MODULE 2.3: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW RECAP

Informational Interview #1:

Who: Sara Radjenovic, External Communications Programmer at US Bank in an agile environment. She leads a team of 4-5 programmers in the Marketing department.

When: Thursday, September 5th at 1000-1100a CT

Content of Chat: Sara and I first spoke about her role so I could get a better understanding of what she does for US Bank. After that, we spoke about other people in her department and their roles and how the team fits together. We also chatted about the field, how she likes where she’s at and where she’s been, and what positions it sounds like I would fit into at the company. I learned about the challenges in her daily work as well as the positives that keep her interested in the field.

Key Takeaways: Mostly, I was grateful to learn that positions seem to be in high demand in my market and she told me about all the options she qualifies for and she seemed very cavalier about switching jobs, as if it wouldn’t be much of a challenge. I also learned that the content of the work is much better than I was expecting and the pay is excellent. It was interesting to learn how the team flows and completes the tasks as one unit rather than coding pairs. We also chatted about smaller companies vs larger ones and I was glad to hear there are differences which fit each person’s needs/wants. Overall, I was very motivated by the chat and I was thankful to have learned more about the area and field.

Next Steps: I’m planning to have a follow-up chat with her 2 weeks from now, but she has yet to send me an invite. I am waiting a couple more days before reaching out. My plan is to create a small portfolio of my projects to show her and to ask her if she has heard about any positions that I would fit and hopefully make another contact within the company that I can leverage when the time is right.