Assignment 1: Interview With CJ Professional
This week you will interview a professional in the criminal justice field to gain a better understanding of their work. Interviews are a great way to collect in-depth information about a topic that could not be as effectively captured through other qualitative or quantitative data collection tools. The goal of the assignment is to select a criminal justice profession that you would like to work in and/or learn more about. Choose open-ended questions rather than those that can be answered merely with a “yes” or “no,” as this provides greater information. Use the Interview Question and Answer Form to conduct the interview. Five questions have already been prepared for you, and you will create another five questions. You will want to be sure to take detailed notes while conducting the interview, as you will use the notes to summarize the data collected.
Read an article on Informational Interviewing to prepare for your interview.
Download the Interview Question and Answer Form as a guide. Fill this form out as you conduct the interview and copy and paste it as an appendix to your assignment. (This form must be included with your assignment submission.)
You interview participant will be required to sign a Consent Form prior to being interviewed. Include an image of the signed form in your appendix and upload it to the Unit 3 Dropbox along with your Unit 3 Assignment.
Prepare a 750- to 1,050-word essay outlining the following:
· Who did you interview, and what is their position in the field?
· When did you conduct the interview (date and time)? Did the time you conducted the interview have any effect on the information you collected? Explain why the time did or did not have an impact on your data collection.
· What did you learn from the interview? Be sure to discuss findings from eachof the questions that you asked, as readers will not have access to your data collection table.
· What other data collection tools might you have used to obtain information about your selected profession? How would the collected data have been different if you had used these other tools?
· What information would you have liked to obtain, if any, but did not get as a result of using the interview tool? Would you do anything differently were you to conduct a full study on the selected profession? Explain.
Attach your complete Interview Question and Answer Form (data collection table) with all of the questions and answers as an appendix.
Attach the signed Consent Form as an appendix; you can take a picture of the consent and attach a JPG of the photograph to your assignment.
Format your assignment consistent with APA guidelines.
Reference
Crosby, O XXXXXXXXXXInformational interviewing: Get the inside scoop on careers. Occupational Outlook Quarterly. http:
www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2002/summe
art03.pdf
Informational interviewing
32 Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Summer 2002
ant to know what a career is really
like? Ask someone with first-hand
experience.
Many people wonder anxiously about
which type of job they’ll like or how they
can
eak into the career of their dreams.
Surprisingly, very few people ever take
advantage of one of the best ways to
answer their questions about careers:
asking the workers already in them.
Talking to people about their jobs and
asking them for advice is called informa-
tional interviewing, a term coined by
career counselor and author Richard
Bolles. And the technique usually works
very well for people exploring careers.
Stories abound of students who used
informational interviewing to decide
etween occupations or to find a way to
convert their interests to a paying job.
Some people who conduct informa-
tional interviews discover their dream jo
isn’t so dreamy after all. They learn the
truth in time to change course and find a
career that suits them. Others have thei
career goals confirmed.
Informational interviewing can be as
simple as striking up conversations with
friends and others about their occupa-
tions. But to take full advantage of this
career exploration tool requires a more
methodical approach.
Read on to learn the purpose of
informational interviewing; whom to
interview; how to set up, prepare for, and
conduct an interview; and what to do
afterward.
The what and why
of informational interviews
An informational interview is a
ief
meeting between a person who wants to
investigate a career and a person working
in that career. The interviews usually last
20 to 30 minutes.
The purpose of an informational
interview is not to get a job. Instead, the
goal is to find out about jobs you might
like—to see if they fit your interests and
personality.
Specifically, interviews can help you:
◆Learn more about the realities of
working in a particular occupation;
◆Decide among different occupations o
choose an occupational specialty;
◆Focus career goals;
◆Discover careers you never knew
existed;
◆Uncover your professional strengths
and weakness; and
◆Find different ways to prepare for a
particular career.
Informational interviews also provide
an inside look at an organization you may
want to work for in the future. And they
polish communication skills, helping
jobseekers gain confidence and poise
efore the high-pressure situation of a jo
interview.
Deciding whom to interview
Before selecting someone to interview,
you’ll need to decide which occupations
you want to learn more about.
You may already have some ideas
about the kinds of work you want to do,
ut, if you are stymied, consider visiting a
career or guidance counselor. He or she
can help you to clarify your interests and
favorite skills and goals for earnings,
work setting, and future education. Caree
guidance tests also can produce lists of
careers that match one’s temperament.
