Interview a Professional

By Maggie LaMar
      

               As the project manager of the LACD social media pages, I come across many articles and blog posts about career development. I have received some great advice over the past few months that I have applied to my job search and passed along to all of you. One piece of advice that I never really thought about before this internship is informational interviews. After reading about what they are, how to do them, and why they’re successful, I have become an advocate for informational interviews.

                Informational interviews allow someone to meet with an employee of a company they want to want to work for or a professional in the field in which the interviewer wishes to enter. One important thing to remember is that the purpose of these interviews is to learn from the interviewee. Don’t focus on selling yourself for a position. By building a relationship with a professional through an informational interview, you will receive insight on how to develop your career and also be placed on their radar if a position does become available.

                How do you land yourself an informational interview? The most convenient way for me to network with professionals is LinkedIn. Many successful alumni come back to talk to classes and other events on campus and appreciate students reaching out to them. Offer to buy them a cup of coffee for thirty minutes of their time to hear their story and advice. You can mention your career goals and a synopsis of what you have accomplished so far but remember that this interview is about them. You don’t want it to seem like you’re only interested in a job and not in what they have to say.

                I encourage you to take this long weekend to do some research. Make a list of what you want from your career and another list of companies you wish to work for. Then network with a professional that is in the field that you wish to enter or are considering and would like to learn more about. Doing this will give you more direction in your job search. You’ll be able to gain a better understanding of whether or not that career field is something that you can see yourself in afterwards. Informational interviews aren’t restricted to any grade. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students can all conduct these interviews and benefit from them. There are many things that can help you develop a career and informational interviews are one of those things that I highly recommend for everyone!