A career profile essay highlights the achievements and experiences of the subject of the essay. For example, if you were a student in the field of electrical engineering, you might gather more information about the type of work in that field through a career profile essay on someone with experience and knowledge in a specific area of the electrical engineering workforce. Career profiles are used in colleges and career centers, and essays are often assigned to students to help potential career candidates learn more about their chosen field of interest.

Things You Will Need

  • Interview subject

  • Microcassette recorder

  • Notepad

Research the field the subject of your career profile essay works in. Knowledge about the field and the chosen career will help you formulate strong questions and observations.

Schedule an interview with someone in the career field you are studying. For example, if you're writing a career profile on a chef, contact a prestigious restaurant in your area and ask to schedule an interview with the chef.

Conduct the interview, asking specific questions about your subject's career. Include questions about the person's education, search for a job in the field after completing education requirements and experiences endured in the field. Be sure to record the interview either by hand in a notebook or with a microcassette recorder you can refer back to later. If you plan to use a microcassette recorder, be sure you get the subject's permission to record the interview beforehand.

Outline your essay after reviewing, organizing and compiling your research and interview highlights.

Write a descriptive introductory paragraph that covers interesting information about your interview subject and the chosen career field.

Include highlights from your interview, quotes and facts about your subject in the body paragraphs of your essay. Be sure to follow a logical order, starting at the beginning of your subject's career and following through with successive achievements.

Write a conclusion that reiterates the main point of your introductory paragraph, sums up the profile of your subject and concludes with a fact or observation about how that person's contributions have improved the career field.

Tip

Always proofread your final essay draft to make sure it is free of spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors.

Make sure you are flexible with your subject when scheduling an interview. Many professionals have busy schedules and may not have time to conduct an interview during convenient daylight hours.