Informational Interview: Broadening Helping Field Professional Students’ Perception of Employment Opportunities in the Real World

Abstract

This study examines the impact of an informational interview assignment on students’ understanding of the human services field and their educational and career plans. Twenty-three students completed both questionnaires and open-ended questions in this study. Questionnaires were collected before and after the assignment to assess student’s knowledge, beliefs, attitudes of their major as well as a measurement of their confidence in their ability to succeed in the major; open-ended questions for student reflection were also collected after the assignment. Findings from the survey and open-ended questions suggest (a) the assignment was helpful for students to gain an understanding of the field, (b) students had an increase in a positive attitude toward the field, (c) the need to help students further clarify educational and career goals. Future research should encourage longitudinal studies of the effect of the informational interview on student’s educational and career plans.

Keywords:

• Informational interview
• students’ perception
• helping field profession

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interests was reported by the author.