Informational Interviews

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An informational interview is a career exploration activity involving a structured interaction between a student and an employee (the term employee refers to any variety of workers, including solo practitioners in fields ranging from law and medicine to skilled trades and the arts). Interviews are usually done over the phone or by video conference. The interview is guided by the student’s interest in learning more about a specific career and/or employer. The interviews can help students set career goals and focus future career exploration and education plans.

Informational interviews are often prerequisite activities for job shadows or internships.

The skills developed through informational interviews are critical to learning how to seek information and interact professionally with employers. They are also a foundation for learning how to engage in a job interview. Because these skills are so important, informational interviews are often prerequisite activities for job shadows or internships. Significant preparation and guidance should be provided to students prior to their interviews.

The student’s primary roles are to prepare for and request the interview, schedule a time for the interview, conduct the interview, thank the employee interviewed, reflect on the interview, and share thoughts on the experience in the classroom.

Typically, students identify employees in the careers in which they are interested and conduct interviews over the phone or by video conference. Informational interviews typically range from 15 to 30 minutes and may precede or be integrated into an activity such as job shadowing.

While there are no prescriptive guidelines, the usual components of an informational interview are:

• Introduction and purpose of the interview.
• Questions about the employer, industry, and career of the employee interviewed as well as the education required for entry and success in a similar career.
• Conclusion with a recap of highlights of what the student learned and thank you for the employee’s participation.

Unlike some other WBL activities, students play a leading role in scheduling and conducting informational interviews.

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Planning for informational interviews should begin at least two months prior to the time period targeted for this activity. As noted in the Introduction, the following steps should be followed when implementing informational interviews.

1. Work with school administrators and teachers to plan for informational interviews.
2. Collect information on students’ career interests to use in identifying employees to interview.
3. Inform the employer community that students will be reaching out to make interview contacts during a certain time period.
4. Have teachers prepare students for the informational interviews, including helping them identify employers who can provide names of employees to interview.
5. Have students contact employers or employees and make arrangements for their interviews.
6. Have students conduct the informational interviews with employees.
7. Have teachers provide structured opportunities for students to reflect with their peers.
8. Obtain evaluations from students.
9. Recognize participating stakeholders.

The following pages provide more detailed descriptions of these steps, presented in the form of a timeline. Some steps in the timeline will not apply to classes of adult students. The timeline is flexible and can be condensed, but proper student and employer preparation is important.

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The WBL coordinator should refer to the overall WBL plan (as described in the Introduction), if there is one, to be sure that the informational interview activities are coordinated with other WBL activities for the same employers, schools, and students. For this particular WBL activity, most of the coordination can be done by school staff, with the WBL coordinator focusing on the employer outreach process.

Note: The WBL coordinator is assumed to be responsible for completing or assigning each of the tasks listed below, except where otherwise noted.

Begin outreach to employers to make them aware that they may be hearing from students seeking informational interviews and encourage them to participate. This can be accomplished by asking chambers of commerce, other industry and trade associations, and service clubs to alert their members, contacting advisory committee members, placing an item in a local newspaper or school newsletter, asking school staff to reach out to their contacts, reaching out to former students, and/or sending emails to the contacts in the WBL database. A sample email is provided in the Resources section. While students are responsible for finding their own employees to interview, the WBL coordinator can help by compiling a list of people who have responded to the WBL coordinator’s email and volunteered to participate, have participated in informational interviews in the past, or have demonstrated their interest in working with students by participating in other WBL activities.

• School staff: Identify which students or classes will conduct informational interviews.
• School staff: Determine the time frame, typically one to two weeks, in which students will reach out to employers/employees and conduct interviews. Allow sufficient time for student preparation.
• School staff: Determine how many informational interviews each student should be expected to conduct.
• School staff: Determine how students should obtain permission to miss a class if interviews are scheduled during class time. A sample form for obtaining teacher permission to miss a class in order to conduct an interview is provided in the Resources section. Decide whether to send a notice to parents/guardians to let them know that some students may conduct their interviews from home.
• School staff: Play a facilitating role, because informational interviews are student-led activities. Establish the process for students to use to reach out to employers or employees (via phone or email) to schedule and conduct interviews and ensure that they have access to the tools (telephones and/or computers) to do so. If some students are struggling to schedule interviews, school staff or the WBL coordinator may assist them.
• Teachers/Counselors/Career Advisors: Begin to prepare students in class by introducing:
  • The purpose and benefits of informational interviews.
  • Strategies for listening effectively and asking appropriate questions.
  • What to include in questions for informational interviews.

• Teachers/Counselors/Career Advisors: Continue student preparation by having them write and revise their interview questions and practice interviews in class.
• School staff: Make sure students have appropriate quiet places to conduct their phone or video conference interviews.

• Students: Send confirmation emails to the employees to be interviewed with the date, time, and duration of the interviews as well as the telephone numbers to be used.
• Teachers/Counselors/Career Advisors: Make sure students have completed their interview questions and have pencil and paper or a computer handy for taking notes.

• Students: Make their calls, conduct the interviews, and take notes for later reflection.
• School staff: Make sure there is an adult standing by to assist students during the interviews, if necessary.

• Collect and review student evaluations and make note of any feedback that could be used to improve informational interview experiences in the future.
• Follow up with employers and their employees by sending thank-you emails, sharing some of the student comments that demonstrate the impact of their participation, and soliciting informal feedback on the interviews.
• Recognize participating employers and their employees. Many districts and schools hold annual celebrations honoring employers who have participated in WBL activities.
• Students: Send thank-you emails or notes to employees interviewed. Teachers/counselors/career advisors should review the emails before they are sent.
• Students: Complete evaluations of their experiences with the informational interviews and turn them in to their teachers. A sample evaluation form is provided in the Resources section.
• Teachers/Counselors/Career Advisors: Conduct student reflection activities in class and compile written reflections for dissemination to all participating students (and their other teachers).

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Note: These forms can be printed with expanded space for written responses or adapted in other ways.

WBL coordinator:

• Sample Email to Employers from WBL Coordinator (Doc)

Employer:

• Employer Informational Interview Checklist-Expectations (Doc)

School:

• Teacher Permission Form for Class Absence (Doc)

Student:

• Informational Interview Student Evaluation (Doc)
• Informational Interview Student Scheduling Phone Call Script (Doc)

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