2. 1
DATE: November 30, 2015
To: Kate Ditewig-Morris, CMN211 Professor
FROM: Maximiliano Hernandez, CMN211 Student
SUBJECT: Career Research Project
Introduction
Greetings Kate! The following memo is to give you an overall synthesis on what I
learned from the interview as well as the background research I conducted throughout the
semester. Throughout this memo, as I have mentioned is will discuss the research I did aside of
the interview as well as the companies I looked into. I will also discuss as to why it is I chose the
career that I decided to do further research on. Overall, I will mostly discuss everything that I
learned, having the opportunity to talk to my interviewee.
Research
When looking at the career path of a communication specialist, not only did I decide to
do research within Caterpillar, but I also had to look into one of their biggest competitors: John
Deere. It was not for the purpose of comparing the position, but for the fact that the position of a
communication specialist is the same because both Caterpillar and John Deere are within the
same industry and they both deal with heavy machinery.
I first decided to look within John Deere and see what the responsibilities that came with
the job title of a communication specialist were defined as within this company. After looking
through the career opportunities in John Deere and checking out a communications specialist job
description, the first thing that was stated by the company was the following: “if you're the kind
of person who strives to do great work, excels in creative environments, thrives in teams, and
lives for problem solving - this is the place for you” (John Deere Dealerships , 2016). John
3. 2
Deere looks for individuals who know that they can work in teams well. Not only that, but they
also look for individuals who are creative and know how to deal with problem solving. To sum it
up as to some of the skills they are seeking for, they want someone who can think outside of the
box. In return the job position itself rewards you “through opportunities for career growth;
through experiences in an inclusive, diverse culture; and, yes, through outstanding compensation
and benefits programs” (John Deere Dealerships , 2016). In other words you are rewarded
through the job because your pool of connections will continue to grow as you’re given new
assignments to take care of.
When looking over at Caterpillar and reading the responsibilities and opportunities that
are given with the title of a communication specialist Caterpillar states that they are the people
who will “build a resource pool of talented communication professionals, present challenging
work assignments, create broad exposure to corporate communications…” (Caterpillar Inc.,
n.d.). In other words, similar to a communication specialist at John Deere, you are the person
who will be most reliable when it all comes down to solving a problem. Likewise, you’ll also
become the individual that will help the company grow as stated on the first point that you’ll
“build a resource pool of talented communication professionals” (Caterpillar Inc., n.d.).
Interview Analysis/Research Evaluation
I decided to select a career as a communication specialist within Caterpillar because of
the thought and possibility of being able to go into the corporate world with my major. The
reason I chose Caterpillar is for the reason that I am positive that I would have my connections in
the company because many of my fraternity brothers work in the company. However, I’m not
strictly aiming for Caterpillar. If I could have the opportunity I would also be free to look within
other companies such as John Deere and International.
4. 3
When reviewing what I stated in the parachute flower exercise I can say that I was sure as
to what I wanted to do in the future. In the flower, a question asked what my favorite working
conditions were and I had given the response that “I would like to see myself working in a
corporate environment in the future.” I have already known the goals that I would be after once I
chose my major and closely looked among the friends I knew majored in the same area within
the same specializations that I am trying to acquire.
The path of a communication specialist involves having to be a problem solver and being
able to communicate well with other individuals or companies so that they can create a better
networking system for the company itself. I believe that I have both of these important skills,
required. There have been many times where I find myself in a situation and I’d be stuck
searching for a possible solution: pretty much anything that seems reasonable and would actually
work. In terms of communication and building pools of networks, I would consider myself as
one of the most social individuals perhaps on campus, within my friends, and my fraternity. I
like to meet new people and keep those new people within my contacts for future events.
Another example would be within my fraternity where we had almost no connection with a
particular sorority and after I became a part of the fraternity the connection with that sorority
became stronger. Overall, I believe I hold two of the most important skills.
I was given to learn a lot throughout the semester about a communication specialist
through the research and interview that I did. I was more exposed as to what the life of a
communication is like on a typical day. I’ve also had the opportunity to see what the
expectations are as well as the frustrations that come along with the title of a communication
specialist. The way everything was explained through the questions I asked, I was able to paint a
very visual image in my head.
