelerate your career