{"id":1518,"date":"2011-10-03T10:32:29","date_gmt":"2011-10-03T16:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.prssa.org\/?p=1518"},"modified":"2018-08-22T11:37:08","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T15:37:08","slug":"informational-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2011\/10\/03\/informational-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts of Informational Interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the past few weeks, I\u2019ve met with many students and recent grads for informational interviews<\/a>. Some of them have blown me away with professionalism and obvious preparedness; others haven\u2019t quite been up to par.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Below are a few tips on the do\u2019s and don\u2019ts of informational interviews.<\/p>\n

1. Do Research the Company Before<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Read the company\u2019s blog, check out the online newsroom, understand industry trends and have an understanding about what the company is all about. This will allow you to learn more than the basics from the professional.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t Forget to Prepare Questions<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Unlike a traditional interview, you should be the one running the show. If you\u2019re expecting the professional to be the one asking all the questions, you might create an awkward and inefficient informational interview.<\/p>\n

3. Do Respect the Time of the Professional <\/strong><\/h5>\n

It\u2019s best to have a short and sweet list of five to seven questions asking about different topics so you don\u2019t take up too much time or make the interview seem unproductive.<\/p>\n

4. Do Set Up the Interview at Least One Week in Advance<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Try to get some time on the professional\u2019s calendar a week before (or even earlier). If the meeting has to be canceled or rescheduled, be flexible and offer to schedule a call if that\u2019s easier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Do Meet With Professionals Regardless of Your Age <\/strong><\/h5>\n

It\u2019s important to take advantage of these opportunities from the time you\u2019re interested in a public relations career through your senior year. Meet with professionals in a variety of industries and organizational settings to gain a full understanding of the profession.<\/p>\n

6. Don\u2019t Bring your Resume<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Unless you\u2019re looking for feedback on content or design, informational interviews are meant to be informal and low pressure for both parties.<\/p>\n

7. Do Follow Up With a Handwritten Note<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Whether the interview lasted for five minutes or 30 minutes, a handwritten note will show genuine gratitude, and it\u2019s a great way for that professional to remember you.<\/p>\n

8. Don\u2019t Expect a Job Offer the Next Day<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Instead, keep in touch with the professional you met with and let them know you\u2019re looking for jobs. If there are no openings at that professional\u2019s organization, you might be connected with other agencies and companies.<\/p>\n

What advice do you have for informational interviews? Do you have any informational interview success stories to share?<\/p>\n

This is a guest post from Immediate Past President <\/em>Nick Lucido<\/em><\/a>. He is an account executive with <\/em>Edelman Digital<\/em><\/a> in Chicago and is open to meeting with PRSSA members for informational interviews \u2014 especially if they have read this post.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the past few weeks, I\u2019ve met with many students and recent grads for informational interviews. Some of them have blown me away with professionalism and obvious preparedness; others haven\u2019t quite been up to par. Below are a few tips on the do\u2019s and don\u2019ts of informational interviews. 1. Do Research the Company Before Read the company\u2019s blog, check out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2892,2894],"tags":[67,880,889,882,508,821,881,888,68,879,883,312,884,730,305,885,886,887],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1518"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9207,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1518\/revisions\/9207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}