1. Did you use the plan you prepared during the Mar-Apr interval? If so, how did it work or not work for you? (e.g., you couldn't get in touch with the experts/professionals; those you contacted wouldn't respond or agree to talk with you; you didn't have enough time to ask all of your questions, etc.)
I had to change the plan as I was trying to set the interviews with the experts I chose. I could not find a phone number for Janet Ranganathan or Holly Loveland and I emailed them. I thought this was not going to work then but they both answered back in a couple of days.
In the case of Janet, we have to do a phone call and although I had great feedback, I had the feeling that I did not have enough time to ask her all the questions. I did ask …show more content…
Summarize your most important learning from each of the interviews, including how the information you obtained will or will not help you as you pursue your career interests.
From both interviews, I realized that there is no a perfect path in the non-profit sector and that is OK to be changing directions until I get to my goal. Both of my interviewees gave me the same piece of advice about volunteer work and not being afraid of expanding my network by reaching out to people I would like to …show more content…
What, if anything, would you do differently next time in carrying out informational interviews?
First of all, I will definitely try to conduct the interview in person. I talked to Janet from WRI in the phone and I got the feeling that by not being able to see the other person’s face I missed signs of the interview that I would had been helpful to have in order to adapt my questions to Janet’s reaction. Definitely, I can see the value of doing these interviews in person, where you can also get information from their expressions and get a better insight of their work by visiting the workplace.
I will also try to better define my goals for the interview. I thought that I needed to have them defined for myself and I was not well prepared to share them with me, maybe because I am still working on them. It was a little bit difficult for them to give me advice without knowing the details of my professional goals. As I work on this, I can get additional interviews to gather more useful information.
4. Did these interviews help you expand your network and help build your networking capabilities? If so, how? And if not, why
I had to change the plan as I was trying to set the interviews with the experts I chose. I could not find a phone number for Janet Ranganathan or Holly Loveland and I emailed them. I thought this was not going to work then but they both answered back in a couple of days.
In the case of Janet, we have to do a phone call and although I had great feedback, I had the feeling that I did not have enough time to ask her all the questions. I did ask …show more content…
Summarize your most important learning from each of the interviews, including how the information you obtained will or will not help you as you pursue your career interests.
From both interviews, I realized that there is no a perfect path in the non-profit sector and that is OK to be changing directions until I get to my goal. Both of my interviewees gave me the same piece of advice about volunteer work and not being afraid of expanding my network by reaching out to people I would like to …show more content…
What, if anything, would you do differently next time in carrying out informational interviews?
First of all, I will definitely try to conduct the interview in person. I talked to Janet from WRI in the phone and I got the feeling that by not being able to see the other person’s face I missed signs of the interview that I would had been helpful to have in order to adapt my questions to Janet’s reaction. Definitely, I can see the value of doing these interviews in person, where you can also get information from their expressions and get a better insight of their work by visiting the workplace.
I will also try to better define my goals for the interview. I thought that I needed to have them defined for myself and I was not well prepared to share them with me, maybe because I am still working on them. It was a little bit difficult for them to give me advice without knowing the details of my professional goals. As I work on this, I can get additional interviews to gather more useful information.
4. Did these interviews help you expand your network and help build your networking capabilities? If so, how? And if not, why