Communication
1010-023 Su12 - Communicating at Work - Instructor: Raymond Bingham
Professional Career Interview Project 2 - by Ben Heighton
My initial contact was at The Leonardo. With the help of a friend, I was pointed in the right direction and I was able to meet Jann Haworth, in person and ask her if she would have a chance to meet with me. We agreed upon the following Friday. This encounter was incredibly easy and smooth. There were no cancellations, but when I arrived she was meeting with someone so there was a short delay, but this gave me the opportunity to look around the space and get an idea of what kind of things were happening. As Jann’s job is fairly unique in what she does as an Art Lab Director this was extremely useful in how I presented my questions.
In preparation for the interview I modified the same basic questions to begin with for my earlier interview project. I made the questions slightly vague in regards to being industry specific so that I could use a similar approach for more research in the future. Some of the questions didn’t seem appropriate for the situation and so left them out while doing the interview. Topics I chose to discuss were intended to delve into the specifics of what this person does as their job. This is in response to previous experience showing that a specific job title or a job in a specific industry can vary greatly. I also asked things such as how they got to where they are now, and what inspired them to follow that path.
The interview took place at The Leonardo museum in the Art Lab Exhibit. I dressed much more casually for this interview as I had already seen how relaxed of an atmosphere it was during my earlier visit. This seemed to have no effect on the interview or at least it was a positive one, the interview flowed incredibly well. I approached the topics head-on as I had listed them in the first place. I followed the questions in order but as each question was posed, Jann’s response followed in such a way that moved towards questions I hadn’t considered previous to this. I was able to gain a lot of insight into many more levels of what a career is and what it means for someone to be an artist and an innovator. This turned into a very smoothly flowing conversation that still allowed for me to pull it back to the questions and topics I wanted to discuss. In my report of this event I still chose to stick to the questions I had planned on asking while adding only some extra insight into the topic, this is simply for brevity.
I learned a lot during this interview as I did in the last interview. But already with the knowledge gained from my previous career research interview, I was able to control the interview with much more accuracy. I was also much better at controlling the time during the interview and having it in the available time, in this case, thirty minutes. I learned from my last interview that how comfortable of an environment and how relaxed the atmosphere is, can have a huge impact on the interview. I felt overdressed somewhat in my last interview as I really wasn’t able to anticipate the level of dress that was common in his office. In this interview I saw how relaxed the environment was beforehand and so I was able to dress more appropriately for the environment. I believe a lot of this is due to having had the opportunity with the interviewee to meet them in person before the interview.
At this point, I’m not really sure that I have a particular interview style but during these meetings and interviews with skilled professionals about their jobs and careers, I have learned that I do have a certain way that I approach conversations and this definitely affects the way I approach this type of interview. This process so far that I am developing from this class seems to be working very well and I feel that I can continue to improve upon it. Particularly with choosing appropriate topics, and being able to control the interview more carefully. I also have a better idea of how the questions should be asked in different situations and how to present that information. I am quite sure I will have future contact with Jann, I have signed up as a potential volunteer at the museum and look forward to the chance. I also discussed the possibility of putting up some science based art prints in the museum and she liked the idea a lot.
Career Interview Questions
1. On a typical day in this position, what do you do?
Long days is typical, as for the flow of how any typical day is organized, it is never the same.
2. What training or education is required for this type of work?
Experience is the most important factor. Some art training is also required. Much of this for Jann was started at an early age with experience and teaching coming from her family. Having an entrepreneurial spirit and motivation helps along with a diverse background and experience.
3. What personal qualities or abilities are important to being successful in this job?
Passion is the most important quality for any career. If you don’t like what you’re doing then you won’t enjoy it. If you like it and enjoy it, you will excel. Being able to work within a structured environment is also very important. Creative freedom may be something that is necessary for the job but will still need to stay within the structure of the organization.
4. What part of this job do you find most satisfying?
Seeing growth in people and helping them to explore possibilities.
5. What part of this job do you find most challenging?
Lack of available time to accomplish a lot of the ideas for moving forward is the biggest challenge.
6. How did you get your job?
Jann was originally asked to on the board of directors. Later as the idea for the art space evolved and the art space itself evolved she was asked to take over as the art space facilitator. This meant she had to resign from the board of directors to take over this position.
7. What opportunities for advancement are there in this field?
Advancement is simply personal progress as an artist in being able to realize ideas and implement them.
8. What entry level jobs are best for learning as much as possible?
In The Leonardo environment they feel that the best way to attract the kinds of people they want is to have them volunteer for a time. Volunteers help with various projects and this allows for the staff to assess the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This functions as a sort of drawn out interview process that allows them to find where an individual will fit best in organization. An entry level position such as this would allow for room to learn a lot about many different topics and processes.
9. How long have you been working in this field?
Jann has been in this particular position since October. She has been teaching in the art field since the ‘60s. Jann opened two schools herself and helped to operate several more since then.
10. How much time do you spend on average communicating with clients and artists?
All-day, every day Jann is communicating with clients. Which in this sense, is someone who comes into the art lab wishing to learn something, lots of hands-on projects available and ideas to be presented here. She is moving towards a more of a managerial position which will allow her more time to focus on marketing and promotional ideas. This will also require her to find someone whom she feels is qualified to operate the art space as she feels it should be done.
