CSMT 2111 Informational Interviews
Making meaningful connections for the future of your professional career
(3) Three assignments
Background & Purpose
With 80% of jobs never being posted on job boards, the most efficient and successful way of gaining
employment is through networking – in both the traditional sense at events and panels, but also within
friend groups, industry organizations, and cold outreach through websites like LinkedIn.
For this assignment, you are required to conduct (3) three informational interviews with industry
professionals you are interested in learning more from. These informational interviews must be at least
thirty minutes long and can be conducted either in-person, via web conference or phone. Absolutely no
email exchanges will be accepted as an informational interview.
The Assignment and format requirements – READ Carefully
1. Secure a 1:1 conversation with a person in the communications field in the industry of your choice.
There is no requirement who this person is, they can be a recent graduate or a c-level individual.
The choice of person is completely up to you.
2. Prior to the 1:1 conversation, develop a list of AT LEAST 10 questions you want to ask the
individual.
3. Following the interview, submit a (1) page brief summary of the interview including the 10
questions and a summary of their response.
a. the top left hand corner of the summary should read:
Interviewee name:
Title:
Company:
College Attended/major:
How you connected:
4. Attach a cover page to this summary with the below header:
Student Name
CSMT 2111 Section (identify)/Instructor Name
Writing Assignment: Cover Letter
1 – Revised 9/25/2020
What are you doing on a regular basis to set yourself apart? To network? Perhaps learn a new
skill?
For this assignment, you will be required to, for 45 minutes a month, engage in a professional
development activity – maybe it’s a zoom panel full of professionals in your field, or a
training on Lynda.com; whatever it is, you will then write a 1-page, double spaced reflection
on the activity.