Business

BUS 303_Section 004

Assignment 3

Fall 2019

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BUS 303

Assignment 3: Informational Interview

Assignment Summary An informational interview is a meeting with a working professional who can give you an inside view of an occupation, organization, and/or industry that is of interest

to you. You will identify an appropriate interviewee; research their industry; schedule an interview; build a list of appropriate questions; conduct an in-person interview and take notes; send a thank you note; and write a reflective report

about what you learned and how it applies to your professional future.

Your interviewee should be a person with at least five years of professional experience and someone you have not interviewed before for other Mason assignments. As this assignment is meant to help build your network, you may not

interview Mason professors, current colleagues, friends, or family members.

Learning Goals  Learn to identify appropriate sources of career information

 Gain experience contacting and persuading a professional to meet with you  Expand your knowledge of your profession and industry

 Practice active listening in an interview setting  Learn how to synthesize and organize relevant information

 Become familiar with the professional memo format

Deliverables (combine these into one document) 1. A 2-3-page, single-spaced report about your interview, written in memo

format 2. A list of interview questions 3. A copy of the thank you note sent to the interviewee

4. An APA-style reference list

Due Date and Submission Instructions  Thursday, October 31–Upload all pages to Blackboard and bring a paper copy

to class

Assignment Details The first 2-3 pages of your assignment, formatted as a memo to your professor and

typed single-spaced, should include:

(1) Your Professional Goals and the Purpose of the Interview (1 paragraph): Briefly describe your career interests and 2-3 career goals and then explain why this interviewee is relevant to those goals.

(2) Biography of Interviewee (1-2 paragraphs): Sum up the interviewee’s

professional biography, including his/her professional background, current

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Assignment 3

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title and responsibilities, organization, and a summary of the interviewee’s career journey, from beginning to date.

(3) Industry Overview (2-3 paragraphs, based on research): Provide an

overview of the industry (not your interviewee’s company), including market size, types of careers in the industry, nature of work in the field, types of

writing and communication skills required, and other skills needed. Incorporate information from both the interview and additional research you have done. Use 3-5 sources of information for this section and provide in-

text citations using APA formatting. (You will also provide a list of references at the end of the paper.) A good place to start your research is the GMU

Library BUS 303 InfoGuide: http://infoguides.gmu.edu/BUS303

(4) Interview Process (2 paragraphs): What worked well with the process of

preparing for and conducting your informational interview? Why? What didn’t work well? Why?

(5) Reflection (2-3 paragraphs): This is the most important part of your memo.

Synthesize 2-3 meaningful highlights or “take-aways” from the interview and

reflect on their implications for your career.

Next, include the following items as three separate pages at the back of your memo:

(6) Interview Questions: A list of 10-12 questions you thoughtfully prepared

prior to the interview, in the order that you intended to ask them. (It’s okay if you don’t end up asking them exactly as you planned—but it’s important to

have a list.) You need to write these questions yourself; do not plagiarize a list of questions from the internet. Think about what you would really like to know from this person. One question you should definitely ask is, “What are

employers in your industry looking for in new college graduates?”

(7) Thank You Note: A copy of the thank you note (handwritten or emailed) that you sent to the interviewee, preferably within 24 hours of the interview.

(8) Reference List: A list of 3-5 sources you used for your industry overview. Be sure to use APA formatting.

Audience Your primary audience for this memo is your professor.

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Assignment 3

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Evaluation Criteria

1. Was the interviewee thoughtfully selected based on the career goals articulated, and did the person meet the criteria of an appropriate person to

interview? 2. Did the author effectively synthesize relevant information about the

interviewee, the organization, and the industry? 3. Did the author provide appropriate industry research? 4. Did the author demonstrate thoughtful reflection about the interview process

and include both successes and challenges of conducting the interview? 5. Did the author effectively summarize the most important interview findings

and reflect on the applications of those findings to his/her career? 6. Was the report written as a professional memo in the specified format, with

topical headings by section?

7. Were the interview questions purposeful, logical, and carefully crafted? 8. Was the thank you note timely, thoughtful, and professional?

9. Was the writing clear, concise, coherent, proofread, and polished?

Memo Format A memo is a professional document used in organizations to share important

workplace information. Memos should be clear and concise, and they should be divided into sections marked by headings. We will talk about memo formatting in

class. While most organizations have their own templates, to create a memo for this assignment you can use a memo template from Microsoft Word.

To organize your memo effectively, include topical headings (use this assignment handout for an example). Single space the text within paragraphs and add a

vertical space between paragraphs. All text should be left-aligned, 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, with one-inch margins.