Embedding Informational Interviews into Postsecondary Curriculum
Keywords:
Informational Interview, Postsecondary, CurriculumAbstract
An informational interview is a traditional career exploration technique. Students have a conversation with professionals where they seek advice on their career (Fiske, 2016). They can also be used to find information on industry and specific workplaces. A form of rapid prototype testing (Burnett & Evans, 2016), after each interview, the interviewer makes changes to their career vision and plan – refining it through additional interviews. These interviews help students build a network of contacts in a specific professional area. They can also benefit the interviewees by helping them to build a candidate pool for future hires. Although it is taboo for interviewers to ask for employment, IIs often lead to employment via planned happenstance (Mitchell, Al Levin, & Krumboltz, 1999). This makes it a more effective job search strategy than conventional applications because there is a significant hidden job market (Burnett & Evans, 2016).
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