Interview with a director, but not for a job.
July 5, 2010 1:10 PM Subscribe
[non-job interview] Hello. With the aim of publishing in on a specialized website, I have the chance to interview the director of one of the largest companies in the field.
The interview will be over email, I was thinking about asking five questions and then five more, to expand on the answers of the first five.
What shall I ask ?
What I don't know is what kind of cut should I give the interview. I would like to use the chance to interest the readers. For example giving an idea on how is it to work in the field of interest, how one goes about a career in that kind of business. I am also interested about the company itself, about its past and future. I also would like to ask about some specific topics that are now "hot" in the industry. Or maybe not all of this are interesting?
But... I can't come up with a reasonable template, or even the questions.
Any guide? Really, any suggestion is appreciated.
thanks in advance
What I don't know is what kind of cut should I give the interview. I would like to use the chance to interest the readers. For example giving an idea on how is it to work in the field of interest, how one goes about a career in that kind of business. I am also interested about the company itself, about its past and future. I also would like to ask about some specific topics that are now "hot" in the industry. Or maybe not all of this are interesting?
But... I can't come up with a reasonable template, or even the questions.
Any guide? Really, any suggestion is appreciated.
thanks in advance
Well, I will tell you what I use as a model and you will be like "huh"? But: Francesco Scavullo. There's thousands more, try them.
I would also suggest that you use behavioral job interview questions as a topic. For instance: "Tell me about a time you really messed something up and how you did or didn't fix it."
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:30 PM on July 5, 2010
I would also suggest that you use behavioral job interview questions as a topic. For instance: "Tell me about a time you really messed something up and how you did or didn't fix it."
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:30 PM on July 5, 2010
Also can I add that my number one hit or miss question has to do with birthdays. If people are turning 40 or 50, the topic of their birthday and what it means to them can be EXCEPTIONALLY fruitful.
I started off an interview once with the birthday question and it was so worth it, the entire rest of the interview was very revealing, I thought. (This is easier by phone than by email, but migth work.) It went like this:
So via that method we got to then branch out to talk about: what manhood meant, what fatherhood meant, what mortality meant, etc.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:34 PM on July 5, 2010
I started off an interview once with the birthday question and it was so worth it, the entire rest of the interview was very revealing, I thought. (This is easier by phone than by email, but migth work.) It went like this:
Q: How does 39 feel?
A: My father died when he was 39. I was 8 when he was 39. All my life I've wondered about 39 and never wondered about 40 at all. 39, 2 months and a day was how old he was when he died.
So via that method we got to then branch out to talk about: what manhood meant, what fatherhood meant, what mortality meant, etc.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:34 PM on July 5, 2010
A guy in my city just started doing The Same Five Questions, a site where he asks each interviewee just five short questions. Maybe there are some ideas there?
posted by limeonaire at 1:57 PM on July 5, 2010
posted by limeonaire at 1:57 PM on July 5, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
But you may want to start off with asking this man how he got started in the industry and what it means to him and go from there.
posted by inturnaround at 1:17 PM on July 5, 2010