An informational interview is an interview you set up with someone who works in a job that interests you, and it can be a fantastic way to explore a possible new career. The point of the interview is not to ask for a job. Instead, you gather information about a specific type of job while building your network of business contacts.

Whenever I tell clients about informational interviews, I know they are skeptical. I’m sure plenty of them think it’s something silly that career counselors tell people to do, but no one really does it.

Actually, that’s not the case. An informational interview is an extremely useful tool for developing your network, learning about new careers and sometimes even finding job leads. It’s also the best way I know for gaining in-depth, (mostly) unbiased inside information about a career.

People often worry that they’ll have trouble setting up an informational interview saying, “People at work are busy. They won’t have time to talk to me about their job.” For the most part, this is not true. In my own experience setting up informational interviews for myself, clients and friends, I would say about 8 out of 10 people asked are willing to participate in an informational interview. Those are pretty great results; far better than you would get simply cold calling for job leads.

Who Should I Interview?

Normally you would arrange an informational interview with either a human resource professional in an industry that interests you, or with someone who does the type of job that interests you.

If you want to know about the routine tasks of the job, the responsibilities that might not be obvious to someone outside of the industry, and the positive and negative aspects of doing the job, your best bet is to talk to someone who does the job.

On the other hand, if you want to know about labor market trends in your field of interest, whether employers are hiring, what skills, experience and education you’ll need to get a job in that industry and the typical career progression for someone in your field of interest then you would typically be better off talking to a human resource (HR) professional who works in the industry that interests you.

HR professionals probably won’t be able to tell you a lot about the day to day aspects of the job itself, and people who do the job often won’t be able to tell you a lot about the labor market in their field of work. It’s smart to interview a few different people in the same field so you’ll have different perspectives to consider.

How Do I Find People to Interview?

First decide what industry or job interests you, then, I would suggest asking people you know whether they have any contacts in that industry who you could call to request an informational interview. You can also look in business directories or on company websites to find the names and contact information for people you might want to interview and give those people a call.

It’s best to avoid using email initially when you’re arranging an informational interview; calling is much more effective because phone calls are more personal, and they are not as easy to ignore as emails.

Ideally, you should arrange a time to meet with your contact in person. Occasionally you’ll reach someone who will ask to do the interview right away, over the phone. It’s not ideal (you get better information in person), but have some informational interview questions prepared for those situations because they can still be good opportunities to get some inside information about a career that interests you.

Be sure to go to the informational interview prepared to ask smart, well thought out questions. You’ll find a link to sample informational interview questions at the bottom of the article. Be professional and dress to make a good impression. Do respect your contact’s time; if you asked for a twenty minute meeting, keep the interview to twenty minutes (unless your contact clearly wants to continue talking).

I do understand that people can be nervous about arranging informational interviews, but they are really well worth the effort. Conducting informational interviews is a fantastic way to gather detailed career information, build your business contacts and find job leads. They are truly a powerful strategy for career planning and job search.

Computers have become a common and needed part of life in today’s society, making computer education imperative for children. Young children will typically begin to show an interest in the home PC by their toddler years. While it is may be a good idea to begin introducing your toddler to the computer in very short sessions, most children can began to learn and understand a computer’s functionality by preschool age.

Preschool age children can learn to turn the computer on by themselves and will quickly learn to operate the mouse. Simple games that teach and reinforce basic school readiness skills are great for this age. Computer education for preschool age children should be limited to short sessions of about 30 minutes a few times a week.

Many childcare facilities offer computer time as part of their weekly curriculum for preschoolers. Structured games and activities give young children an opportunity to explore the way a computer works. Games that require dragging objects across the screen are excellent for building mouse skills in beginner users. Chose age-appropriate software and websites that involve alphabet and color recognition, shapes, counting, or short stories that are read aloud. Activities that feature music are also enjoyable for a preschooler’s computer time.

Kindergartners are normally still exploring the basics of computer use and will probably do best with activities that reinforce simple skills. As children become more comfortable with the computer, more complex games and activities can be introduced. Computer education for kindergartners typically consists of short sessions of no more than an hour, playing games that correlate with their classroom learning material.

By first grade, children have usually gained a good understanding of how to use a mouse and they are learning to use keyboard letters to type. Games like Typing Instructor for Kids can help young children become fast and efficient computer users. Early elementary age children are ready to move beyond simple reinforcement and skill drill activities to the many different functions of a computer.

First through third graders should use the computer as a supplement for their classroom work. A student studying about stars and planets can use the internet to search for pictures and information about constellations. An assignment about Africa can include a search for videos of African animals. Allow your child to work on his own, but stay close by to prevent access to inappropriate content and to answer any questions.

