One of the best sources for gathering information about what’s happening in an occupation or an industry is to talk to people working in the field. This process is called informational or research interviewing.  An Informational Interview is an interview that you initiate – you ask the questions. The purpose is to obtain information, not to get a job. Below and attached are possible questions to help you in conducting your informational interview. You do not have to use these questions or all of the questions. That is your choice. Remember, you are the one gathering the information. These questions are examples to help get you started. You will interview someone in a field you are interested in. If you are undecided, go ahead and pick something you might be interested in. You can interview a teacher, relative, friend, friend of a friend, and much more. If you are having trouble finding someone to interview, go to a department on your school campus and interview a professor in the field. Cuyamaca Academic and Career Pathways Programs (Links to an external site.) Cuyamaca Department Chairs and Coordinators Contacts (Links to an external site.) You can conduct your interview remotely via Zoom. It is okay to do more than one interview (this is encouraged). Get creative! You have options to complete this assignment:  1. Write a one-page reflection, create a Powerpoint presentation or create a video answering these questions: Describe the Informational Interview – Work-Based Learning Activity and industry you chose and explain your reasoning for these choices. Who did you interview? What is their job title? What does a day in the life look like? Was it similar to your expectations? What steps would you need to take to get there from where you are now? What types of work-experience or internships would be valuable as you are working toward your final goal? What is the salary range of the job you chose? What are some aspects of the job that are most appealing to you? What aspects of the job do you think you would find most challenging or unappealing? What surprised you? How did you feel going in to the interview? How do you feel about it now? Did you find this assignment to be valuable? Why or why not? 2. Upload your Informational Interview document to Canvas. (You have the option to upload something different than a paper. For example, you can do a PowerPoint Presentation OR Video OR audio podcast, if you prefer. If you choose to do a video/audio, this must be a video/audio of the interview. Feel free to post a Youtube link in the comment section if you decide to create a video. Get creative in your Informational Interview. Informational Interview Assignment ample Interview Assignment (Paper version) Informational Interviewing One of the best sources for gathering information about what’s happening in an occupation or an industry is to talk to people working in the field. This process is called informational or research interviewing. An informational interview is an interview that you initiate – you ask the questions. The purpose is to obtain information, not to get a job. Following are some good REASONS TO CONDUCT INFORMATIONAL INTEVIEWS: • • • • • • to explore careers and clarify your career goal to discover employment opportunities that are not advertised to expand your professional network to build confidence for your job interviews to access the most up-to-date career information to identify your professional strengths and weaknesses Listed below are STEPS TO FOLLOW TO CONDUCT AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW: 1. Identify the Occupation or Industry You Wish to Learn About Assess your own interests, abilities, values, and skills, and evaluate labor conditions and trends to identify the best fields to research. 2. Prepare for the Interview Read all you can about the field prior to the interview. Decide what information you would like to obtain about the occupation/industry. Prepare a list of questions that you would like to have answered. 3. Identify People to Interview Start with lists of people you already know – friends, relatives, fellow students, present or former co-workers, supervisors, neighbors, etc… Professional organizations, the yellow pages, organizational directories, and public speakers are also good resources. You may also call an organization and ask for the name of the person by job title. 4. Arrange the Interview Contact the person to set up an interview: o o o by telephone, by a letter followed by a telephone call, or by having someone who knows the person make the appointment for you. 5. Conduct the Interview Dress appropriately, arrive on time, be polite and professional. Refer to your list of prepared questions; stay on track, but allow for spontaneous discussion. Before leaving, ask your contact to suggest names of others who might be helpful to you and ask permission to use your contact’s name when contacting these new contacts. 6. Follow Up Immediately following the interview, record the information gathered. Be sure to send a thank-you note to your contact within one week of the interview. NOTE: Always analyze the information you’ve gathered. Adjust your job search, resume, and career objective if necessary. 20 QUESTIONS! Prepare a list of your own questions for your informational interview. 1. On a typical day in this position, what do you do? 2. What training or education is required for this type of work? 3. What personal qualities or abilities are important to being successful in this job? 4. What part of this job do you find most satisfying? most challenging? 5. How did you get your job? 6. What opportunities for advancement are there in this field? 7. What entry level jobs are best for learning as much as possible? 8. What are the salary ranges for various levels in this field? 9. How do you see jobs in this field changing in the future? 10. Is there a demand for people in this occupation? 11. What special advice would you give a person entering this field? 12. What types of training do companies offer persons entering this field? 13. What are the basic prerequisites for jobs in this field? 14. Which professional journals and organizations would help me learn more about this field? 15. What do you think of the experience I’ve had so far in terms of entering this field? 16. From your perspective, what are the problems you see working in this field? 17. If you could do things all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? Why? What would you change? 18. With the information you have about my education, skills, and experience, what other fields or jobs would you suggest I research further before I make a final decision? 