It’s great to have a training goal. But it’s useful to see if it’s a good goal.
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Will you have a job when you finish training? For example, you may love TVs. And you may want to only fix TVs. But not many people get their TVs fixed. They just buy new TVs. You might not find many jobs as a TV repair person. You might need to learn new skills so that you can fix other electronic things as well.
Is your training goal a good goal? You can find out. You can do an information interview. An information interview helps you get information about a job you want. You can talk to people who do this job. Or you can talk to the companies where you want to work. You can find out if the job will be a good fit for you.
Example of an information interview
Becky is excited about being a health care aide. But what if there are no jobs for her? She needs to find out.
Becky calls the nursing home. She talks to Ms. Green, the manager. Becky says she wants an information interview. Ms. Green says Becky can come the next day. That night, Becky makes a list of questions. Here are some of the things that they talked about during the information interview:
Becky: Thank you for seeing me, Ms. Green.
Ms. Green: I’m glad to help. I see you are prepared. You have a list of questions.
Becky: Yes. I don’t want to waste your time. I want to be a health care aide. But will there be a job for me after I finish my training?
Ms. Green: Lots of people live longer these days. So they are getting older. They need help. Many will move into nursing homes. I think nursing homes will need lots of health care aides.
Becky: I’m glad to hear there will be jobs for me! How much does a health care aide earn?
Ms. Green: In Alberta an aide can earn between $17 and $26 an hour.
Becky: Thank you. This is my last question. Do you have jobs for health care aides?
Ms. Green: I am always looking for skilled, friendly aides.
Becky: Thank you so much, Ms. Green.
Becky knows that her training goal is a good one. Now it’s your turn. Is your training goal a good goal? If you don’t know, you will need an information interview.
Not all information interviews have answers that you want to hear. You may learn that you need even more skills or training to get the job you want.
You may even need to think of a new training goal.
Is your goal a good goal? If you’re not sure about a new training goal, read Easy Reading: Make Some Job Choices. Or ask your career advisor or tutor.
If your training goal is good, then it’s time to go to the next step. It's time to think about your skills.