How can you Explore?
We strongly suggest that before you look for internships and/or jobs that you do a lot of Informational Interviewing. This process is talking with real people to both investigate options and start building your “Tribe” of people to help you and take risks on you in the future. It is a process of thoughtfully connecting with alumni from your school and industry execs who are just out of school or another 5-10 years older to talk about their paths (NOT about looking for a job or internship).
Many people are challenged by the daunting task of making first contact with someone they don’t know; affectionately known as “Fear of Reaching Out” or FORO. This is one of the biggest hurdles in career work for a lot of individuals. Some may not want to talk to you, and that’s okay. You may need to reach out to a decent variety in order to make the right connections for your path.
