In dire need of professional help!!

[haycalmom]

I really hope I'm posting this in the right place!! As You can see, I'm a newbie--so please bear with me;)

Here's what I need help with:
I have to interview at least two people for a career assessment for one of my classes and my professor just upped the deadline to this week. Seeing as I go to work first thing in the morning and then straight to class til almost 7pm it's a little hard to call people during business hours. So, if any of you would be so kind as to answer these questions for me, I can fulfill my interview section-----PLEASE!!

My major is MIS, so I would prefer to hear from people with the same background, but at this point i'm not being picky!!

These are the questions:

1. Company name and your name (please feel free to use an alias if you like)

2. Job title

3. What is the first thing you do at work each day?

4. Do you find your job monotonous or does it present new challenges each day?

5. What certifications did you have to obtain for your position?

6. What certifications would you consider essential in your field?

7. Do you have the option to work from home at times?

8. What benefits does your company offer? Are they comparable to other companies in your industry?

9. What is your salary (or average salary in your dept.)? Is this comparable to other companies?

10. Do you have the option of relocation?

11. What is the #1 challenge you face at work?

12. What is the best piece of advice that you can give to someone entering your field?

13. What city (or area) and state is your company located?

That's it. This is for my business writing course, which is a required course for my major and I really don't want to get below a 3.5 gpa in any of my classes. Thanks ahead of time to anyone willing to help me out!!
Sincerely,
Rachel

[Michael_Knight]

Those questions look like ones you find on a dating site? ;)

[DimaYasny]

these questions are asked EVE F_NG TIME I GO ON AN INTERVIEW. When will people learn to think about new things, since experienced enough people are long tired of the same questions asked every time.

anyhow, the fact that a technically illiterate idiot interviews and ultimately decides who gets the job is why everyone hates the HR department in most IT companies.

[Michael_Knight]

these questions are asked EVE F_NG TIME I GO ON AN INTERVIEW. When will people learn to think about new things, since experienced enough people are long tired of the same questions asked every time.

anyhow, the fact that a technically illiterate idiot interviews and ultimately decides who gets the job is why everyone hates the HR department in most IT companies.

I agree with you 100%. Sometimes you feel you didn't do particularly well in an interview because the questions asked were not really related to your skills.

I mean; You apply for a 1st line support role, working on your own. Someone asks 'are you a team player?' or 'What skills can you bring to our organisation?' (like you would apply for a job like that if you had no skills) and the question I hate the most is: 'Where do you see yourself in 5 years?' - To me it would depend on where the company is in 5 years, but if you say that they look at you like you haven't given them a valid answer.

[DimaYasny]

the question that irritates me the most is "tell me three bad things/qualities about yourself"

once I actually answered "I think I could with extra 10cm height and extra 5cm length". The interviewer was a old experienced HR interviewer, and he understood it was a joke and I'm just sick of the question, and I got the job.

[Michael_Knight]

Yes, thats another one, and I like your answer, funny.

[haycalmom]

Yes--I know they're stupid questions!!! I myself would never ask questions like these when interviewing someone for a job.
I am not, however, interviewing someone for a job. These questions are considered research for a career assessment paper that I have to do for my class.
This is just a fact-finding mission. I am supposed to find out as much as I can about the field I will be going into.
I have different parts I have to do: internet research, demographic research, and interview (as in asking questions of someone who already has a job in an IT/IS field.
These generic questions are what we are supposed to find out for our papers.

That being said, thanks for looking.

[Michael_Knight]

Its ok, im (we) are not knocking you, just the questions.

I will answer them when I have a bit of time for you.

[haycalmom]

Thanks--it would be great to hear from you. I noticed you're forensic IT. I'm looking forward to hearing about what it takes for that job. My original major in school was Bio/Chem DNA Forensics. I just couldn't keep travelling 2 hours every day for classes with the kids and full-time job to deal with too. The branch campus in my town is limited on the majors you can complete without having to go to main. Hopefully I can apply what i've already learned to my new major.
Thanks!!