Professional Development: the Informational Interview

I recently gave a workshop for anthropology graduate students in my department on strategies for professional development. One of the most interesting things for me about this workshop was talking to these students about Informational Interviewing. Although no one around the table was familiar with the term, we all understood the concept. After all, anthropologists are trained to talk to people, to conduct interviews -- we just aren't trained to think about applying our research expertise to our own lives and careers in the same ways.

As Robin Mazumder writes, the Informational Interview is basically "when you interview someone who has a career that you might be interested in. You can find out first-hand what the job really entails, or about the path required to obtain that job" (2017, Gradventure, University of Waterloo).

Check out Mazumder's piece or these for more information about how and why to arrange an Informational Interview, and the kinds of questions you might want to ask:

• Robin Mazumder, "Exploring Your Options: A Primer on Informational Interviews" (2017, Gradventure, University of Waterloo)
• Katie Shives, "The Informational Interview" (2014, GradHacker)
• From University Affairs:
• Jennifer Polk, "Don’t shy away from informational interviews" (2014)
• Jo VanEvery, "Informational interviews aren’t just for non-academic careers" (2011)
• Liz Koblyk, "Getting the dirt on non-academic careers" (2011) and "Landing the (information) interview" (2011)
• Scroll through some transcripts of informational interviews,"Transition Q & As" with PhDs in non-academic careers (From PhD to Life)
• Check out more Advice for Grad Students here at anthro everywhere!