Software programs that allow children to create, like an art or publishing suite designed specifically for kids, can boost creativity along with providing exposure to technology. Grade level skills can also be practiced and enhanced with math, reading, and spelling computer games. There are a number of kid-friendly websites that provide search engines, games, and interaction opportunities.

Computer education for children should also include writing and creative writing activities. First graders are beginning to familiarize themselves with the keyboard and can write short letters or emails. By second and third grade, children can use word processor programs or writing software designed for children to write and publish their own short stories and poems, as well as use email to write to relatives.

Annie Dias lists some guidelines that can help your team perform as a cohesive unit

Today teamwork has become far more significant that it was a decade ago. Team building skills, therefore, have come to be an essential part of seeking a new job or promotion into the next level of management.

There are several studies that show the effectiveness of working in a team and tell us that a team achieves much more than the same group of people working individually.

So, how can you become a team builder? How can you get the members of your team to work as a cohesive unit?

Here are some guidelines..

Communication: every member of your team must be allowed his share of talk time when he can voice his concerns, air his ideas, and share his thoughts. Any decision taken must be a collective one. Good communication also involves active listening among team members and every team members and values the suggestions of other members.

Trust: every good team must trust each of its members. Only then will they be active and productive.

Define Goals: set clear and specific goals to every members of your team. Team goals must be given separately. Each goal should also come with a set time limit.

Reviews: goals mean nothing unless you monitor them. For Example, you need to conduct a regular progress review on how members are proceeding and what glitches they may have come up against that could affect deadlines. Members of your team should be encourages to sit down regularly to take stock of the situation and review not only their goals but also that of the team so that they can work through any problems that may have arisen. 

Cooperate: every team member must be encouraged to collaborate and cooperate with the others in the team. Remember this is not about personal accomplishments.

Be professional: team members must be willing to set petty differences aside and work together for the greater good of the organization.

Diversity: every team member must enjoy and celebrate the differences in the others. They have to respect the value of being different and you must highlight the fact that being different means getting so many more ideas and new ways of approaching a situation.  

Enthusiasm: encourage members to jump into the team process with enthusiasm.

Collaborate: encourage each team member and see that they feel that they play a vital role in sharing the work.

Acquire these simple traits to become a good team leader

Not everyone can lead. Very often we find individuals who are promoted into leading positions merely because they were high performers in their jobs. But leading is very different to doing a task-oriented job. It requires the individual to have other attributes. The main ones being…

Feedback: an essential quality you need to have if you want to lead others successfully. You need to learn hoe to give feedback. Most people are looking at you for praise, recognition etc..

Listening not hearing: gone are the days when you told someone what to do and to get on with having it done Today this attitude will not work You have to take the team along with you if you want to succeed in any new venture.

Get it Right: leading others also means maintaining the correct balance between delegating work to other people and tracking its progress.

Set targets: set Key Results Areas for each member of your team and see that these are realistic result oriented and achievable.

Train and develop: when you are leading you must also be able to train others.

Leading not a simple process: there are many facets to good leadership. And leading successfully means that you will have a company that is up ad moving with the times. You have to ensure that you are operating at peak performance levels yourself if you want others to emulate your example.

A positive attitude can make life rewarding for yourself and others around you, says Udayan Banerjee

 An old man was walking along the seashore when he came upon a part of the beach where thousands of starfish had been washed ashore. A little further down the area he saw a young woman, frantically picking up the starfish one at a time and tossing them back into the ocean.

“You silly girl!” he exclaimed, “You can’t possibly save all these starfish. There are too many of them. It won’t make any difference”.

The Young woman paused briefly to consider the old man’s words, picked up a starfish and tossed it into the ocean. Then turning to the old man she said very simply,’ I made a difference to that one!”

The old man could only shake his head in awe for he had just been taught a valuable lesson by the young woman.

No matter how insurmountable the task, with a positive attitude you can make a difference. A positive attitude is the first chapter in the book of success. A negative attitude definitely guarantees failure. So, if you want to succeed and make a difference, make difference in your attitude First!”

Here are some ways which should help you develop a positive attitude.
Unshackle yourself from the past: past failures and setbacks tend to create negative emotions which not only affect your present performance but also inhibit you from recognizing future opportunities. So de-focus from the past and re-focus on the possibilities of the future.

Achieve, achieve achieve: achievements boost confidence and self-belief. As your achievement list grows your attitude soars. Once this happens, no mountain will be too high to climb, or for that matter, no boss too difficult to handle.

Get out of your comfort zone: accept new challenges and opportunities and you will discover new skills and qualities you never thought you had before.

Accept failures as stepping stones to success: failures are only a diversion and not the end of the road. Learn from them and move on.

Get into a learning curve:  upgrade your knowledge and skills on a regular basis, The more you know, the more confident you will be and the more positive your attitude.

And last but not the least, work according to your strengths.