The Informational Interview
In making your pivot to a full-time job search in CAR 490, you will investigate what kinds of jobs closely match your Strengths, Skills, and Preferences that you presented in Presentation #1. In addition, you will research the career paths associated with these jobs; i.e., from entry-level to where you could be in three years. You could plot out a life-time career path, but statistics from many experts indicate you will probably make a pivot in your career by year three or five. If you are still a ways from graduation, you will want to consider a second internship or accelerating opportunity that will get you even closer to your strong first job
Please get started on this project as soon as possible. You should schedule your informational interviews ASAP.
Begin by reviewing the following resources to help you request and execute successful informational interviews, which are critical to your presentation construction. As you review these resources, consider 1) the purpose of the informational interview and how it is different from a traditional job interview 2) the role of the informational in the internship setting, in the career search, and in long-term career advancement, and 3) techniques for successful informational interviews (including the importance of sending a thank you to your interviewing subject within 24hours after completing the interview).
Watch: Designing your Career: The Informational Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Pa4ZB4mvQ
Watch: Everything You Need to Know About Informational Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qYZHOeqqEk.
Read: Career Contessa. “The Perfect Informational Interview.” (2019). https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/perfect-informational-interview/
As you consider who to interview for your research, consider using the Career Spring platform. Through Career Spring, you can access an archive of video interviews with professionals across industries. Many of these profiled professionals are also available for 1-1 virtual meetings, which can serve as informational interviews, and professionals have calendars linked with their profiles, allowing you to make an appointment directly. Professionals who were first generation college students are also noted. In order to access the Career Spring Platform, you should click this link and enter the Passcode: “NLU” –you will answer a few questions and be able to start creating their personalized profile.
INSTRUCTIONS:
You will make a recorded 5-7 minute presentation that will provide you and the class guidance on a career path designed just for you. It will include a discussion of how your Strengths, Skills, and Preferences intersect with jobs and careers. In addition, it will identify specific organizations that have those jobs. Finally, it will guide you to the people you need to meet to obtain your desired job and pursue your specific career path.
Your presentation MUST summarize the following research:
Your Strengths, Skills, and Preferences, identified in Presentation 1 and your Strengthsfinder survey (1 Slide)
Specific jobs that could match your Strengths, Skills, and Preferences. (1 Slide)
Specific organizations that have these jobs. (3 Slides- one for each organization)
Identify and Research AT LEAST 3 specific organizations- in addition to your Internship site- that have such jobs and careers available for you. Note: select organizations that interest you. It is preferred that you contact someone from one of these organizations to schedule an informational interview or that you have completed that informational interview for the presentation.
Provide a summary description of the organizations above (including your internship site). Minimum information about the organization should include Name, Location, description of what they do, a brief description of mission/culture, number of customers or clients or community served, hiring manager name, roles at an organization that interest you, and for which you would be qualified. Indicate whether the organizations selected have current job openings.
People you need to meet to talk about matching jobs and careers with your Strengths, Skills, and Preferences, specifically the outcomes of your two professional informational interviews. Refer to the resource linked here for good informational interview questions. (2 slides- one for each interview)
Sample Solution
Online resources might not always have the most up-to-date and detailed information about a given professional field. People who are genuinely employed in that sector can provide the most useful knowledge. An informal discussion with a professional in a field that interests you is known as an informational interview. It is a useful research tool and is carried out most effectively after an initial online search. Finding job openings is not the goal because it is not a job interview. Reaching out to someone you don’t know could feel awkward. However, the majority of people actually take pleasure in spending a little time out of their day to consider their professional lives and offer guidance to someone who is curious about their sector.
