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Financial Communication: A Career Information Essay on Albert Gomez

Claudia Negrete

California State University, Sacramento

Honors 1

Dr. Vanessa Arnaud

October 10, 2021

For my Career Information Interview/Essay, I decided to interview my older brother,

Albert Gomez. He is a Manager and Banker hybrid also known as a Work Team Lead at Safe

Credit Union. In 2015 he went from working at Rubio’s Coastal Grill as a shift leader to

becoming a Bank Teller at Safe Credit Union. Since then, he has worked his way up into the

management position he has now. His responsibilities include training, observations on his staff,

completing goals/sales goals/service goals, and opening up the branch on time every morning. A

typical day looks the same almost everyday for Albert. He will get to work at around 9:40am,

open up the doors, clear the building, and notify his team that they’re good to come inside. They

will all work together to set up the branch and open up at 10:00am. Albert enjoys working with

his coworkers the most. He gets along with them very well, and even mentioned that it is one of

the most important parts of any job. Having good people surround you in your work place make

everything work out better in the long run. Along with working with his coworkers, Albert also

enjoys the customer service aspect of his job. Interacting with customers/clients daily, makes him

more motivated to do his job. When I asked him what he liked least about his job, he began to

hesitate. It was difficult for him to come up with an answer for this question. After a good couple

of minutes, he answered with “Sales Goals”. Banking sales goals and strategies should be

customer-centric and micro-targeted. Sometimes it is hard to get things approved. Loans, credit

cards, etc… aren’t always approved for everyone, and without these approvals, the numbers

aren’t met and it reflects onto the branch team. Having certain skills, abilities, and personal

attributes are important for any job. Within Alberts’ profession, it is major to have people skills.

He deals with people all day and everyday. He mentioned that not being able to get along with

the people that walk into the bank makes the job hard. “Radiating good energy gives off a vibe

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that people like”. Along with people skills, being able to multitask within a high paced work

environment is crucial. Sometimes things pile up and everything gets hard to maintain. Knowing

how to handle these situations is required. Lastly, Albert mentioned that you must be responsible,

and show up on time whenever indicated by the schedule. This comes to play in any professional

job. Moving onto the education aspect of Alberts’ job. Technically you do not need a degree for

his position, but he recommends a Business Management degree and a Communications degree.

Hearing this answer made me very happy since these degrees, and a Human Resources degree,

are the ones I am most interested in. When I questioned Albert about current issues and trends in

this field, he stuttered a bit before coming to a clear conclusion. He answered with, “THE

ECONOMY”. With the low savings and interest rates and people not being very willing to invest

in the market right now, it becomes sort of an issue in banking. Albert ended his interview with

some advice. He said if someone is interested in sales, into customer service, and would enjoy

helping people with their money and finances, then this career path is the way to go.

I. Takeaways from the Interview

I took away plenty from this interview. My older brother and I usually do not have time

to talk about our time at work. I never really knew what it was like for him at Safe Credit Union.

Not only was I able to complete the objective of this assignment, but I was also able to connect

and bond with him. This experience allowed me to learn about what it is like to go from working

in the food service to working within the bank system. I am currently working in the food

industry, and after this interview, I might just be following Alberts’ footsteps. This interview took

place over the phone. Since I live with Albert, I would prefer to do the interview face to face if I

was going to do it differently next time. I feel as if it would have been easier to take in the

information he was sharing with me.

II. Professional Goals

As I mentioned earlier, there are certain habits, skills, traits, and values needed to develop

within this job path, and overall any career. People skills, being able to properly communicate,

and having good energy is really important when it comes to anything involving customer

service. Multitasking and being able to handle a high paced work environment shows a skilled

worker that knows how to do their job. Being responsible, taking accountability, and showing up

on time is crucial and needed always. Some other habits, skills, traits, and values that are

important are having organizational skills, being able to be a leader, capable of working together,

as well as, being able to work independently. Looking at the Sacramento State clubs, activities,

experiences, and campus and community resources, I see many different amazing opportunities

that could potentially guide me into the direction I want to go towards. Some of them include,

the Accounting Society, the Finance Club, the Community Engagement Center, and the Financial

Planning Association. The Accounting Society is personally a big one for me. “Accounting

Society's purpose is to help members develop a better understanding of the accounting and

finance profession, unite students interested in accounting and finance, provide a forum for

interaction between students, faculty, practicing professionals and prospective employers of

student members and provide a focal point for the socialization among College of Business

Administration majors with interest in accounting or finance.” The organizations statement of

purpose reflects everything I stand for when it comes to learning and following my career path. I

hope to take the time to learn more and hopefully soon join the Accounting Society. Mastery

within the General Education is important with meeting any professional goals I might have.

General Education allows us to learn background and core skills that can later be used within

different specialties. Albert mentioned in his interview that while you do not need a degree for

his job, he recommends a Business Management degree and a Communications degree, which

are both majors I am highly interested in and currently working on achieving

III. Next Steps

The habits, traits, and skills that were mentioned during the interview and all throughout

this essay can be applied too many other careers. Most jobs include having to communicate with

people. Life itself involves communicating, whether it’s verbal, written, or visual

communication. This skill being the most mentioned, is also one of the most important. After this

experience, there isn’t really much else I need to know moving forward. Seeing how happy

Albert is with his job makes me happy for him. His explanations and real honest and detailed

responses make his career path something that can become my own path. In the future, I hope to

network with other bankers and people in management positions in order to achieve my chanced

of success. Connections, communicating, and learning valuable information is what will get me

to where I want to be. This Career Information Interview/Essay was a step towards the right

direction!

References

Albert Gomez, Interviewed on 8 October 2021.