As a parent, you have connections to a network of individuals in a variety of careers and professions. Therefore, you can assist in many ways to acquaint your son or daughter with a particular job or career.
One way is to encourage your student to do some informational interviewing. This provides students with the opportunity to interview a business representative or professional in their field of interest – usually at their workplace – about their profession, field or industry, or particular company.
Informational interviews are typically arranged by the student. Your Aggie must prepare for this as seriously as he or she would for a job interview. That includes developing a list of questions to ask during the interview that provide:
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more detailed information about the nature of the work and what it is like to work in the field on a day-to-day basis
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insights into business/industry trends and options for advancement
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information about educational requirements including recommendations related to graduate studies
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a profile of what it takes to be successful in the field
This process helps students to begin to develop their own career connections or networks. You can learn more about the value and process of networking in our guide.
