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by Paul Stevens Founder / Director, The Centre for Worklife Counselling

1. Before you decide on a particular activity, never be satisfied with just a title or label or printed description. Be sure that you know very thoroughly the tasks and responsibilities which are within the activity you are considering.

2. Talk and listen: Talk to people who actually do the activity � or one similar � that interests you. Ask them to describe the tasks, the performance expectations and all that is associated with it.

3. Go in person, do not use the telephone: Experience shows that during a face-to-face discussion:

� the positive and negative aspects of an activity are described in far greater detail than during an interview by telephone or a series of emails

� information on the nature of the activity is much more significant

� the likely �satisfiers� in this kind of activity make more sense

In most situations, do not carry out your activity information gathering by telephone or email. Only as a last resort, use these methods to gather information.

Questions I Could Ask in an Information Interview

1. How did you get involved in this activity? This question will please your information source because: � it demonstrates that you are interested in the person; � each person thinks their experiences and life journey are special; � people like to talk about themselves.

2. What is it like doing this activity? This will help you verify if the activity really interests you.

3. What examples do you have of what this activity is like? This will give you examples of situations or incidents and show how the person behaves and what effect the activity has.

4. What do you like least about this activity? You can ascertain whether you will be able to cope with the inherent difficulties of this activity. Because the person has shared confidences by answering your first three questions, little will be held back. You will really benefit from this information. The truth now emerges about what the activity really demands.

5. What are the performance standards required from the tasks involved in this activity? With the help of your information source, note down the performance standards and then make a list of the talents, competencies, knowledge and behaviours necessary to carry out these tasks successfully.

6. What skills are needed to complete these tasks successfully? This will help you identify the skills that will be transferable from your past experiences. This will be useful later when you select data about yourself for any application which may be required.

To learn more about information interviewing and reality testing, visit: http://www.worklife.com.au http://www.careermastery.com

� 2002 by Worklife Pty Ltd, Sydney

Paul Stevens, Founder / Director of The Centre for Worklife Counselling, may be contacted by email at: worklife@ozemail.com.au