by Beth O’Sullivan
Lecturer in Professional and Engineering Communication
It’s always important to be on the lookout for your next job, even when you aren’t actively job hunting. You might have a laser-focus on your goal, but if you are still exploring, informational interviews offer a great way to learn about other career pathways. Unlike a job interview, informational interviews are not meant to result in a job. Instead, they are conversations with people about their industry, their company, and their job, which can help you decide if that career would be a good fit for you.
An informational interview has four steps: choosing someone to interview, planning your interview, conducting it, and finally, writing a thank you note to express your appreciation. Today, in part one, we will cover the first two steps to get you started:
1. Choosing someone to interview
Summer is a great time to reach out to people! Start by choosing an industry or job function that interests you. Next, find a person willing to talk with you for 15 minutes. How will you do that?
Talk with your friends, family, and faculty to see if they know anyone in the industry or job you are interested in pursuing. You can use your own LinkedIn, join Rice’s OWL Career Mentor Network on LinkedIn, or check out Sally Portal at https://sallyportal.org/.Post on the discussion board, or send an email to a specific contact requesting 15 minutes of the person’s time for an informational interview.
2. Planning your interview
Next, research the company and person who has agreed to talk with you by reading their LinkedIn profile and the company’s webpage and recent press releases. Decide what you want to learn from the conversation and write down some questions.
Open-ended questions (“How did you get into this field?”) will generate more conversation than closed-ended questions (“How long have you worked for NASA?”). Your final question should be a “clearing house question” that asks, “Is there anything I didn’t ask you that I should have?” People often add the best information at the end.
On the day beforeyour call, email your contact to confirm your appointment (be aware of time zone differences). Include your phone number in case anything comes up requiring a change in the time for your call.
Next week’s Tuesday tip will tell you how to conduct your informational interview and how to follow up.
Beth O’Sullivan is a Lecturer in Professional and Engineering Communications in the Rice University School of Engineering, as well as Senior Lecturer in Communication in the Rice University Jones Business School.
Presented by RCEL faculty, the RCEL Tip Tuesday Series addresses a variety of topics applicable to young engineering leaders, and encourages them to learn more and improve.