Reflection on Professional Employment

Running Head: REFLECTION ON PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 1
Reflection on Professional Employment
Name
Institution Affiliation
Course
Date

REFLECTION ON PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 2
Graduate employment skills and Informational Interview
Introduction
An informational interview is an informal type of conversation that engages a job seeker
(potential employee) with an experienced individual working with the area of interest and has
been used to seek information, guidance, and clarification on the job, culture and the
expectations from the job. The reason for conducting this informational interview is to ensure
that I get to know about the prospective industry and company that am planning to work with in
future. The event will ensure that I get the desired knowledge that will make me equipped for the
career. The courage to participate in an actual employment will also be increased due to the
conversation between the experienced person and me in that field (Kumari, 2012). The
informational interview will also form a basis for getting advice on my career, the industry, the
corporate culture of the company and the leadership of the company.
Important details
The meeting for the informational interview was to be conducted in Sydney town in
Shangri-La Hotel. The time for the meeting on the informational interview was set at 5:30 pm
since most of the people at that hour are off from their jobs, therefore, making it appropriate. The
organization of interest that am planning to get a job in the near future is KPMG Australia. The
person interviewed during the informational interview is Marwick Godden. The individual is an
assistant officer in the department of human resource in the company (Young, & Muller, 2014).
The reason for choosing this person is that he has a strong connection with the company and
understands its operations better. The individual also knows the hiring procedures of the

REFLECTION ON PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 3
company since he deals with the department of human resources that deals with hiring and firing.
Therefore, getting information from him will mean that the information will be sufficient and
reliable. The forum will also open room for future consideration for a job since I will sell my
capability to the individual.
The reason for choosing this individual was because he was attached to the department of
the human resource with the company. He was selected on merit since he had the specific
qualification and had worked for the organization for quite a long period. I had to secure his
contacts from a friend and then organized for the meeting. The informational interview took less
than an hour since it was brief and direct to the points of interest (Swider, Zimmerman, &
Barrick, 2015). Therefore, during that short period, I ensured that I grasped every critical detail
about the organization and also ensured that I made the person understand my education level
and the potential I possess for the organization.
Important questions
There are important questions that I ensured that I ask during the informational interview
since I had to get information regarding the same. The crucial issues were ten during the session,
and they are as listed below.
a. What previous professional experience has assisted you most in your current roles?
“I had worked for similar companies that provided me with the knowledge that is required in this
field.” Asking such a question gives the interviewer an opportunity to understand how a person
arrived at the current state and helped them to prepare for the same.

REFLECTION ON PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 4
b. What information do you wish you had been informed before you landed for this job and
how could it be of use? The vital information you should not miss is the challenges in
that field since it prepares the individual psychologically.
c. How do you see this job changing in the next ten years? Jobs and organizations are
established in a changing world. Therefore, the organization, the employees and
prospective employees should accept that the organization will have to change in the
future and be prepared for the same.
d. What do you like least about the career and the organization as a whole? Asking this
question will give you an insight into the area of weakness on the job and where the
organization has failed.
e. What are the major components of your job on a daily basis?
f. Could you probably suggest some ways in which a student can get some of the
experience required as an entry requirement for this job?
g. How has the company embraced technology and how does it make use of the new
technology that is emerging on a day after the other for internal communication and
marketing the company? The world and the business operations are made to change
because of the technology innovations and for every organization to a competitive
advantage it should embrace the use of technology.
h. Is there an underlying philosophy of the company, and if so, what is the philosophy? (is it
a service, a product or people oriented organization?)