11. In what ways do you manage your work flow in order to meet deadlines?
Coming in early is the easiest and only effective way at the moment to manage work flow. As during the day when the museum is open there is a lot going on and there is no real workflow in this sense. Moving into the managerial position could effectively force her to implement more organized approaches to work flow and managing time over longer time spans.
12. How does this type of work differ from other types of work you have done?
This type of work is more complex than other types of teaching she has done in the past. It is also better funded. Much more intense and more welcoming in regards to new ideas. Framework of the job is more gratifying and coworkers tend to be more open and respectful of each other.
13. Do you implement design aesthetics in creating the layout of the art space.
Jann hasn’t had the chance to rearrange the layout of the space since she first took over as the director but plans to move things around and intends to use aesthetics as part of the layout while also allowing for form-follows-function.
14. What kind of methods do you use for promotion?
The standard methods are used. Jann feels that there should be more communication between the various areas of the museum and the design team working with marketing to create a more fluid and organic feel to designs. She is hoping for more texture and organic feels in some of the promotional design.
Reflective Writing Prompts
• What were your thoughts as you learned about the assignment?
My thoughts were focused on figuring out what kind of questions to ask as this was a position I hadn’t really considered as something that a graphics designer would pursue as an artist.
• How did you overcome any anxiety associated with contacting a total stranger?
My anxiety in this situation was next to none and so was very easy to deal with.
• What networking resources did you use or how would a good network have aided in setting up this interview?
I asked upon another close friend who works at The Leonardo to introduce me to someone I could interview. She introduced me to Jann who was very accepting and enthusiastic about the interview.
• Why did you choose this particular person, position, and /or occupation to interview?
I had originally hoped to get an interview with one of their graphic designers at The Leonardo but as my friend had much more experience with Jann in her department it was an easier arrangement. Although this was not what I would consider a graphics type of position it dealt directly with art and learning and this seemed like a realistic extension of the same kind skills and learning techniques it would take to become a designer or other art professional.
• Be specific regarding the pre-interview research you conducted – how did the information gathered shape the questions you prepared to ask?
There was not a lot of information in specific to Jann’s job title, available. It is a rather unique set of circumstances. I was familiar with the museum’s ‘science + art’ structure and environment however and this helped me to adjust my questions accordingly. I used a modified set of questions from earlier interviews. I even dropped some of the questions during the interview process as they didn’t seem appropriate, such as asking about salary ranges and other statistical information, which seems like something that I should simply be researching rather than asking other individuals who are likely not experts on the subject. Before the interview I had the opportunity to look around at the surrounding environment and this helped me to acclimate myself into the environment and helped me to approach the questions with more paraphrasing to be more relevant to the interviewee. I also took the liberty of combining multiple questions into a single question. These tactics helped a lot in controlling the direction of the interview while still allowing for some tangents and other potential subjects that could not have been anticipated.
• Based on what you learned from your interviewee how has it changed your attitude toward your educational career pursuit? Be specific.
I feel that the idea of working as Graphics Designer in a large corporation with my own cubicle will stifle my creativity and lead to poor design. I would be much better suited in an environment that allowed for creativity and for innovation. This is based on observations and incites from the interview of how an artist can go from one type of work to another and it still remains the same concept of creation. From artist to teacher, back to artist and then to being on a board of directors for a museum and then back to being a teacher, the idea at the core of all of that was creation. In whatever direction I chose to go as I get my degree and move on in life, whether it be entrepreneurial in nature or finding a company with a group of people I fit in with, I will need a creative environment and a passion for what I am doing in order to thrive.
• What life/career lessons did you learn from this assignment?
This second interview has reinforced what I wrote in my first interview.
“Even though you may spend so much time developing a set of skills that are essentially geared towards a specific purpose another opportunity may present itself and these skills can be adapted to the new situation and allow you to move in another direction.”
I reached the same conclusion by interviewing several individuals, who all at one point or another began as an artist, and all followed different paths to get to where they are and that they all found something that worked great for them and has allowed them to create in a multitude of ways.
• How will you apply the lessons learned to your future career pursuits or advancements?
These lessons and other sources of information have taught me that innovation and creativity is the key in my personal success and my ability to thrive. This will allow for me to communicate ideas and concepts much more efficiently in the future. I mean this both in the sense of typical concepts of communication such as speech and text, but also as a designer and an artist.
• Based on your experience from this assignment why are well developed interviewing and networking skills important to your future?
The approach of The Leonardo’s approach of the hiring process has given me a better insight into how to approach an interview like it was any other conversation. The purpose of any conversation is communication and by listening while asking for information has taught me to listen more carefully in an interview rather than just hearing a question and answering it. Communication is a process that involves many different senses and skills.
• How has other college courses helped with this assignment or how will this experience help you with other college courses?
I have had the opportunity this semester to do 3 separate interviews of a similar nature and I was able to see a noted difference in my ability to control the interviews and to gather information more effectively. Listening during them also gave me a more effective method of understanding the information being gathered during the process.
• If given the opportunity, what counsel or advice would you offer to someone regarding career interviews and/or developing networks?
Take the opportunities you can to learn from professionals in your field and other fields about their jobs and their career path. The insights that can be gathered in this way are invaluable. These interviews and conversations can be a very important part of building rapport and networks with people you may one day have the chance to work with or call upon for support. This also helps to establish a more connected community.
