Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hello. My name's Peter Fiske, author of Put Your Science to Work: The Take Charge Career
Guide For Scientists. And I'm here at the University of Michigan today, where we had
a workshop for career development, particularly for Ph.D.s. One of the topics we discussed
was informational interviewing. For those of you not familiar with the term, informational
interviewing is the process of making an appointment, and meeting somebody in a job or a company
that interests you, and going to their place of work and sitting down with them, and asking
them about their job, and their background. So somebody you find, at a company or an industry
that interests you. It's a very standard practice in the private sector but it's something we
don't talk about as much in academia. Informational interviews start by finding a contact. Either
somebody through your network or perhaps somebody who's an alum of the school. For example,
University of Maryland has an outstanding alumni database. There are University of Michigan
alums in practically every city in the world. And they can be great resources. And because
they like the school, they're willing to help. So you contact that person and ask if you
can come visit them in the office, and ask them questions about their career. When you
go, in some ways you should treat it like a formal interview for a job. Even though
you're not asking for a job, these people are evaluating you, and if you're professional,
and you come across well, you'll definitely make a positive impression. In some ways you
shouldn't treat it like a formal interview for a job: you shouldn't ask for a job or
sort of angle for a job. Go to an informational interview genuinely just seeking information,
and see what happens from there. The common things you might want to explore in an informational
interview are things like: What required skills and training are necessary for the job? Or,
What future trends are happening either in the company or in the industry? Some of that
information is information you're not going to be able to get in any other source. And
it could be extremely valuable as you consider your career options further down the road.
And finally, with informational interviews, it's important to leave behind a positive
and professional impression so do say thank you. I'm not sure it's necessary to write
a written, you know, thank you note with formal script, but definitely an email, sent that
afternoon expressing your appreciation. It's nice, and professional, and a sign that you
can comport yourself with great professionalism. So that's some of the things we discussed
today, at the workshop at the University of Michigan.