19. What do you think of my resume? Do you see any problem areas? How would you suggest I change it? 20. Who do you know that I should talk to next? When I call him/her, may I use your name? Week Two Assignment- Informational Interviewing and Work-Based Learning Interviewer: Noora Al Saegh Interviewee: S.M (Requested confidentiality to not reveal her name) Date of the Interview: April 8th, 2020 Describe your Informational Interview and the industry you chose and explain your reasoning for these choices. Through the interview with a school counselor, I believe that I have built my awareness of the experiences that a professional counselor experiences daily and gained a clear picture of what the daily tasks and the role of a counselor in academics, career, and personal/social development. I realized that helping students overcome obstacles to learning and assisting them with developmental, social, and family problems can be a meaningful way to earn a living. While there are a number of professions that involve working with students in a guidance capacity, school guidance counselors have the opportunity to focus most of their energies on influencing and counseling students, so they can achieve their fullest educational potentials. In my interview with an school guidance counselor, I was able to ask valuable questions with respect of the time that was set for the interview. The counselor was very supportive and knowledgeable to answer all the questions. School Counseling is my choice as a career. The reason that I want to be a school counselor are many, but the most is I like to help the students to become successful, I believe that every day that the counselors go to work, they’ll have a chance to make a difference. School counselors make a measurable impact in every student’s life, assisting with academic, career and personal/social development. Professional school counselors are trained in both educating and counseling, Who did you interview? What is their job title? S.D. She is School Counselor at a community college level. What does a day in the life look like? Was it similar to your expectations? I had the opportunity to learn about the daily routine of a professional school Counselor. However, the experienced counselor that I interviews over the phone said that the daily functions are never routine as each day brings new challenges with different students. The counselor that I interviewed discussed in details the job duties and many things have been covered in the interview such as explaining why certain tasks are performed in a certain way; information about the background, demographics of the school; and the positive, negative, and the challenging aspects of the job. Above all, there are essential qualities a counselor must possess to be successful and effective. The counselor explained to me many special programs and services community colleges offer students. Many of those programs and services are data-driven to track and implement strategies to improve the students’ education. What steps would you need to take to get there from where you are now? From where I am, I need to complete the rest of the courses in my Master Degree program and complete required internship hours. What types of work-experience or internships would be valuable as you are working toward your final goal? The valuable experience or internship that a student need to work as a counselor are; student services, counseling, teaching, Multicultural Competency. There are also many important skills such as Communication, human, Practice Management, Personal Attributes skills as a skilled counselor can identify negative thinking patterns and enable the clients to replace them with positive ones. What is the salary range of the job you chose? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ current Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median national annual salary for school counselors is $62,100. Actual salaries may vary greatly based on specialization within the field, location, years of experience and a variety of other factors. What are some aspects of the job that are most appealing to you? What aspects of the job do you think you would find most challenging or unappealing? It takes a lot of traits to make an effective counselor, there isn’t only one trait that makes a counselor rise or fall, and being able to offer a wide variety of skills to help students succeed is the best gauge there is. I have a great experience in student’s services and counseling. I believe and based of the evaluation that I receive from my employer, I am a good listener, excellent communicator and friendly. I also have Problem-Solving Skills, rapport-building skills, flexibility, self-awareness and multicultural competency. Based on the interview the counselor, she stated that as with any practice in a school setting, challenges and special issues are often identified, discussed, and managed. These can be categorized into four distinct domains 1) Internal challenges, which include issues related to clientele groups, teachers’ attitudes towards counseling, and students’ willingness to seek counseling; 2) External challenges, which refer to social-economic changes beyond the school. These include popular culture, globalization and societal trends of more families and students moving across borders; 3) Systems challenges, which are those within the guidance programs implemented by ministries, schools or counseling bodies What surprised you? Through the interview, I see the counselors thrive on helping people with personal, mental, educational, and career problems, but the job has its disadvantages, too. Counselors who start their own practices may find the disadvantages seem overwhelming until they become better established and produce more billable hours. While the advantages of a career in counseling should outweigh the negative aspects, a realistic view of the potential problems should help overcome any challenges could be part of the counseling job requires listening to people’s emotional problems day in and day out, the work may take a toll on your own mental state. How did you feel going in to the interview? How do you feel about it now? Interviewing a Community College Counselor was on-the-job learning. I have explored my knowledge in the Educational Counseling career. It was a great way to understand parts of the job in real time. It was an opportunity to put my theoretical knowledge to the test to learn how well I can adapt what I know to real life situations. Did you find this assignment to be valuable? Why or why not? I found the assignment to be most valuable as it helped me learn and navigate more information about the school counseling career and develop more professional skills that I would use in the future. I found out that the most rewarding part of being school counselor is that the counselor has the privilege of planting seeds that impact the students’ future. Purchase answer to see full attachment Explanation & Answer: 1 Page Tags: business cycle career pathways Cuyamaca Academic research interviewing Business Management User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool’s honor code & terms of service.