INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

Brief One of the most beneficial exercises you can do to expand your professional network and improve the job search process, is conduct informational interviews. An informational interview is, in essence, you interviewing someone you would like to learn from or possibly work for. It is a casual discussion designed to help you better understand the person, their profession or position, and gain as much knowledge and information as you can. It is not designed for you to ask for a job, but rather to listen, learn, and network. UC Berkley provides a very useful resource that will guide you through the process of setting up and conducting a successful informational interview: Instructions Select a sport industry professional that works in sponsorship or corporate partnerships (NOT employed at the University of Miami). Set up a 20-30 minute informational interview (either in- person or over the phone) to learn about their career and how it relates to everything you have learned throughout the course. You can ask any questions you would like, but a list of possible topics to guide you is below. You may want to take this time to learn if this career path is right for you, clarify any questions you had about the class, understand what it is like working in the sports business industry, or ask for tips to breaking into the field once you graduate. Once you have completed the interview, write a 3-5 essay about what you gained from the experience and how the information you garnered relates to what you learned over the past 7 weeks. Possible interview topics might include how to:

• prospect for new sponsors • determine fit • create sponsorship proposals • pitch clients • close sponsorship deals • conduct activation • leverage partnerships over time • generate sales • evaluate success or renew relationships.