Assignment 3 Interviewing

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Communication, Employment, & LGBTQ+ Community

Interview Study

Interviewer’s Name: Subject 1____ Subject 2_____ Additional Subject ______ Interview Date: Read this statement in its entirety My name is: ___________ I am a graduate student enrolled in a communication research methods course at Old Dominion

University (taught by Dr. Thomas J. Socha, Professor, Department of Communication & Theatre Arts)

and supported by research partner, MetroStar (https://www.metrostar.com). We are gathering information

intended to better understand and improve employment communication (job searching, applying,

interviewing, etc.) for the LGBTQ+ community and prospective employers. Your participation is

voluntary. No rewards are offered for participation. Your identity will not be revealed. Information from

the study will be communicated in reports, papers, and presentations but no specific information about

study participants will be communicated. Any and all potentially identifying information will be removed

or masked. You can choose to not answer any (or all) of the questions for any reason and may withdraw

from participation at any time. Files of recordings of the interviews will be kept in pass-word protected

spaces and after transcription and analyses are complete will be deleted. For further information about the

study direct questions to Dr. Socha, Professor of Communication, [email protected]. For questions or

concerns about you rights as a study participant please contact Dr. Randy Gainey, Human Subjects

Review Committee Chair, [email protected].

Do you agree to be interviewed for this study?

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Demographics (ask theses questions aloud and record them on this sheet for each subject)

1. To which gender do you most identify? ________ Or can prompt with:

2. Your current age: _____

3. Please indicate all that apply to you:

o American Indian or Alaska Native

o Asian

o Black or African American

o Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

o White

o Prefer not to answer

4. Are you:

o Hispanic or Latino or Spanish Origin?

o Not Hispanic or Latino or Spanish Origin?

o Prefer to not answer

5. Do you have work experience in the public sector? Yes No

6. Do you have work experience in the private sector? Yes No

7. What is your highest level of education?

o PhD degree o MA/MBA/MS/JD degree o BA/BS degree o AA degree o Some college o High school

8. What is your current occupation? Please describe.

9. What is your current employment status? For example, employed, look for employment, in school

and working part-time and so on.

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10. Are you currently seeking employment?

o Yes o No o Prefer to not answer

11. Do you foresee searching for new employment during this current calendar year (2022)? o Yes o Maybe o No o Prefer to not answer.

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Interview Items (Ask these items aloud and somehow record their responses—audio, zoom, or via detailed notes on separate sheets). The point to gather as much information as you can.

12. When looking for employment, what would you say are the main qualities that prospective job

seekers of the LGBTQ+ community (new or experienced person in the workspace) generally look

for in any employer (today in 2022)?

13. Think about employment in the public sector (e.g., government, civil service). Please describe

your impressions of the advantages and disadvantages to working in the public sector as a career-

path for you.

14. For LGBTQ+ individuals?

15. When talking with your friends and community about employment (both in the public and private

sectors), have you heard, and can you share, any positive stories about what LGBTQ+ individuals

might be look forward to experiencing when working?

16. When talking with friends and community about employment (both in the public and private

sectors) have you heard, and can you share, any negative stories about what LGBTQ+

individuals have had to manage?

17. As a person who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, when screening prospective employers

online what kinds of messages do you look for that may attract you or push you away?

18. Career paths include all of the jobs that individuals have had from a very first job to today.

a. Think about a job early in your career. What was it? When was it? Was it a positive or

negative experience overall?

b. As a person who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, while employed in early first job,

can you recall moments while working there that were particularly positive for you?

What were they?

c. While employed in your first job, can you recall moments while working there that were

particularly negative for you? What were they?

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d. To what extent if, any, do you think early positive and negative work experiences

influenced your approach to employment today?

19. Is there anything else that you would like to add to help us to better understand how improve

communication during employment processes between individuals of the LGBTQ+ community

and prospective employers, particularly in the public sector?

Thank you very much for your participation!