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For students in Michigan State's Professional Writing program, there is one thing all students fear possibly more than graduation: the portfolio presentations. At the end of senior year, each graduate must stand before a board of professors and superiors and deliver a presentation about what they’ve done in their time in the program. WRA 455: Portfolio Seminar is a class that helps Professional Writing students prepare not only for this nerve-wracking event, but for future careers. msuCatalyst’s newest columnist, Ainsley Elder, is currently in WRA 455 and learning the ins and outs of the job search. While it’s a class for Professional Writing majors, the topics can be valuable to all students so over the coming weeks, Ainsley will be chronicling her adventures from the class and sharing her hard-earned knowledge. Her first post: Informational Interviews.

Photo from bragfolio.comInformational interviews are extremely valuable for people like us—those who may not be sure what they want to do specifically or people that want to see the realities of the job they are convinced they want. While it is best to remain professional throughout the process, informational interviews are far less stressful than a job interview because you are in control. You are just asking them a series of questions to find out more about them. Such as:

• How did they arrive at their position

• What you can do to prepare yourself for a similar position in the field

• What skills employers in their field look for

• Do they have a set schedule or do they function within their own hours?

• The list goes on (for a fairly comprehensive list, click here or see the Career Services Network page here).

What's important to keep in mind is that you are focusing on THEM and how THEY got there, NOT asking for a job. Your ultimate goal here is to find out details about the position, hopefully make a personal contact within the field, and potentially set yourself up as a great job candidate in the future, having acquired and analyzed all this inside-information. However, if the conversations naturally turns toward asking for a job or internship, don't avoid it.

The first step is deciding who you'd like to interview. Are you convinced you know which field/position you're aiming for? If you’re not, this may be a great opportunity to meet with someone in a position you don't particularly want—you may surprise yourself as to how much it can appeal to you. Otherwise, the best way to get started is to contact friends or alumni within your major or use a great resource like LinkedIn.

Where this process can get REALLY scary, however, is when you don't have a vast network of classmates at your disposal and you have to "cold call" some prospective interviewees. I've done this for three contacts thus far, and it's really not as scary as you might think--finding potential contacts is actually the most difficult part.

Once you've found your interviewee, contacting them via phone is probably the best method (or perhaps not?). I personally have been too chicken to do this, but I know that everyone in my particular field checks their email obsessively and may also be more comfortable corresponding with a stranger via email. The problem with taking this cowardly approach is that it typically takes much longer to set up an interview from start to finish via email.

If you choose this path, make sure your email is professional, yet friendly, and clearly states who you are, how you found them, and your reason for contacting them. I am by no means an expert, but this is an example of an email that proved successful:

Dear So-and-So,

I am finishing up a Professional Writing degree here at Michigan State and will be graduating in May. I received your name from a fellow Professional Writing student, Whats-Her-Face, who collaborated with you last year to compile the usability report for Business X.

From what I understand, you started in the field years ago and now own your own business, in addition to having had positions with various advertising agencies/design firms. I know you must be very busy, but if you have the time, I would like to meet with you (30 minutes maximum) to discuss what drove you to have such passion for online marketing and what it has been like starting up your own business. If you would prefer to discuss this via email or other means, that would be fine, too.

Thank you!

Me

The email hits all the main points—explains who I am, how I got their information, proves I've done my research, and requests a meeting. Good stuff!

I have my first interview this coming Wednesday. I will be sure to prepare myself with some more background information on my interviewee and some relevant questions to keep the conversation flowing. It will be important to keep within the 30-minute time slot I mentioned in the email, as to not monopolize their time. It's important to keep these short and sweet, but if they are willing to spend more time and you're comfortable with that, then you might let the meeting continue.

I suppose it's time to get off my soap box, as I have yet to actually perform one of these things. Look for my next post, where I'll have some actual experience with informational interviews and probably a story or two to tell.