How would you prepare for your first interview

A “creative� question from a professional

The task is to interview a responsible person of a database project in an NGO (Non Governmental Organization), and to write a short report in the style of the NGO’s official website. The writer can determine the length of the piece, the content and the structure.

This is a writing test from my employer. Though I’m wondering why the guy didn’t specify the purpose of the interview. The audience is those who are active in the NGOs like UN divisions, WWF, IUCN (World Conservation Union) etc.

The options could be
- Random chat with the poor interviewee.
- any topic could be taken as the emphasis of the report
- any most frequently mentioned topic on similar projects, that means sifting through all reports in their website

Or, are there any other possibilities to fix this problem? Any hint? Thank you.

I can give you only one hint, but it's worth its weight in gold: The UN is not - repeat not - an NGO.

Thank you, then one letter less, GO?

Yes, make sure you're clear about your briefing before you start. Even if that means clarifying with your employer. Much better to ask a few (sensible) questions beforehand than come up with something that's nowhere near what they're looking for.

No, not at all, maybe you should read up on it a little bit. The UN is an international organization, it is made up of Member States.

I would go into the interview with a clear idea of what you want to write about, and if you need help with that, just ask for some guidance from the publication's editor. It'll make his job easier if your writing is focused. Do as much research about the organisation the person is with, and about the interviewee if they're to be found easily on google.

then from that, have a rough outline of questions you want to ask, arrive a little bit early, do the interview, then when you're back at your terminal, start writing the article right away. Don't leave it for the next day, or even that evening if it's only noon. Do it right away.

Agree with Kay first figure out the difference between an NGO and IO. Then once you have that sorted figure out what you're interested in and find an NGO that focuses on that and research them then find a topic of theirs that interests you so you'll have questions already coming to mind to ask and it'll flow smoother and not be as forced.

steer clear of 'random chat'. What a waste of someone's time, especially if they are doing you a favor by being interviewed then don't waste their time.

Fair play to all of yez. I'm still trying to figure out what the question is.

does it have to be an international NGO? As i'm sure you know remember IGOs are not NGOs (UN, NATO, EU, etc). if not get any nonprofit you can find.

red cross
oxfam
humane rights watch
doctors without borders
ISO

if you truly want UN there are NGOs that are associated with the UN.

Thank you. At the beginning I thought I'd better not bother the editor by asking questions just for a short interview.