Careers Explained

Heidi Meyer

Careers Explained shares informational career interviews with professionals in a wide range of roles and industries about their roles, companies, career paths, and advice to help job seekers better understand their options with minimal effort and stress. Leave requests of industries, companies, jobs, or specific questions you would like us to cover here: careersexplained.org/contact

  1. 01/31/2024

    Financial Services Representative at Barnum Financial Group - Jack Armstrong's Experience

    Jack Armstrong shares about his career path and current role as a Financial Services Representative at Barnum Financial Group. He received his bachelor's degree from Providence College in Business and Managerial Economics and his previous work experience includes being an Account Manager with Coastline Risk and working at the front desk of the Cape Cod Country Club. We discuss: 0:39 - What he does in his current role as a Financial Services Representative 2:17 - The educational courses required to move up from his role within the company 3:53 - How to take certification courses 5:14 - What a typical day or week is like for him 6:35 - Barnum’s company culture 7:10 - Overview of what customer outreach entails 9:01 - How long outreach phone calls last 11:21 - What the on-the-job training is like 12:22 - The long-term trajectory of the role 12:57 - The typical timeline for moving up 1437 - What he likes about the role 15:16 - What the industry is like 15:36 - Challenges of the role 16:27 - Industry drop-out rates 17:24 - How success is measured 17:53 - His company’s culture around competition 19:06 - What made him interested in this field, position, and company 20:58 - Prerequisites to apply 22:41 - Most important qualities for the job 24:19 - Advice on how to explore whether this role is a good fit 26:14 - Types of roles that can help you gain experience 27:22 - General career advice

    28 min
  2. 10/20/2023

    Program Analyst at the State Department in the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration: Refugee Admissions - Kellie Bland's Experience

    In this interview, Kellie Bland describes her career path and current role. She is currently a Program Analyst at the U.S. Department of State. She received his bachelor's degree from Elon University in Communications and her Master of Arts in international and intercultural communication from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Her previous work experience includes working as an English Teacher Trainer for the Peace Corps, as a Shriver Peaceworker Fellow for Friends of Patterson Park, and as a Team Development Specialist for AFS Intercultural Programs. We discuss: 0:38: Overview of current role 1:29: Most common roles and responsibilities 3:07: The process and timeline for some of her tasks 4:55: How many projects she works on simultaneously 5:35: What a typical day is like 7:41: Examples of her work outside of on demand tasks  11:04: Additional roles of the job 12:56: The benefit of having diverse and dynamic roles  13:05: Things she likes and finds challenging about her role 14:44: Opportunities for moving up or into different roles 16:12: The process of moving up 18:26: What the training was like for her role 20:51: The prerequisites to getting into her role 22:55: The points of her career path that led her to this role 25:42: The job qualities she learned she did and didn't want along her path 28:03: Advice for reframing the question of "what do you want to do" 28:24: Advice for those who want to follow her path 30:38: Advice on how to explore career options  31:00: Career advice to decrease stress

    32 min

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About

Careers Explained shares informational career interviews with professionals in a wide range of roles and industries about their roles, companies, career paths, and advice to help job seekers better understand their options with minimal effort and stress. Leave requests of industries, companies, jobs, or specific questions you would like us to cover here: careersexplained.org/contact