When I was in school most journalism programs had a mandatory internship. In my first year, I went to work at a newspaper in a small town where I had a chance to sit in on editorial meetings, contribute story ideas and, of course, write. I found it really useful to be able to experience what my dream job was going to be about. Ironically, it was while I was at that newspaper, helping another reporter cover a deadly car crash, that I got turned off of reporting. I am so glad that I got to experience the job firsthand because it showed me that I am not what I thought I was (a reporter).

If you can't apprentice somewhere or get an internship, there's another way to find out what it's like to do your dream job. The purpose of an informational interview is to offer a kind of "window" into the job that you're after. According to Creative Job Hunting is Not For Everybody, the most direct way to research a particular field is to talk to the experts -- the people who spend their days working in the field.

The article points out that such interviews differ significantly from job interviews. For one thing, the job seeker, not the employer requests the meeting, and the job seeker takes responsibility for the question-and-answer process. In this type of interview you can ask questions such as: "What does your work day look like?" or "How do you see work of this kind changing in the future?"

Keep in mind that the person who agrees to be interviewed is doing you a great favour, so have questions ready, keep the interview down to an agreed time (30 minutes is suggested) and always dress and act professionally.

ttyl

Jowita