Career Exploration and Self-Assessment
Exploring different career paths can be an exciting journey! Start by considering your interests, passions, and values. What activities or topics do you enjoy spending time on? What kind of work would give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment?
Next, take some time to evaluate your strengths and skills. What are you naturally good at? What skills do you want to develop further?
There are many ways that you may go about self-assessment. You may work one-on-one with a career coach through either Buckeye Careers or your college’s career services office, utilize formal assessments, conduct informational interviews, job shadow, participate in an internship, or take a variety of courses. Any and all of these methods can be used to help you learn more about yourself in relation to the variety of careers you may be interested in.
Ohio State students have access to the Focus2 assessment offered through University Exploration. This resource is free for all Ohio State students to use and offers a variety of self-assessments that can help you determine your academic and professional potential.
Other career exploration resources, such as “What Can I Do With This Major?” and Versatile PhD, provide additional career exploration opportunities.
Visit Buckeye Careers’ website and the resource section in Handshake to explore more career resources available to you on campus.
Research Career Options
Explore different industries and academic fields that align with your interests and skills. It may also be helpful to investigate specific job roles, responsibilities, and career paths within those fields.
Don’t forget to use your resources! Career websites, job boards, and professional networking platforms can help you gather information about various career options.
Once you identify a career path (or multiple career paths) that you are interested in, try it out! Taking part in activities like internships, part-time jobs, volunteering, study abroad, research, and student organizations can help you learn more about your interests, build skills, and expand your network.
Informational Interviewing
An informational interview is a conversation between you and a professional in a field or career that interests you. Unlike a job interview, where the primary goal is to secure employment, the purpose of an informational interview is to gather information, insights, and advice about a particular industry, job role, company, or career path.
Informational interviewing can be utilized to:
- Gain first-hand, in-depth knowledge of an occupation from professionals currently working in an area of interest to you.
- Learn about the nature of work in that occupation.
- Determine a fit between your personality, interests, skills, and values in relation to a specific occupation.
- Define career goals more clearly and identify your professional strengths and
weaknesses. - Obtain information about specific companies.
- Improve job interviewing skills and build confidence.
- Expand your professional network.
Steps to follow to conduct an informational interview include:
1. Identify Your Interviewee
Use your questions and research to determine the best person to interview. If you are interested in a specific job, try to find someone in that position. If you are interested in a general field of study, perhaps it makes sense to interview multiple people or someone who has worked in the field for multiple years.
You can utilize platforms like Handshake or LinkedIn to find professionals online, or you can reach out directly through their email address (which can typically be found on their employer’s website). Alternatively, don’t be afraid to utilize your network on campus. Your potential interviewee could be an instructor, professor, or advisor!
2. Schedule the Interview
Once you have an interviewee identified, send them a short and polite message. Many professionals are happy to talk about their jobs and answer questions from college students.
In your email, make sure that you include the following:
- A clear and concise subject line stating why you are reaching out (i.e., Informational Interview Request)
- The recipient’s name (i.e., Dear Dr. Buckeye)
- An introductory sentence letting the recipient know who you are, why you are reaching out, and how you found them
- Your interview request, specifying what the meeting will involve and how long it will take – Are you asking for an in-person meeting or a Zoom call? Do you have an ideal date or time?
- An appreciative closing, thanking your recipient for their time and attention
3. Choose Your Questions
Consider any questions that you already have for your interviewee! Write down a list of questions that interest you or topics that you would like to learn more about.
Example Questions:
- What is a “typical day” for someone in your position?
- What part of this job do you find most satisfying? Most challenging?
- What personal qualities or abilities are important to being successful in this job?
- What was your undergraduate major field of study? Have you always been interested in this area of study?
- Describe the types of jobs or positions you have had and the skills you have developed in them.
- What are some opportunities for professional development in this field? Do you recommend any
professional organizations, conferences, or online resources? - How can I get experience in this field while I am still in college?
- What advice would you give a person entering this field?
Depending on the length of your informational interview, you can typically aim to ask between 5 to 10 well-thought-out questions during an informational interview. This range allows for a meaningful conversation while respecting the time of the person you’re interviewing.
4. Follow-Up
After the interview, immediately take any notes or write down any thoughts while they are fresh. Also, do not forget to send your interviewee a thank-you note within one week of your informational interview! This note can either be hand-written or sent via email.