Informational interview

Interview a person who currently holds a career that you would like to hold within about three
to five years after graduation. (Maybe you’d like to be the CEO of Disney, but I’m talking about
a career position that you could reasonably expect to hold within that time frame.) The
interview should last around 45 minutes. The objectives of this assignment are:

1. To give you insight into the position.
2. To develop your interviewing and self-presentation skills.
3. To gain experience writing an executive summary.
   This is not an employment interview; so do not ask for a job. Present yourself as a student
   conducting research regarding future career possibilities. This should be a face-to-face OR
   online interview, preferably in your subject’s workplace. If the only person who has your dream
   job is in NY, go for something comparable to your dream job.
   Please follow these steps for this assignment:
4. Conduct your own research regarding a career and potential companies that interest you.

Gather basic information such as a job description, salary, level and type of education required
for the position, and specific information regarding the company of interest. Use this
information to formulate interview questions. Write up the information you’ve gathered in an
annotated bibliography to be turned in to me along with your executive summary. You should
use a minimum of three sources, such as newspaper articles, industry blogs, and company
web sites. Do note, however, that any information from a company website counts as one
source, regardless of how many links within it you’ve clicked.
August 2020 | Upper Iowa University Page 6 of 14

2. Contact an individual in the position of your choice and ask if they could give you about 45
   minutes of their time. Do not interview someone you already know (relatives, friends and their
   companies are not acceptable for this assignment; do not interview someone in a place you’ve
   already worked yourself). If your mother’s best friend owns her own public relations company
   and you’ve never had the chance to ask her about it, you’ll definitely want to talk with her
   sometime—just not for this assignment.
3. Formulate your interview questions (check Google for ideas) and re-confirm your interview
   two days before by telephone or email.
4. During the interview, behave professionally. Dress appropriately, in business attire

Sample Solution