Interview an expert and share results

  • Due Mar 22, 2021 by 11:59pm
  • Points 2
  • Submitting a file upload
  • File Types pdf, docx, and doc

the oatmeal - interview.png

The Oatmeal Links to an external site.

 

In this assignment you will conduct the informational interview with the expert you identified earlier in the semester.  Then you will write up and reflect on the results of the interview.

Special update: Given the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic concerns, please practice "social distancing" and complete this assignment using digital communication tools such as Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, voice calling, or email -- not face-to-face, in-person meetings.  

Read this first

  
Complete these steps

1. Schedule your interview.  Given the person you identified as a willing interviewee earlier in the semester, arrange a time to talk that is convenient for your interviewee.  You may conduct your interview over the phone or using a teleconferencing tool like FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, etc. if necessary.  Avoid conducting your interview via back-and-forth email or text messaging; you want to try to establish a realtime, personal rapport with your interviewee.

2. Prepare for your interview.  Review the information you already gathered about your interviewee and their organization.  Using this information, think of a list of ten questions to ask your interviewee.  Here are some basic ones you may use (though it is best if you customize these to your particular person):

  • Tell me about your duties and responsibilities in your job.
  • What is a typical day like in your job?
  • What is the environment like in which you work?
  • What are the three most important aspects of your job?
  • Who do you collaborate with in your job?  How does this collaboration help you be more effective in your job?
  • What major did you have in college? What courses did you take that are helping you in your job?
  • Did you complete an internship as part of your college experience in preparation for your job?  Describe it.
  • If you knew someone was coming into your job, what strengths would they need to have to be effective?
  • Could someone do your job with different strengths than yours? How?
  • What advice would you have for someone who is looking at going into a career similar to yours?

3. Conduct your interview.  Bring your list of questions and some paper to take notes, and conduct your interview at the appointed time.  Dress in "business casual" attire and make sure to arrive a bit early if attending in person, or to call exactly on time if conducting a phone or Skype interview.  Take notes while your interviewee is answering your questions -- that helps you keep a record of the conversation and also shows that you are engaged and paying attention.  And remember to thank your interviewee for their time at the end!  (A follow-up thankyou email or handwritten note can't hurt either.)

4. Summarize your interview.  Write up your interview results in a brief report.  First, at the top of your document, indicate the following information:

  • Date, time, and location of interview
  • Interviewee name, organization, and title

Then list each question you asked, and write a brief summary of the answer you received.  

Finally, write a paragraph or two reflecting on the interview, answering the following questions: 

  • What was the most surprising or important thing you learned from this interview?
  • Would you consult this person again in the future for more advice (or for a lead on a job)?
  • What question do you wish you had asked, but did not?

5. Turn it in.  Upload your completed interview document (as a Word or PDF file) in Canvas to receive credit for this assignment.  

6. Share a reflection with your classmates.  Go to your section's text board on the Discussions area of this web site, and find the posting from your TA titled something like "Reflections from informational interviews."  Click "Reply" on this posting and upload a brief comment describing the most surprising thing you learned from your interview.   Read through your fellow students' comments to see if any of them had a similar experience.

 

Notes on this assignment

  • Here are some resources for preparing for your informational interview:

  • Remember that in an informational interview, you are asking less about the individual person you are interviewing and more about the kind of job or career that they are engaged in (or that they have expert knowledge about).
  • Feel free to modify some of the suggested interview questions in the assignment!  The goal is for you to get the biggest impact personally from this assignment.  You might check out the BadgerStudents tips on informational interviewing
  • How did you personalize your interview questions and prepare for the interview beforehand?
  • Would you use this technique of an informational interview in the future as your job search continues?  What might you do differently?
  • Think about the process of talking to someone about their career.  Do you think you will feel more comfortable doing this in the future?
  • The web site JobShadow.com Links to an external site. has an archive of transcribed interviews with professionals in a wide range of careers who talk about their jobs.  Do these interviews echo what you learned from your informational interview?

  

Examples

  • It was extremely helpful to talk to an expert in the psychology field, and this interview provided me with a lot of insight into the career path I am thinking about. I am still unsure which career I want to pursue within psychology, and talking to someone who also considered pre-med, and ended up changing their coursework was helpful. It was surprising to me that a school psychologist does not do a lot of one-on-one work, but rather facilitates a lot of community-wide informational events.  This was important for me, because I want to work with individuals so this helps me narrow down career options. This interview made me realize the broad goals of someone working in psychology. I feel like I have more direction now in terms of who to turn to for advice and which resources to take advantage of while I’m an undergraduate student at UW.
  • I enjoyed talking with [interviewee], specifically because of the nontraditional path she took to her current job and how she has been able to use those skills in her new career. I have some teaching experience as well, and I would like to interweave teaching and communication skills into my career path in mental health, because even though I find working in direct care rewarding, I do not know that it is a sustainable path for me, or if it is the best use of my skills to help people. [interviewee] emphasized that communication skills are foundational in many jobs, especially teaching and mental health outreach. She argued that immersion in another language and culture can be an exercise in empathy, because you need to “get into the mind” of the person with whom you are trying to communicate, and this mind may be very different from the ones we are used to encountering.

  

To learn more

1616475599 03/22/2021 11:59pm