My Informational Interview Experience

What is an Informational Interview?

An informational interview, in general, is a conversation with someone who has experience in an industry or company that aligns with one’s professional interests. These conversations provide advisement and insight to real-life experiences of one’s field of interest.

My Informational Interview Experiences

I scheduled my first informational interview as part of an assignment for my Human Development and Family Sciences Professional Communication course. I first connected with the HuskyMentor Network through which I met a UConn alumnus, who is a speech pathologist. Pamela Pietrafesa worked for a Children’s Hospital in California. Speech pathologists often work alongside occupational therapists. As an aspiring occupational therapist, I wanted to learn more about the integration of speech pathology in occupational therapy. Ms. Pietrafesa connected me with two other occupational therapists, who ultimately made the introduction to the president of the Connecticut Occupational Therapy Association.

There were four essential components to my informational interviews:

Have an Objective of Learning

I went into this informational interview with specific goals. It is important to reflect on the type of information I was looking for, which can help construct the questions I asked. Three main goals in my informational interview were to learn more about how occupational therapy works with other therapeutic professions to meet a set goal, the challenges that might exist in this setting, and to build a connection with an occupational therapist.

Take Notes

With permission from the speech pathologist, I took notes of the information she shared. Notes helped me understand the profession, day to day tasks associated with the profession, expectations, and areas for improvement in that setting. Taking copious notes demonstrated to the therapist that I was interested in what she believed was important to know.

Prepare Your Questions

Before the interview, I created a list of questions that would answer my learning objectives.  In my opinion, asking for recommendations in resources and connections are BOTH important to mention in an informational interview. These are the list of questions:

  1. Tell me about a time when you felt proud to be a speech pathologist.
  1. What did you wish you knew before becoming a speech pathologist?
  1. Can you describe your career path and what led you to this position?
  1. What skills have you developed that have become essential in the field of speech pathology?
  1. Can you recommend people in OT I should talk to or resources I should explore?
  1. What was something surprising you encountered when you first started working as a speech pathologist?
  1. What experiences would be helpful for someone entering this field?
  1. How has your career impacted your work/life balance?
  1. What does a typical day look like for you?
  1. What are the two biggest challenges at your job?

Show Your Personality

I approached this conversation less formally than a job interview, meaning I wore business casual attire and conducted the video call in my room – not in an office setting. I wanted to create a more relaxed setting that allowed both Ms. Pietrafesa and I to converse casually. We found similarities in our interests, experiences, and certain characteristics required for this profession. The conversation will have a long lasting and positive impact on the type of connection made with Ms. Pietrafesa.

One of my main goals was to establish a connection with an occupational therapist, which I was able to do through the rapport built with Ms. Pietrafesa due to this informal approach.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

By Chelsea Valdez
Chelsea Valdez