Follow your curiosity. Map ideas, people, and opportunities.
Investigative Inquiries are a powerful way to explore complex questions, discover unexpected connections, and deepen your understanding of a field, issue, or phenomenon. Investigative inquiries invite you to follow your curiosity and engage with people as an investigator, and are rooted in the framework provided in Ned Laff and Scott Carlson’s 2025 book, Hacking College.
Career conversations help you learn about roles and career paths. Investigative inquiries help you understand ecosystems: who’s working on an issue, what ideas are shaping the field, and where there may be gaps or opportunities. These conversations often influence what you study, the projects you take on, and the communities you connect with.
If you’re new to networking or outreach, start with Make the Most of Your Connections for tips on finding people and writing messages.
Career Conversations vs. Investigative Inquiries
| Aspect | Career Conversation | Investigative Inquiry |
| Purpose | Learn about a career path, role, or organization and how to prepare for it. | Explore a topic or question in depth and understand the ecosystem around it. |
| Starting Point | A specific role or field (“I’m interested in exploring the career of policy analyst”). | A big question or issue (“Who’s working on climate-resilient cities?”). |
| Focus | Career progression, job skills, organizational culture. | Patterns, intersections, and networks of people and ideas. |
| Mindset | Aspiring professional getting career advice. | Researcher mapping the landscape. |
| Next Steps | Apply advice to skills or resumes; follow up for networking. | Refine your thinking, connect with new people, or adjust your academic or project focus. |
| End Goal | Practical career advice and contacts. | A deeper, more connected understanding of a topic. |
Why Investigative Inquiries Matter
Hacking College encourages students to think of college as a lab. It’s a place to test ideas, make connections, and learn from what happens. Investigative inquiries are one way to do that. By talking with people about real questions, you can:
- Shape your Field of Study. A field of study goes beyond a major. It’s the set of courses, questions, and interests you intentionally connect across and beyond disciplines. Investigative inquiries help you find the people and ideas that bring your field to life.
- Use your Blank Spaces with purpose. Electives, study abroad, civic engagement, student leadership and other “blank spaces” can be built around the issues that matter to you.
- Engage with Wicked Problems. Many inquiries begin with complex, interdisciplinary questions (see examples below) that don’t have one clear answer. Talking with people working on these problems reveals how different perspectives and sectors intersect.
- Tap into the Hidden Job Market. Following your questions and building genuine relationships often uncovers roles and opportunities that aren’t listed on job boards.
Tips for Investigative Inquiries
Before the Conversation
1. Start with a question.
Think about the issue, phenomenon, or “wicked problem” you want to explore. For example:
- How can cities adapt to climate change?
- How can local food systems be made more sustainable and resilient?
- How can communities preserve language learning programs?
2. Identify people to talk to.
Look for individuals whose work touches on your question from different angles. Seek out faculty, alumni, professionals, community members, or thought leaders. Use:
- KConnect and the LinkedIn Alumni Tool to find alumni working on related topics.
- Faculty research pages and bios.
- Community organizations, nonprofits, or think tanks.
Need help with outreach? Visit Make the Most of Your Connections for step-by-step guidance on finding contacts and writing strong messages.
During the Conversation
Start by introducing yourself and sharing the question you’re exploring. Then listen closely and let the conversation unfold. Good investigative inquiries often:
- Ask about patterns or changes over time
- Look for intersections across fields
- Challenge common assumptions
- Explore who’s involved (including less obvious stakeholders)
Example questions:
- “What patterns have you noticed in this area over the past decade?”
- “Who are the unexpected players in this work?”
- “Are there models from other places you admire?”
- “What assumptions do people make that might not hold up?”
- “How does this connect to other fields in ways that surprise you?”
Take notes. Follow up on interesting threads. Be open to unexpected turns as those often lead to your best insights.
After the Conversation
Capture what you heard. Write down key themes, names, and ideas. A simple map linking people, organizations, and questions can help you see the bigger picture.
Reflect. What surprised you? What new questions emerged?
Send a thank-you note. Mention something specific you appreciated and ask if they recommend others to talk with.
Keep going. One conversation often leads to another, or to a project, course, or connection you hadn’t considered before.
Next Steps & CCPD Resources
- Faculty & Staff: Many have networks and expertise that intersect with your interests. Ask them for introductions.
- Make the Most of Your Connections: Tips and tricks for building your network and having career conversations.
- KConnect: Explore alumni working on issues that interest you.
- Career Studio: Drop in for help finding alumni and other professionals of interest.
- Career Coaching: Use Handshake to schedule a career coaching appointment to connect your inquiries to career planning.