5. 4
Working within Caterpillar has really helped Louis learn in the real world as well as gain
much more experience. The organization expect for him to learn how to really manage his time
and be as flexible as he can to finish tasks that are required. Not only that, but working within
this organization has required for him to learn on the spot. Louis has gained experience when
writing about many things. To quote him Louis says “sensitive information is something I have
never experienced before and was some of the most stressful, scary and demanding work hours
of my career thus far” (Perez, 2015). These both are pros that come from getting to work for such
a prestigious organization, but there is a con that comes with it as well. “There are times when
you need to crank out a piece of content in a matter of hours and you have no idea where to
begin nor do you have any clue about the content you are writing about” (Perez, 2015). Writers
block is a con working in Caterpillar for the fact that Louis works in an engineer driven
company.
It’s difficult to predict how it would go in terms or hiring throughout the next couple of
years because at the moment there was a mass layoff of 10,000 employees. However in terms of
how my peers and I can get prepared if we plan to affiliate ourselves with an organization such
as Caterpillar “from a career perspective - Develop yourself now. Do everything you can and
take advantage of all your resources to ensure that once you graduate you have an effective
skillset that is marketable in whatever field you want to be in. Sacrifice now that you can,
sacrifice sleep, sacrifice time, sacrifice weekends so that you can invest that time in something
that will either develop your skillset or your resume” (Perez, 2015).
My Interviewee was Louis Anthony Perez, he currently works in Caterpillar and has the
title of a communication specialist in the company. I was interested in both the organization and
the person’s career path. I chose the organization because I was always interested in being able
6. 5
to work in a company that involves machinery such as Caterpillar itself, John Deere, or at least
International.
I chose Louis because of the way his life was looking like working within the
organization. To elaborate more, Louis graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana
Champaign about two years ago. However, it did not take long for him to begin having a
successful life.
I was able to find Louis through the connections that I have within the alumni network
that I have within my fraternity. At first, I was trying to search for someone to interview in John
Deere and asked one of my alumni if he would be able to get me the information to contact a
communication specialist in the company to interview. He replied and said that one of the alum
from our chapter was a communication specialist in Caterpillar and directed me over to Louis.
I was able to get a hold of Louis when I asked my alum for Louis’ contact information, so
I was given his phone number and email address. I ended up by first texting Louis and informing
him that I was a part of the same fraternity in the same chapter, so there was an instant
connection between the two of us. After getting to talk for a while, I proposed the question if I
would be able to interview. I explained that I wanted to learn more about his job and I was
interested in following a similar path as him. The interview was set up to happen on November
30th at Chicago.
In the end of this memo I will provide a list of the questions that I used when I
interviewed Louis. However, I think all the questions I asked were important, but personally I
think that there were three that were really important. The first question: What is your job like on
a typical day? I’ve always wondered what the day of an individual who works in a corporate
company goes like. Louis replied and was able to answer with so much detail. He has had a
7. 6
number of roles within the company and is continuing to move up from where first started. A
communication specialist definitely doesn’t have an easy day or an easy job. The second
question: What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position? When I graduate,
what I want is to pretty much the same path that Louis went and be able to live a better life. I
believe this question has opened my eyes as to what I have to do if I want to reach my goals. The
third question: Any special words of encouragement as a result of your experience? I was really
glad to have put this question with what I wanted to ask because he gave me a response that was
able to give me more motivation to work hard. The response was strongly worded and 100%
honesty.
I learned a lot about my interviewee’s career through the single interview that I had
conducted. Afterwards, I was able to keep asking further questions if it was needed. Something
that I learned about through the interview was Caterpillar’s corporate culture. “In corporate,
there is always that sense of corporate decorum. We must carry ourselves in a very professional
manner. Also, as a corporate communicator it is vital to know your audience and remind yourself
that you are reaching a global audience” (Perez, 2015). These words sum up everything that we
were being taught throughout the semester as we continued to write memo after memo. The
objective besides having to get to the point was to also acknowledge who we were writing to and
that we were to stay professional at all times. In addition to what I have researched, skills that are
essential involve exactly as I had seen online such as professional writing, creativity, composure
and a strong sense of time-management. I also learned about the most frustrating thing that can
happen to an individual working within this field, which is writer's block. It can definitely be
difficult knowing where it is that he works at.
