Value of interview skills:

  1. Job interviews: Interview skills are crucial for job seekers. A well-executed interview can make the difference between getting the job or not. Interview skills help individuals communicate their strengths and abilities effectively, answer questions with confidence and make a positive impression on potential employers.
  2. Communication skills: Interview skills can help individuals become better communicators, enabling them to ask better questions, create a deeper base of knowledge and engage more thoughtfully in conversation. It’s a skillset that also can help spark new interests!
  3. Research skills: Interview skills are essential for conducting research in many fields, including journalism, market research and the social sciences. A good interview can elicit valuable information, insights and perspectives that might not be available through other sources.
  4. Networking: Networking is an important skill in any field and interview skills can help make connections and build relationships with potential employers, clients, allies, mentors and/or colleagues.
  5. Self-reflection: Interview skills can help individuals reflect on their own experiences, values and goals. By practicing self-reflection through interviews, individuals can gain a better understanding of themselves and their strengths, while using this information to make informed decisions about their lives and careers.

Conduct Your Own Interview

  1. Identify the experts. You can contact 100 people and only one person may return your message. Where can you find an expert on your topic? Check social media, universities, media articles, local associations or government agencies.
  2. Write an email template that briefly introduces yourself, states your purpose, outlines what you would like to interview them about and adds a timeframe or set of dates to connect.
  3. Set an interview time. With any responses:
    • Research the expert further.
    • Outline the intended focus and goal of the interview (preparing and providing sample questions if requested).
    • Set a date, time and method for conducting the interview.
    • Remind the interviewee a day before and restate the topic you will be discussing.
  4. Prepare five to ten questions. Don’t ask the obvious questions that can be found by conducting a Google search, unless you need a specific quote from a specific expert to help demonstrate a point. Take the time to settle on the right questions, realizing you can only ask so many questions and most interviews don’t last for more than 30 minutes. Equally, don’t lock yourself into your pre-prepared questions. Be open to asking questions that come up during the interview, allowing for a more organic, insightful and revealing conversation.
  5. Test your interviewing method and have all materials ready.
  6. Record the interview in order to review what you’ve learned and ensure you quote the interviewee accurately.
  7. Thank the interviewee before and at the end of your interview. It’s important to recognize and appreciate when someone is generous with their time.
  8. Create a transcript of the conversation and highlight important information. Research the answers you received to separate fact from opinion (if the interview is focused on experiences, rather than knowledge, this is less relevant) and/or be sure to interview a different expert, to add supporting or competing information to your quiver.
  9. Send a follow up thank you message and offer to briefly follow-up on your progress to let them know what specifically they helped you with.

Reflect and improve upon each interview you conduct. Ask yourself which questions elicited the best responses. Ask yourself which questions fell flat. Ask yourself which questions you didn’t ask that you wish you did, so you’re aware of a gap that you need to fill in future interviews.

Reflect on the interviewee. Not every interview will be successful. Some interviewees aren’t able to speak freely (due to government, company or organizational policies) and some will try to sell or advocate for a specific position, failing to actually answer your question in full, whether you realize it at the time or not. Use these reflections to help weigh the validity of the information you received and to help you determine future interview requests.