Interview Assignment

The objective:
Interview a person who you’d like to have as a mentor. Identify what it is about them that you
find interesting, and try to bring that out through the interview. You should develop your own line
of questioning but suggested topics are their career path, how they got to where they are now,
their struggles, how they think about their art, their work style/habits, etc. Ideally, an interview
should be a small segment of a larger conversation so that perhaps this meeting can evolve into
a longer relationship.

Medium:
Please capture the interview in video or audio format.

Length:
The video or audio file should be 3-5 minutes long. Your entire interview will likely be longer, but
please excerpt a 3-5 minute portion to share with the class.

Filming:
For in-person interviews, you are welcome to use your phone to record the video or audio.

For Skype interviews, there are a number of free apps you can download to record a Skype call
from your computer, for either Mac or PC.

Upload instructions:
Upload your video to Blackboard.

Overall, keep your intention in mind:

● Make your interviewee feel comfortable (they might be more nervous than you)
○ Making small-talk or bringing up a shared interest based on your research of
them (ideally, try to do this in a non-sketchy way)
○ Listen to them and pay attention to their body language – try to read and
perceive them, in addition to focusing on what you need to do
● Think about the long-term relationship you may want with them, and not just this moment
○ Consider asking if you can stay in touch with them, or if you can reach out to ask
a question from time to time

After the interview:

● Send them a thank-you note, definitely by email – handwritten is an even better option
● Share the video with them when it is ready to get their approval

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Here is a sample letter template that you can use as you prepare to reach out to your interview
subject. Feel free to use this as a starting point, or create your own letter. I highly encourage
you to research the person very well before you reach out, so that you can personalize the letter
to reflect your interest.

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Dear _______,

I am a student at the Peabody Institute University, studying _____ and interested in pursuing a
career in _____.

I am currently taking a career preparation course. One of our projects is to interview a person
whose career we admire. Your work in _____ has been an inspiration to me and I would love to
ask you some questions.

Would you be available to meet with me/Skype/speak on the phone for a 20-30 minute interview
sometime in the next 6 weeks? If you are open to it, I would like to record the interview to share
with my classmates.

Sincerely,

________