Fiona writes:
I read the section on informational interviewing on your Website and
found it very helpful but I just have one question. What if the person
you want to interview is in another state or city, and you can’t meet
them in person? What if they are usually very busy. Would it be
all right to interview them for information using email? Say have a
questionnaire for them to answer? Or would they just read it and
chuck it out because it is too impersonal? Help.
The Career Doctor responds:
Informational interviews are a great way to learn more about a career
field AND build your network of contacts. What is an informational
interview? It’s interviewing designed to produce information. What
kind of information? The information you need to choose or refine
a career path, learn how to break in and find out if you have what it
takes to succeed. It’s the process of spending time with one of your
network contacts in a highly focused conversation that provides you
with key information you need to launch or boost your career.
The preferred method — the method where you get the best information
and the strongest possible connection with the person you are
interviewing — is through face-to-face interviews. However, that
should not stop any job-seeker who is relocating and wants to
build a new network of contacts in a distant location. Technology makes it possible for you to simulate a face-to-face informational interview through apps like Skype and FaceTime.
And, as you
mention, job-seekers can also conduct informational interviews
by phone or e-mail.
The best strategy for you is to contact the person and ask his/her
preferred method of contact. If you choose email, sending a list of questions — only AFTER the person
agrees to the informational interview — is acceptable, but remember
to keep the list fairly short. Most people are willing to take the time
to help out job-seekers, but not if it looks like it will take a huge
chunk of their time.
Finally, ALWAYS remember to thank each person you interview.
Learn more here with the
Informational
Interviewing Tutorial, published on Quintessential Careers.
Furqan writes:
I have a bachelor’s degree in finance. I have not yet gotten any experience. I want to further my education. I am confused about if I should pursue CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) or MBA in finance. Which do you think would
help me penetrate the job market?
The Career Doctor responds:
I’m going to offer some advice, but here’s what I suggest you do to
get the best possible solution to your situation.
You need to identify the specific career path within finance that you
want to pursue… research various finance careers, conduct informational interviews with finance professionals, and intern/volunteer to obtain
experience in finance. Also, talk with your professors and career
professionals about careers in finance.
Typical career paths for people with a finance degree(s) include
investment banking, commercial banking, corporate finance, money management, financial planning, insurance, and real estate.
According to the CFA Institute, the group that oversees the CFA, the CFA has become known
as the designation of professional excellence within the global investment community. “Around the world, employers and investors recognize the
CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence
and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis.”
To be eligible for the CFA, however, you need to have three years of
acceptable professional experience working in the investment
decision-making process.
By the way, many of the better MBA programs also require several years of
experience, so your best option may be to join the workforce and get some
practical finance experience under your belt before pursuing one or both of
these options.
Learn more about the CFA by going to the CFA Institute Website.
Learn more about the types of jobs and career paths in finance by going to this
section of Quintessential Careers: Jobs
in Business, Management, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, and Sales.
Louis writes:
I am 31 years old and have just completed an associate’s degree in computer
networking and then went on to complete a B.S. degree in computer science.
I am now studying for a B.S. in business administration. Then I will be
continuing on for my MBA. I am currently working as a computer analyst
making only $30,000 a year. What types of salaries should I expect
after completing all four of these degrees? I intend on being a project
manager. Am I wasting my time and money on education? Or will I be
able to command salaries of over $60K to $70K because of the
education that I intend to complete. What is a good career progression?
And how should I go about progressing to that upper salaried positions.
The Career Doctor responds:
I think far too many job-seekers put too much emphasis on salary when
researching careers or conducting career planning. Yes, what we earn is
important to our feelings of self-worth and self-esteem, but let’s not
overlook the importance of the intrinsic value of enjoying what you do.
So, if project management really excites you — and you can make a
good living doing it — then that’s a good match for you. Please do be
careful of picking careers or jobs simply based on how much you’ll
be able to make. And in this job market, many job-seekers would
love a job where they are making only $30,000 a year.
I do want to congratulate you on the ability to balance working and
attending classes at the same time, because not everyone can do
that, and while it will take you longer to reach your educational and
career goals, you’ll be a more experienced and well-rounded job-seeker.
How can you best determine if project management is a good match for
you — both in terms of your interests, skills, and education — as well
as your salary requirements? Hit the online job boards and examine
as many project management positions as you can find. Not only will
this research help with your career goals, but you’ll be able to compile
a list of keywords and phrases that employers use when seeking project
managers. Once you have those keywords, you should be sure that you
use them in your resumes and cover letters.
You should also consider conducting a few informational interviews
with people who are currently involved in project management. Not
only will these interviews help build your network, you’ll also learn a
great deal about the skills, experience, and education valued in that
profession.
