Memo of Findings

Informational Interview

Table of Contents

Introduction

This interview was conducted as a part of my Business Communication course assignment. In the following discussion I have incorporated questions from different sources (“Forbes Welcome,”) (“Informational Interview,”) (“Questions to Ask at the Informational Interview | QuintCareers,”). The findings are based on my careful brainstorming of the answers I got from the interviewee. Following are the personal details of the interviewee.

Interviewee Name: Tina Sani , Financial Administrator

Organization: ABC Organization

Email: abc

Address: XYZ

Date/Location: 15 April, 2016/at interviewee office

Duration of Interview: About an hour

Findings

The interview was a great experience for me. I conducted the interview in a friendly environment. Tina Sani is a very professional lady. I conducted the interview in the light of the set of questions that I had sent her previously. She was kind enough to provide answers to most of the questions in great details.

She said that she is a financial administrator at the organization where she looks at the financial flow of different processes. She has got a business degree from Marymount University and an MBA in Finance from Georgetown University. The organization is an agency that provides tutoring services o students. She has to deal with many students who might have issues with their payments. She also has to communicate with different people at her organization at different levels. This is why communication is a big part of her job. I asked her about oral presentations. She said that her job does not require a lot of oral presentation but still, there are times when she needs to present the financial matter to her top management. She said that she incorporated charts and diagrams to her Power Presentations that has a great impact on her audience. She also mentioned that she has to do a lot of reporting regarding her job to the top and lower management. Most of these reports are in financial terms and are monthly based. While at the end of each financial year, she has to prepare a detailed report. Communicating the financial facts in a meaningful manner to the management is a challenging task for her. If there are errors in her reports or the presentations, they are visible to the management as they take the financial matters very seriously. Therefore, she said that she has to be extremely careful about her job and be prepared for her tough questioning from the management if there are mistakes made by her.

I asked Tina about how her education helped her in her progress at her job and if she had any special trainings regarding to her job. She said that the education was helpful to her when it comes to understanding the theory but the actual thing was her internships that proved useful in her present job. She said that she also acquired business trainings, some of which were related to her position as a financial administrator and others were related to effective communication and problem solving techniques. She also had a training related to leadership. The trainings helped her I a great way as they were based on practical scenarios. She considered professional trainings fundamental for professional growth.

I asked her about the use of technology as a tool of financial management tool as well a communication tool. She was enthusiastic about using software related to financial management and said that they are really helpful in rectifying errors in financial transactions that would otherwise go un-noticed. She said that she communicates to the people in her organization with the help of the Management Information System that the organization has installed. This system has proved useful in carrying out financial activities related to the fee that the students pay for the tutoring services and also communicating to the students who are acquiring their services.

Tina said that she is satisfied with her job at present and that she wants to progress as a professional so that she can one day become an owner of a financial firm. She believed that learning to effectively communicate with all the stakeholders is the key to success in any field. She believes that she is a good listener and this makes her a good communicator which helps her in solving conflicts during her professional career.

I asked her about her advice for me to grow as a professional. She stressed that I must focus on my studies. I should develop good presentation skills so that I can express my point of views in front of others. She also suggested that I should attend seminars and workshops whenever possible. They are a great source of information about the happenings in the modern world.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude my discussion by saying that this was a great experience for me. I learned to a great extant to get the desired information from an interviewee. I also learned the importance of effective communication, be it a letter or a one-to-one interview. I would focus on developing my written and oral skills so that I could be better understood when I want to make a point. I would also like to thank Tina Hong for her time and I hope her the best career that she aspires for.