CONTACT THE SOURCE

Roxanne Catalan

To contact the source is a significant step in preparing for an interview. This can also be the hardest one since this includes introducing yourself and scheduling for an interview. To contact the source may also mean reaffirmation of the topic because the source has the choice to accept or neglect the invitation.

In the first place nobody wants to wait longer just for the source to arrive. Things must be all cleared starting from reaching the source.

Here are some ways how to contact the source, may it be through letters, emails, calls and if your close enough through text messages (though it isn’t ideal to use).


Ø Researching through the net, browsing files and documents
          After deciding what your topic is, researching about the source can give some information how to reach him/her. If your source is well-known, scanning the newspaper can also help. In surfing the net on the other hand, gives you email addresses and sometimes contact numbers. Some sites also point you to a closer one.
The net gives you a world wide connection and a lot of information, may it be a relevant one or irrelevant. Thus, it can be said “patience really is a virtue.”

Ø Visiting the company or the organization the source is part of
           If a source you are after with is famous, it is better to visit his/her company/office or organization. Given the instance that he/she might be not at the office can give you no worries since for sure someone will entertain you. Instead of talking with the source personally, these people (secretary or member or the organization) can give something (cellphone number,email,etc.) to help you reach the source. Since the contact details come form these people, you are rest-assured that they are true and helpful.


Ø Asking friends or related and knowledgeable individuals
           If you personally chose the topic and you chose it for reasons favoring you, some of your friends may have some connection to your source. Thus, asking for their help can give advances to your work. Just try to expand your circle of friends. If not, you can ask people who can provide you information. This can be your teachers. They know more than what you expect them to know.Moreover, individuals who are inclined to the field similar to your source can also help.

Ø Another option that give you details where to contact the source is by attending workshops, seminars and forums in connection to your topic
          Most students arrived in a certain angle of the story through being aware and expose in those events. Here, you are given the opportunity to ask the source immediately after the event for an interview or just ask his/her available time. However if that doesn’t work, you can approach the organizers or facilitators of the event and try to explain to them what you want. Also, some of these events give programs and sometimes brochure with contact numbers encoded. Being a keen observant really matters here!


After all, to contact the source needs a lot of patience and more of hard work. In the end in scheduling the interview it is the source who has the right to say when and where ,not you. This is because you can’t demand the time to interview.