亲爱的安妮：我想换个工作，希望把我20年的消费产品营销和品牌推广经验应用到医疗行业。我正打算与我认识的医疗公司资深管理人员进行一对一的面谈，部分原因是想知道他们认为我适合这个行业的哪些工作，这样我可以相应地调整求职重心。

    他们都是大忙人，因此我想充分利用他们给我的时间。巧合的是，我的女儿在今年春季毕业，想要进入金融业，她正在与那个行业里的人进行信息面谈（这是她所在学校里的职业顾问提供的建议）。我们已经制定了一个简短的问题列表，对此你或者你的读者有何建议？有什么避讳吗？——达拉斯老爹

    亲爱的达拉斯老爹：您的问题很有意思。由于信息面试的目的是尽可能多地了解特定行业的情况，因此事先对这个行业知道的越多就越好。“所以，要调查那个行业的最新情况，也要了解与你会面的那个人的背景，”保罗•弗雷伯格说。他曾是麦肯锡公司（McKinsey）的顾问，现在经营着就业指导公司Shimmering Resumes，还著有《何时开始？：成功面试好上岗》（When Can You Start?: How to Ace the Interview and Win the Job）一书。

    “要提出开放式问题”他说。“能用是或否来回答的问题属于封闭式问题。为了从提问中获得真正的见解，需要把面谈变成两个拥有共同兴趣的人之间的工作谈话。开放式问题能够把谈话推往那个方向。”

    自然，你问的问题取决于你最感兴趣的是什么，而且应该根据被提问者的不同而发生变化。但弗雷伯格认为，下面这些问题或许是良好的开始：

    • 你认为这个行业（或职业）在今后几年里的前景如何？你在你的职业生涯中目睹了哪些变化？

    • 如今在这个行业里需要哪些专业化培训或教育？这方面有什么变化？

    • 你认为哪些技能最有用，哪些技能在未来最重要？

    • 你可以讲讲你的日常工作和主要职责吗？

    • 如今在这个行业里工作，最有利和最不利的地方分别是什么？

    • 哪些资源帮助你跟上了这个行业的脚步？你认为哪些行业组织和职业协会最有用？

    • 在你的职业生涯中，有什么事情令你感到吃惊吗？你认为哪些变化最具有挑战性？

    • 如果再来一次，你还会选择这个行业吗？在某些事情上你会不会采取不同的做法？

    • 目前对这个行业影响最大的技术变化是什么？

    • 你的工作对你的生活产生了哪些影响？你认为工作与生活的平衡问题对你的同事有何影响？

    Dear Annie:I'm trying to change careers, hoping to apply my two decades of consumer-product marketing and branding experience to the health care field. I'm at the point where I'd like to set up some one-on-one meetings with networking contacts who are senior managers at health care companies, partly to see where they think my qualifications would fit in the industry, so I can focus my job hunt accordingly.

    These are very busy people, so I want to make the most of whatever time they can give me. Coincidentally, my daughter, who is graduating this spring and wants to go into finance, is doing informational interviews with people in that field (on the advice of a career counselor at her college). We've come up with a short list of questions, but do you or your readers have any suggestions? Is there anything to avoid asking? -- Dallas Dad

    Dear D.D.:Interesting question. Since your goal in an informational interview is to find out as much as you can about your chosen field, the more you already know about it, the better. "So be sure to research both the latest developments in the industry and the background of the person you're meeting," says Paul Freiberger, a former McKinsey consultant who now runs a career coaching firm called Shimmering Resumes and the author of When Can You Start?: How to Ace the Interview and Win the Job.

    "Keep your questions open-ended," he adds. "Questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no are dead ends. In order to gain any real insight from it, you want the interview to expand into a working conversation between two people with shared interests. Open-ended questions push things in that direction."

    Naturally, what you ask depends on what interests you most and will vary with each of your interviewees, but Freiberger suggests these queries as possible starting points:

    Where do you see this industry (or profession) going in the next few years? What changes have you seen in the course of your career so far?

    What specialized training or education is required to succeed in this field now? How has that changed?

    Which skills have you found most helpful, and which ones will be most important in the future?

    Could you describe your average workday and your key job responsibilities?

    What are the best and worst things about working in this field today?

    What resources help you keep up with the industry? Which trade or professional associations have you found most useful?

    Has anything surprised you over the course of your career? What changes have you found most challenging?

    Would you choose this field if you had it to do over again? Is there anything you would do differently?

    What are the biggest technological changes influencing this business right now?

    In what ways does your job affect your life outside work? How do you see work-life balance issues affecting colleagues?