by Uyen B. Chu, Ph.D.
PharmTalk - A Blog for Young Scientists is a new ASPET blog primarily written by postdocs Joanna Sandilos Rega (Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA) and Uyen Chu (University of Wisconsin-Madison). The primary objective of this blog is to engage postdocs and graduate students in topics helpful to your experience as a young scientist, focusing on but not limited to communication skills and core competencies of leadership and management as defined by the National Postdoctoral Association's set of "core competencies." Our hope is that this blog will be a valuable source for pointers on how to enrich your experience as a young scientist.
I remember when I was an undergraduate student I would regularly meet with my academic advisor to talk about career planning after graduation. But in the midst of classes, research, writing and publishing papers, I somehow forgot that career planning is as much a part of the graduate training as the other activities in graduate school. One piece of advice I got from my undergraduate advisor was to shadow working professionals whose career I was interested in pursuing after graduation. I only realized how relevant this advice was in my fourth year as a graduate student. With a Ph.D. in the biological sciences the possibilities are endless with regard to which career to choose from: pharmaceutical industry, biotech industry, government, consulting, teaching, etc. So, how should you go about choosing a career path that might suit your skill set, interests, and values? When shadowing is not an option, another approach to learning about different careers is by conducting informational interviews.
So, what is an informational interview?
Informational interviews are informal meetings where you can ask professionals about their jobs and the work involved. The term was coined by Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the best-selling career handbook What Color Is Your Parachute? Not only do informational interviews help you learn about different professions, they are good ways to network with individuals outside of academia, and they are opportunities to sharpen your communication skills.
When should you start looking into different career options and conduct informational interviews?
I cannot speak for everyone because each person’s journey through graduate school is different, but for me it was around my fourth year in graduate school that I started to explore different career avenues and learned how to conduct informational interviews. There are many resources on the Internet on how to conduct informational interviews, but this is my own approach to scheduling and conducting informational interviews.
Who and how does one seek out working professionals for informational interviews?
As a graduate student or postdoc in the life sciences, your network includes your advisor, former lab members, alumni from your graduate program, professional societies you belong to, contacts you make at social events at your institution, and friends and family. One good online resource to find out who in your network is connected to people in industries which you are interested in is LinkedIn.
How does one request for an informational interview?
Many of us are intimidated by the process of asking a stranger for a meeting, but from my experience, almost everyone I have emailed granted my solicitation for an informational interview. Below is a template of an email I often use to introduce myself and to ask my contact for an informational interview.
Dear Ms. _____:
I’m a graduate student at the University of _____ in the
pharmacology graduate program. Ms. _____, our graduate program
coordinator, shared your contact information with me. I am emailing
to request for a 30 minute informational interview to learn more
about your experience at _____ company. Your insights would be very
helpful for me in deciding whether a career path in _____ industry is
the right fit for me. I realize that this may be a busy time for you, so
if we are unable to connect, I will try to reach you again next week. I
look forward to speaking with you as your calendar permits.
Best,
Your name
How should you prepare for and what questions should you ask at the informational interview?
When possible, an in-person informational interview should be requested but if the individual is not from the area, you can also schedule a phone interview. In my experience, a 30-minute interview should be sufficient for the first conversation. This time frame will allow you to ask about five to six open-ended questions. Other questions will naturally arise in your conversation so try not to come with a notebook full of questions expecting your interviewer to answer all of them. If you have more questions, you can always make plans to meet again. These future meetings will allow you to slowly develop a relationship with your contact.
Remember that the goals of your interview are to understand that person’s job responsibilities, how they found the position, an awareness of career trajectory for someone in their position, information about one or two other individuals who can share their experiences with you, and information about the future of their industry. Here are some of the questions I often ask on my first informational interview.
1. Can you describe a typical day at your job? In other words, what are your job responsibilities?
2. What types of skills and experiences are necessary to succeed in your position?
3. How did you navigate the job search to get this position?
4. What are some of the career advancement opportunities for someone in your position?
5. From my research, I’ve found these companies/agencies in your field, can you tell me anything about them?
6. Can you recommend anyone else for me to talk to in order to learn more about your industry?
After your informational interview, don’t forget to send a thank you email or better yet a thank you card within 24 – 48 hours to the person you interviewed. This will send a message that you value their time. Here is a template of a thank you email I have used.
Dear Ms. _____:
I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective and
background. I have found your advice insightful and this will help
me navigate my own career path. I would like to keep in touch
with you as I move forward in this process. And if I can ever
return the favor, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best,
Your name
Additional resources on informational interviews can be found in the following articles. I have used some of the questions generated by the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education for this article.
NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education
https://www.training.nih.gov/assets/Informational_Interviews.pdf
What is an Informational Interview Anyway?
http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2012/07/26/what-is-an-informational-interview-anyway
The Art (& Science) of Informational Interviewing
http://piep.berkeley.edu/sites/PIEP/files/shared/doc/The%20Art%20(%26%20Science)%20of%20Informational%20Interviewing.pdf
The Informational Interview
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/
2009_03_20/caredit.a0900039
Informational Interviews and Job Shadowing
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/informational-interviews-and-job-shadowing-14017472