Go to this section of Quintessential Careers to find job sites where
you can conduct research: Best
Job Sites for Job-Seekers.
Learn more about informational interviewing by using the
Informational
Interviewing Tutorial found at Quintessential Careers.
William writes:
I have recently graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering and am having trouble finding
any form of work. Every place I turn, the employers seek years of experience. I have tried
most sites on the Net, gone to company web pages, gone to agencies to help — but no luck.
I am trying everything I can; I even can’t get work at low-level places (grocery stores, fast food)
because I am now too educated. So please give me some help and guidance.
The Career Doctor responds:
I have a two-part answer; one part is to give you some advice, the other
part is to help other college students not fall into the same dilemma you
now face.
You’ve first got to change your attitude. I know you feel discouraged, but I truly
believe in the power of positive thinking; besides, employers can often sense
desperation. Once you have a more positive outlook, you need to refocus your
job-hunting energies. Where is your network of contacts? You need to use your
family, friends, alumni, past bosses and co-workers — everyone you know to help you develop solid job leads. Where is your college’s career services office? Go
back and work with them to help you build a solid plan. Where are your former
professors? Go talk with the two or three that you are closest to and see if they
can give you some help. You cannot rely on job ads to find a job.
You might also consider informational interviews — as a way to get your foot in the
door — by contacting some of those employers with job openings that seek more
advanced job-seekers. Acknowledge that you are not qualified for the position they
are advertising, but ask to have a meeting to learn more about the profession, the industry, the company…and you’ll be surprised at the doors that may open for you.
Finally, while you’re job-hunting, investigate whether these are some volunteer or freelance projects you could be doing to gain some experience. And make sure
to include any projects you completed in college on your resume.
Now my advice to current college students. Learn from this job-seeker’s mistake.
Employers are now demanding that all college graduates have relevant experience.
You MUST find the time in those four (or so) years of college to work part-time, do
one or more internships, and/or participate in volunteering. Even those “entry-level” positions usually require work experience, and there is simply no excuse for not
gaining meaningful experience during those four years of college.
Read what recent college grads have to say in the
Real World section of
Quintessential Careers.
For college grads:
For current college students:
Rose writes:
How can I find out what type of job I would be best suited for based on my qualifications
and previous job experience? I am about to change jobs and am not quite sure what to look for.
The Career Doctor responds:
You’ve kind of gotten the job-searching process backwards. You shouldn’t look for a
new job based on your previous experience unless you are interested in simply
advancing to the next level in that career path.
If you are simply looking to advance to the next level within your current career, I suggest
conducting a little career research and possibly conducting a few informational interviews.
Talk to your current boss or someone in the human resources department to discuss
career paths. But don’t limit yourself to career paths within your own company. Use the
resources of the professional organization for your career. And consider conducting
information interviews — not job interviews — with people who are much farther along in
their careers and use the opportunity to pick their brains about the best paths for
advancement in your career.
If you are looking to make a switch from your current career, please remember that previous
work experience doesn’t dictate or limit your job-search potential. Just about any job-seeker
can identify what we call transferable skills, sometimes referred to as portable skills.
Transferable skills are skills you have acquired during any activity in your life — jobs, classes, projects, parenting, hobbies, sports, virtually anything — that are transferable and
applicable to what you want to do in your next job. Transferable skills are usually divided
into five broad categories:
- Communication
- Research and planning
- Human relations
- Organization, management, and leadership
- Work survival
Take the time to analyze and develop your transferable skills. Then determine the types
of skills you most enjoy using. And then research careers that utilize those skills. And,
again, informational interviews can help you in your research.
Learn more in the Transferable
Skills section of Quintessential Careers.
And find out more about the power of informational interviews in the Quintessential Careers
Informational Interview Tutorial.
May writes:
Firstly, I’d like to thank you on such a beneficial service; I’m sure it
has been very useful to college students/graduates like myself. Secondly, I have a
careers question I’d like to ask you. I am very interested in becoming a newspaper
or magazine editor. What kind of qualifications would I need? And would I have to
major/minor in a certain subject in college in order to qualify? How competitive is it?
Would I be able to take on this job while I am still in college? (I am currently a
sophomore studying business administration — marketing and management). I
would really appreciate it if you can provide me with some information on how I
might go about taking this career path. Thank you for your time and help, and I
look forward to hearing from you.
The Career Doctor responds:
One of the keys to being a successful journalist is having a passion and interest
for a particular subject; another key is possessing the ability to clearly communicate
ideas and information.
