Humanities Homework Help. Diablo Valley College Career Informational Interview Write Up
For this assignment, choose 1-2 individuals who work in a career that you are interested in and conduct informational interviews with them. This doesn’t have to be your perfect career, just something you might consider.
Use your network, the networking activity from class, or reach out to individuals that you find through the various career search engines that have been discussed. The individuals can be from the same occupation (nursing), similar occupations (nursing & radiation therapy), or completely different occupations (nursing & environmental engineering). You would be surprised how these contacts have the potential to lead to internships, better career insight, and possible mentors in a field that you are interested in learning more about.
Consider reaching out to friends, friends of friends, emailing individuals at companies, LinkedIn, former teachers, etc. Use your creativity & initiative to step out of your comfort zone. Ideally, this assignment encourages you to reach out & talk to professionals who have jobs in areas that you might be interested in. Many professionals remember what it was like to be uncertain about venturing into the professional world and are open to discussing it with other motivated young people.
I am always upfront with my students that this whole assignment could be completely made up and contrived. I won’t know if you actually do the informational interview. I would encourage you though, to think about the opportunity that you may be missing as I have seen these lead to internships & job opportunities. The more effort you put into these assignments, the more you are showing yourself that you are committed to figuring out your life & making sure you avoid regret.
In a minimum of 800 words, answer any or all of the following questions. The purpose of this assignment is to make connections and to understand how to reach out to those that can give you further guidance in realizing and actualizing your career goals. Ask them the most important questions that come to mind (and listed in the text) and reflect and answer the most relevant questions below in your essay. You can also use the questions listed here (Links to an external site.).
- How did you select the individual to interview?
- Through what source did you find them?
- How closely does their career match the career you are considering?
- What are some of the positives and negatives of their job?
- Do they see growth in their career? Opportunities for advancement?
- What advice or career insight did they give you overall?
- What majors do they recommend specific for that career?
- What activities or professional networking resources do they recommend?
- How does their work/life balance meet & match your expectations?
- What are some strategies, additional skills, or certifications that can help you get your foot in the door?
- What are the most important things to know about this career?
- How did they end up in their career?