Browsing occupational descriptions,
including those in the U.S. Department of
Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook
and O*NET occupational database, is
another good way to identify careers, as is
eading books written by career experts.
Additional detailed information is
available from professional associations
and trade magazines. The more you
esearch possible occupations, the bette
your questions will be when conducting
informational interviews.
After identifying a few possible
occupations, it is time to choose people to
Informational
interviewing
Get the inside scoop on careers
y Olivia Crosby
Olivia Crosby is a contributing editor to the OOQ,
XXXXXXXXXX.
W
Informational interviews help
jobseekers gain confidence and
poise.
Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Summer XXXXXXXXXX
34 Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Summer 2002
interview. Look for people actually
working in the occupations you are
considering. These people probably know
more about what the work is like than
human resources specialists or hiring
managers do. Also, choose people with
the same level of responsibility you
would have if you entered the occupation.
If you would be working in an entry-level
job, interview workers who are at or close
to entry level rather than interviewing
supervisors.
How can you find these people? The
easiest way to start is to ask people you
already know. Family members, friends,
teachers, or past coworkers may work in
the occupation you want to explore, o
they may know people who do.
Career centers and alumni offices of
high schools or colleges are another good
source of contacts. These offices usually
keep track of graduates and their occupa-
tions. Many schools maintain lists of
graduates who have agreed to give
informational interviews. Schools also
may have the names of other community
members who have offered to provide
career assistance.
In addition, professional associations
maintain membership directories and
often publish them. Many also produce
trade magazines and newsletters describ-
ing the activities of specific members.
These members might be potential
interview subjects. Speaking to associa-
tion administrators can be useful, as well.
They often know a few members who are
especially willing to talk with students
and career changers.
Interviewees also can be found by
contacting businesses and organizations
that hire the types of workers you hope to
consult. To find a person to interview, call
an organization and ask to speak with the
human resources department or anothe
appropriate office. If a caller wanted to
interview a graphic designer, for instance,
he or she could ask for the design
department.
Making contact
After finding people to consult, you are
eady to a
ange interviews. Contact the
people you hope to meet, and ask to
speak with them
iefly about thei
careers, making it clear that you want
information—not a job.
For most people, this is the most
difficult part of informational interview-
ing. Asking strangers for career help can
e daunting, and some people wonde
why anyone would agree to be inter-
viewed.
But, in fact, many people are willing
to help students and career changers
explore occupations. People often like
talking about themselves and thei
careers. Some are happy to advance thei
profession by encouraging others to ente
it. And a few found their own careers as a
esult of informational interviews and are
eager to pass on their good fortune. Even
if some people are not willing or able to
talk with you, chances are that others will
e.
There are three main ways to a
ange
for an informational interview: through an
introduction from a mutual acquaintance,
y letter, and by telephone.
Mutual acquaintance introduction.
Friends and family can be very helpful in
setting up an informational interview. If
someone you know knows someone you
would like to interview, that person might
e willing to make the initial request fo
you. After he or she makes the first
equest, you can call to a
ange a date and
time for the interview.
Friends, family, and acquaintances
also can become refe
als—people whose
names you can mention when writing o
calling contacts yourself. People are
usually more willing to talk to those with
whom they have a connection. A mutual
acquaintance can be that connection.
Letter. A more common way to ask fo
an interview is to send a letter. Some
employers prefer to receive a letter before
you call to set up interviews. In part, this
is because letters give them time to check
their schedules before responding. When
writing a letter, explain who you are, why
you want to meet, and how long you
expect the meeting to take.
You also might mention how you
found the person’s name. Did someone
suggest that you write? Did you find the
name through your school? Did you read
about him or her in a newsletter o
industry publication? This kind of
information adds credibility to you
equest.
In the last part of the letter, state that
you will telephone for a response on a
particular day. Be sure to make this
followup call. (See the sample letter.)
Telephone. Calling people directly is a
faster—but often more stressful—way to
a
ange an interview. Callers give the
same type of information they would give
in a letter. They say hello, ask if it is a
good time to talk, mention who they are
and how they got the person’s name, and
explain that they would like to meet to
learn more about the person’s career. To
help this introduction go smoothly,
experts advise practicing