“Informational Interview” was a term I had never heard of until being a part of the internship seminar, and it sounded somewhat intimidating. The comforting part was learning that it isn’t an actual job interview, just an opportunity to get some information about a field we’re interested in and make a new contact. My dad mentioned to me that his coworker’s wife Nancy works at a printing company that deals with the type of print design work I’m interested in. I was able to contact her and schedule a time for us to get together. She sounded pleased that I was interested, which eased my nerves. When I arrived at the shop, I was first given a tour of the facility. That was probably the coolest part, as I’ve only seen these places in my textbooks and online. As a designer, it is so important to be in close communication with your printer, so understanding the behind-the-scenes work was very beneficial to me. Then we were able to sit down and talk. Nancy was so easy to talk to and made me feel comfortable asking all sorts of questions. We talked about her career path, and how many jobs she’s had leading up to this one. What I found interesting was that although she is older, she still wants to expand her career and maybe even move on to bigger companies. She said to me, “After all this time, I still want more.” Her ambition was inspiring. I could tell she’s more than hardworking, and her passion shines through when she talks about what she does. That assured me that it’s not likely that my first job is where I’ll end up for good. I could work 10 jobs before I land where I want. It gives me confidence entering the job world with little experience and room to grow. Nancy was also willing to look at my portfolio and give me feedback. I show my portfolio to as many people as I can because I feel like I can never get enough feedback. Coming from a professional in the field, it’s even better. She was impressed with some of my larger projects, and told me that it would be a good idea to make up projects of my own and design them. That way, the majority of the portfolio won’t be school assignments that 20 other people also have. She was so helpful and gave me many great ideas to build up my work. She took my business card and said if she learns of job openings she would pass them on to me. That is more than I could have asked for out of this interview, and I left with some good insight. The more I sit and talk with people in the design field, the more comfortable I feel pursuing my career. Everyone I’ve spoken to has been encouraging and helpful in so many ways, and it makes it easier for me to take my portfolio and walk into a real interview with confidence.
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