Thursday, December 4, 2008

When you've got to do the interview, too

Great! You landed an awesome gig. But there's one hitch - you've got to actually interview someone to get information for the article.

I really don't like doing that, but will if I have to! I feel like a goofball when I have to interview people - especially if I don't know a lot about the topic to start with, which is kind of the whole point behind doing the interview.

Last summer I needed to interview a SME in a really technical field. I'd submitted questions to the client in advance, but then was interviewing someone in their organization. Within one question, I was stuck. He asked for clarification on the question, and I had no IDEA how to clarify it. Turns out that question wasn't even appropriate for his specialized area of expertise. Ugh!

My business really steers clear of super-technical projects as a general rule. There's definitely money in those techy or specialized niches - just not enough usually to make it worth the headaches for me... especially when there's so much work out there that's easier to understand.

Anyway, the first few times you need to interview someone, it can feel kind of awkward.

Being all about building systems, I was really excited to find Allena Tapia's guide to doing interviews. Don't you love her?!

Conduct an Interview - How To Conduct an Interview

1 comment:

Ally (Allena Tapia) said...

You are SO nice! I am glad it helped. I have found two things re: interviewing:

1) It gets much easier. In my freelance life i've only done about 7 interviews- total. But I feel so comfortable and like an old pro. It does get easier.

2) The interviewees are very often as nervous as you are!