8. 7
Communication is definitely essential when it comes to the position he plays in the
company. “I am now at a division communication role where my every-week tasks consist of
owning and publishing an employee newsletter which reaches more than 4,000 employees and a
leader newsletter which reaches more than 1,000 leaders all across seven different countries
globally” (Perez, 2015). Not only does he communicate with employees within Peoria, but he
communicates with leaders as well, globally. Anything that he writes will not only reflect
himself as a person, but it will also reflect Caterpillar especially the branch that he works in. His
role as a representative is really important. The communication he started doing with has really
changed. At first, his main priority was to build his pool of network, but was soon moved on to
better things and now communicates with employees and leaders globally. As he continues to
build up on his experience his next priorities will be within external media facing where he will
have to deal with press releases, training employees on how to talk to media, overseeing media-
covered events and etc.
“From an overall perspective - Work hard. Even when you think you are doing all you
can, do even more. Always remember there is someone underneath you on that ladder with the
hunger to take what you have and if you don’t put in the time and hours to get to where you want
to go that person below you will surpass you and you might even end up working for him/her
one day. If you want to succeed you must be willing to put in the work” (Perez, 2015). These
words hit me hard when Louis said all this. It made me reflect more about my years as an
undergrad, showing that I have to sacrifice and strive to do the best I can so that I can reach my
goals.
Louis has become an important role model because the same advice he gave was what he
had done. Now that I am able to contact whenever I want, I took the time to send him a text and
9. 8
thank him for the time he took to help me and allowing me to interview him. The information I
received will help me see what it is I have to really do in more detail if I want to reach the same
goal Louis did. Not only that but seeing the way he is currently living his life has gave me
nothing but more motivation to work hard and do better.
Conclusion
Having to do research on the career path that I want to follow once I graduate from the
University of Illinois has definitely helped me gain a better understanding as to what I need to do
to reach my goals. Furthermore, the interview in my opinion helped me the most since I was able
to see what the typical day of a communication specialist is like, but I was also able to get a
glimpse as to what the pros and cons of having such title grants an individual. My next steps are
to put in action everything I learned through my interview with Louis. I will continue to gain
more experience within communication or public relations to better my chances of a great job,
but I will continue to strive and work hard. As for Louis, I will continue to stay in touch with him
and have him as my mentor, who I can always contact if I ever have any more questions.
10. 9
Appendix A- Interview Questions
1) What is your job like on a typical day?
2) What are the responsibilities of your job? What kinds of problems do you deal with?
3) What jobs and experiences have led you to your present position?
4) Why did you decide to work for this company?
5) Do you find your job exciting or boring? Why?
6) How does your company differ from your competitors?
7) What sorts of changes are occurring in your occupation?
8) What particular skills or talents are essential to be effective in your job?
9) What can you tell me about the corporate culture?
10) How is the economy affecting this industry?
11) What obligations does your employer place on you in work? Outside of work?
12) What are frustrations of this job?
13) Any special words of encouragement as a result of your experience?
Appendix B
References
CaterpillarInc.(n.d.). CaterpillarInc:CommunicationsProfessionalsDevelopmentProgram.Retrieved
November30,2015, fromCaterpillarInc.:http://www.caterpillar.com/en/careers/career-
areas/college-university/development-programs/communications-professionals.html
JohnDeere Dealerships.(2016, September10). John Deere: CareerOpportunities.RetrievedNovember
30, 2016 , fromJohnDeere:http://www.jobs.net/jobs/john-deere/en-us/search/United-
States/category/Marketing/Communications-Specialist/
Oberhelman,D.R.(n.d.). Glassdoor:Caterpillar.RetrievedNovember30 , 2015, fromGlassdoor:
https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Caterpillar-EI_IE137.11,22.htm
Perez,L.A. (2015, November30).CommunicationsRepresentative .(M.H. Jr., Interviewer)Chicago,
Illinois,UnitedStates.
