This assignment will help you to develop the skills and strategies necessary to successfully request an informational interview. You can download a PDF copy of the Unit Assignment if that is easier for you.

Review each of the following Learning Resources to prepare for this assignment:

• Communication Barriers (Article)
• Communication Barriers (Book Excerpt)
• Informational Interviews
• How to Ask for an Informational Interview (and Get a “Yes”)
• How to Create an Informational Interview Email

This assignment has two parts: 

Please identify someone with whom you would like to be in contact with for professional reasons or imagine addressing your email to someone whose information you found on a career website or a company directory. In the latter case, that person could, for example, be somebody with similar qualifications to yours but holding a more advanced position than you in an organization or company in which you are interested.

Your submission should include a subject line, the main body of your email, and an appropriate sign off with contact information. Remember that your email should not be too short. It should not leave unanswered questions about who you are and why you are getting in touch. Equally, it must not be so long and detailed that your recipient will not read it!

Please use the following questions to guide you as you explain the decisions you made for this professional email. Feel free to include anything else you believe is necessary in understanding the reasoning behind your choices.

• Did you emphasize your professional experience more than your educational background or vice versa?
• Did you share anything else about yourself that might be relevant (volunteer work, hobbies, acquaintances), or did you limit yourself to sharing workplace and/or school information?
• Did you explain in detail why you are interested in being in touch with the email’s recipient, or did you keep that part short?
• Did you list some of your specific professional goals? If not, why?
• Did you suggest meeting in person (if that is an option), or did you choose to keep things more formal and talk over the phone or virtually?