Interview Questions
Introduction:
In one of my courses, we’re asking people to share their experiences and perspectives on how best to prepare for entering their field of work. I, personally, am interested in XXXXX (insert the field/career of the person you’re interviewing). I only have a few questions for you, but I’m genuinely interested in what you have to say. Afterwards, I’ll be discussing your feedback with my classmates, taking from them what we can to best prepare for our future careers. I’m really excited and grateful you’re taking the time to do this.
Information to be included in Transcript (i.e., put this at the top of the page):
Person’s name
Occupation
Contact information (phone or e-mail, so we can confirm their participation, if needed)
College Major
Questions:
1.What core skill sets, knowledge, or experiences do you feel will best prepare a current college student interested in pursuing work in your field?
2.If you were in a position to design a college program from the ground up specifically to prepare students to enter your field, what would you ensure was included (specific training, course content, experiences, etc.)?
3.Were there specific experiences, courses, or content you received in college that helped you succeed in your career?
4.Are there specific experiences, training, content you wish you received in college that you think could have helped further your career?
5.What problems, frustrations, or concerns do you see with recent college graduates entering your field these days?
6.How important are effective writing skills play in this career? How so?

SAMPLE
{ STUDENT NAME HERE }
Interview with Bruce Rozengaard
Position: Quality Control Manager at FOX News
Contacts: email – brozengaard@aol.com
; cell – (716) 555-1805
College: UB
Major: Communication
What core skill sets, knowledge, or experiences do you feel will best prepare a current college student interested in pursuing work in your field?
First and foremost, the ability to write to pictures in true TV style. Many times we came across new recruits who delved into a topic without considering what visual material was available, and they used long, complex sentences in their writings. That may be fine with the print media but certainly not with TV.
Secondly, a good grasp of hot issues in different parts of the world will definitely be a big plus for those aspiring to excel in the industry. Globalization has made the world a smaller place and the world economy more integrated. What appears to be a local news story could often have a global perspective. One example of that is last month’s disastrous building collapse in Bangladesh and the link to international brand name garment retailers.
Thirdly, keeping up with technological advances is also necessary, especially in mobile networking. For reasons, it is becoming cost increasingly frequent for news crews working at a distant location to use the Internet to send their works back to the station.
Fourth, they need good interpersonal skills.
PROBE: What do you mean when you say interpersonal skills? What exactly are you referencing?
They need to be able to talk to people. To carry a conversation. To be polite.
To lead a work team. Handle conflict.
Were there specific experiences, courses, or content you received in college that helped you succeed in your career? How so?

Apart from the coursework and practicum at school, authentic experience in journalism is also an important component of the students’ training. An internship program in the industry will give the students a competitive edge when they hit the job market. An internship would have gotten my foot in the door earlier, given me experience in the field before hitting the job market.
Are there specific experiences, training, content you wish you received in college that you think could have helped further your career?
I didn’t do an internship in college, which was a mistake. If I were to do it over again,
I’d definitely do that. I didn’t study abroad, either, which would have been a good thing for me. It would have helped me mature a bit more, see the world. It’s one of my regrets about college.

What problems, frustrations, or concerns do you see with recent college graduates entering your field these days?

They should be better read. Read continually, soaking up as much information and making as much connections as possible. They aren’t doing that enough.

A lot of current affair issues to keep up with. They need to be updated.
•
PROBE: What do you mean by be better read?
• They need to keep up with current events, not just their Facebook friends.
• PROBE: What do you mean about making as much connections as possible?
• I mean understanding the world around them, how it’s all connected. How does something in India affect something in Russia, which then affects us in the US.
If you were in a position to design a college program from the ground up specifically to prepare students to enter your field, what would you ensure was included (specific training, course content, experiences, etc.)?
College graduates in America are often comparatively weak in terms of their general knowledge about the world and their understanding of Asia in particular. But Asia, especially China, is a rising power on the world stage.
A recent Reuters report cited U.S. intelligence analysts as saying that by 2030, Asia is likely to overtake North America and Europe combined in global power based on
GDP, military spending and technological investment. And China, now the world’s second largest economy, will probably surpass the United States a few years before
2030.
Aspiring journalists in America need to have a deeper understanding of what is going on in Asia.
The inclusion of courses about contemporary China and Asia and world economics in the core program plus student exchange schemes with Asian universities may help serve this purpose.
What role do effective writing skills play in this field?
They are essential. If you can’t write well, you won’t be allowed to interact with clients or the public. People judge your intelligence by your writing. Poor writing means you won’t likely advance up the corporate ladder, if you even get hired in the first place.