BN301 Informational Interview Paper Assignment

This paper is designed to help you learn more about your chosen career field or to explore career options if you are undecided about your career goals. The assignment is to conduct an in-depth interview with an individual in a career field in which you have an interest. The person you interview does not have to be someone with hiring power; he or she can simply be someone working in the type of job that you think might interest you upon graduation.

Note that an expanded version of this paper (with 2 additional interviews) is one of the options for your final individual project.

NOTE: You may NOT interview family members even if you plan on joining the family business, and you may not interview Stetson current students, faculty, or staff. Stetson alumni are fine; current Stetson students are not. Although not against the rules, certain people such as current/former employers, internship supervisors, close friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, and old family friends may be of limited value as interviewees, especially if you already know a lot about their jobs. You will probably get more out of interviewing people you'íve never met or that you don't know very well. On the other hand, sometimes close friends can be more honest and open about their jobs than can strangers.

I do not take kindly to "convenience interviewees," such as the manager of your apartment complex, your girlfriend's father, your boyfriend's mother, etc. They are not against the rules, but I am not generous in grading interviews with people you are not really going to learn from and who are in careers you have no interest in entering.

You must conduct your interview ON-SITE at the interviewee's workplace.

Your paper should include an analysis of what you learned about this jobs and how your informational interview may have influenced decisions about your job search as you approach graduation. 

The paper should be typed, double-spaced and about 2-3 pages. NUMBER YOUR PAGES AND DO NOT USE ANY KIND OF COVER PAGE!

Your interviewee MUST BE VERIFIABLE. You must supply a business card with the informational interview paper you turn in (or have interviewee(s) mail/fax to me (FAX NUMBER 386-740-9764) a 1-sentence verification of the interview on COMPANY LETTERHEAD), so you may want to identify interviewees from whom it will be easy to get business cards or alternate verification.

NOTE: These are the ONLY two acceptable forms of verification. E-mails are NOT acceptable. IF YOUR INTERVIEWEE CANNOT PROVIDE EITHER A BUSINESS CARD OR FAX, DO NOT INTERVIEW THAT PERSON. I WILL NOT grade your paper without the verification. The verification also MUST BE ON TIME. I will not accept verification after the paper's due date. With advance planning, you should be able to find interviewees who can provide timely verification.

Finding an Interviewee: I have a small database of former students in careers that relate to most business majors who are willing to be the subjects of informational interviews; check with me if you're stuck.

Also, through a combined effort of the Career Services and Alumni offices, we have an online Career Network in which alumni indicate willingness to do various things to help students with careers – including serving as informational interviewees.

To access this network, go to:
https://www.stetson.edu/secure/programs/hatternet/careernetwork/

Next, click on the Student button.

Log in with your regular SU log-in that you use for network access and e-mail.

You'll then see the ability to search for interviewees based on keywords, geographic location, their major while at SU, their current field, and their willingness to assist with various career aspects, such as info interviews.    

Suggested Format for Paper
  1. Brief (1 paragraph) description of company/organization (size, location, type of business it's in, etc.)
  2. What you learned about the job that your interviewee held that reinforced what you already knew
  3. What you learned about the job that your interviewee held that surprised you
  4. What you liked about the job that your interviewee held
  5. What you didnít like about the job your interviewee held
  6. VERY IMPORTANT: A detailed analysis of the experience.
    Some questions you MAY want to address in your thoughtful, detailed analysis follow. You do not have to address all of these questions; neither should you necessarily limit yourself to these questions:
    • What did you get out of the informational-interview experience?
    • What did you learn overall?
    • What did you learn about yourself?
    • What did you learn about what you value in a job and in a workplace?
    • What did you learn about how to break into your preferred field?
    • What did you learn about how to succeed in your preferred field?
    • How do your skills/grades/experiences measure up to what's required for entry or success in your preferred field?
    • Have your ideas about pursuing your preferred field have changed now that you know more about it?
    • If you still want to pursue your original career direction, what is your strategy for seeking a job in this field?
    • If you have decided against your original field, what fields are you now considering, and how will you go about finding out if another field suits you better?
DO NOT write your paper in transcript form (e.g., "I said – He said" or "Q&A"). And remember that your interview paper should not be a report on the interviewee or his/her company. What I am most interested in is your responses and reactions to your interviewee and his/her job. For that reason, direct quotes usually are not especially helpful in these papers.

The paper should follow the writing-style conventions described in the document "Why Is It Red?"

Due: Week 8 (Feb. 26)



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