Newspaper and magazine editors begin their careers as journalists and writers, so if
you are interested in this field, start as a reporter or writer. You can start
while in college by joining the staff of your school’s campus newspaper. You could
also seek out part-time positions with media outlets, as well as focus your energies
on finding one or more journalism internships.
While you do not need to be a journalism major to have a career in the field, it
certainly is important to have a background (and strength) in communications and
writing. Some journalists are hired because they are not only good writers, but have
expertise in a certain subject area.
Print journalism is a tough field to enter, especially ow as newspapers are struggling. Most job-seekers fresh out of college — unless
they graduate with a lot of experience — have to start in entry-level positions on the
staffs of small newspapers or magazines. Once you’ve built a reputation (and a
solid collection of clips), you can move to larger media organizations and/or up the career ladder.
If your college has a journalism school or program, go talk to one or more of the professors
and seek their advice and suggestions for achieving your goal. You could also consider
going to your college’s career services office and conducting several informational
interviews with current journalists and editors. Learn more in the Quintessential Careers
Informational Interviewing Tutorial.
You can get further information by using these career and job resources:
Doug writes:
I have a strong desire to teach in college. I will be moving from where
I live in the next couple of years but have time to get my graduate
degree from my alma mater. Would it be better to get my graduate
and master’s degree from the same school now, or wait and get my
master’s and Ph.D. from the same school?
The Career Doctor responds:
Most experts agree — and I am one of them — that if you can get your
degrees from different schools you’re the better for it. By attending
different schools, you interact with different professors, face new
challenges, are exposed to different philosophies, etc. That said, there
are quite a number of college professors I know who attended the same
school for all of their degrees.
There are a number of considerations you need to contemplate. If
your alma mater has an undergraduate faculty and a graduate faculty
or if you are getting your master’s degree in a different subject — in either
case being exposed to different faculty — then your alma mater may be a
good choice. But, even if these situations are not the case, the convenience
factor has to play a role. One other issue to consider: some doctoral programs
accept students into an accelerated master’s program leading to a doctorate
for students who only have a bachelor’s degree; several of my colleagues
have gone that route. Prestige (and ranking) of the schools you attend also
play a role in your future job-hunting plans.
I suggest that your best resource for finding an answer is to schedule
some time to talk to faculty members from your alma mater in the
discipline you want to teach. Conduct some informational interviews
with them — pick their brains and solicit their advice and opinions.
Don’t forget that you can find links to several great articles about attending
graduate school, as well as links to great graduate school resources by going
to the Graduate
School Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
And be sure to go to the Quintessential Careers
Informational
Interviewing Tutorial if you need to learn more about how to conduct informational interviews.
Mike writes:
I am a 26-year-old male college graduate who majored in sociology with a
minor in business and communications. As I have found out, jobs in this
major are scarce without further education, and frankly I do not have the time
or resources to go back to school. I am currently working in a retail sporting-goods job that I dislike. My heart is telling me to pursue something that truly
makes me happy instead of working for corporate, money-hungry executives.
I really want to pursue an environmental job but without a major in biology
or a related field this seems impossible. Please, I am lost. What can I do?
The Career Doctor responds:
You’ve taken the first small step of a potentially long process. You realize that
retail is not for you and it’s time to make a change. Excellent. And, ideally,
we should all be working in an area where we have a passion — something we
really enjoy doing every day. Unfortunately, as you have found, many people are
not working in those ideal jobs/careers.
To help avoid another mistake, let me first have you analyze why you are
looking at an environmental career. I actually want you to start back six
years ago and examine why you chose your major and minors. You know
you don’t ever want to do retail again, but now examine your interests and
passions. What interests you about an environmental career? What kind of
research have you done? What kind of further education or skills do you
need to acquire for the type of job you are seeking? Can you combine your
interest in the environment with your educational background and skills?
Besides conducting research online or in your local library, I would suggest
you conduct some informational interviews with local (or national) environmental
professionals. Contact your college’s career and alumni offices to find alums
who have environmental jobs. Informational interviews are great ways to build
a network of contacts in a new career field, to learn more about a specific
career, and to gain valuable information about the training, education, and
skills required. And don’t forget about volunteering as a way of breaking into a
new career field.
Depending upon the types of jobs you are seeking, you may need to go
back to school. Changing careers is never easy, but with the proper planning
and research, you can do it.
Please read my article, The
10-Step Plan to Career Change, which should help get you focused on what you need to do.
There are also quite a few good environmental career and job sites on the Web, such
as the Environmental Careers Organization and Cyber-Sierra’s Natural Resources Job
Search. You can find descriptions and links to these and others in our
Jobs in Agriculture,
Zoology, and the Environment section of Quintessential Careers.
| | | | | | 
