Preparing for the Informational Interview

An informational interview is a recommended tool for exploring career options. In M3 Assignment 2, you will submit a written account of the informational interview you conducted with the psychology professional.

You will ask the interviewee to describe the educational and training steps (the career paths) he or she took to reach the current position. You will also ask the interviewee to describe, in some detail, the job responsibilities associated with the position. The interview must be at least thirty minutes long. Ideally, it should be conducted in person. If that is not feasible, a phone interview is adequate.

Begin to prepare for this informational interview by identifying the professional you plan to interview. Ideally, the professional should be engaged in a career that you hope to pursue. (You may want to identify a second candidate in case your initial choice is unable to complete the interview with you.) This professional may work in your local area, but that is not necessary. If you cannot identify a professional easily, ask your friends and family if they know anyone who works in the field of psychology. You may also want to phone your local community mental health center or social services agency to ask for names and contact information of potential professionals you could interview. Contact your facilitator for guidance if you have difficulty in identifying someone.

Tasks

In a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document, address the following:

Provide the following identifying information about the individual you have selected:
The name
The job title (licensed psychologist, social worker, or case manager)
The level of education (a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree)
A description of job responsibilities or day-to-day tasks
The type of license, if applicable
The state of residence and practice
The e-mail address or phone number
Develop a list of at least fifteen questions to ask in your informational interview. Research possible questions to include using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet. Refer to the Job Resources document to conduct an Internet search using the search terms “informational interview questions” in order to find suggested questions. Be sure to put them into your own words for the purpose of this assignment and to give credit to your source by using in-text citations and a reference list in APA format.
Ask the interviewee about his or her work, academic preparation, and advice. In addition, include the interviewee’s answers to questions on the following topics:
The experience, skills, and knowledge necessary for success in a career in psychology or in graduate school
Relevant professional organizations
His or her views on professional ethics and academic integrity
The role of psychological research in his or her work
His or her greatest challenges and rewards
His or her reasons for choosing the field
Develop a script (word-for-word written statement) that you will use during the warm-up (meet-and-greet) portion of the interview. What will you say to the interviewee when you meet him or her? What will you do? For example, will you shake the person’s hand and introduce yourself? Include small talk of a professional nature that will serve as an introduction and explanation of the purpose of the interview. Demonstrate in your script your ability to interact professionally and effectively in a professional environment.
This assignment is preparatory work for the interview to be conducted later in this course. Do not conduct the interview for this assignment.

Submission Details:

Write a 1–2-page paper in Microsoft Word format. Apply APA standards to cite sources. Use the following file-naming convention: M1_A3_Lastname_Firstname.doc.
By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions Area.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources. Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.