Interview Summary

The person I selected for my interview was Cindy Burke, the CFO of a local Bank. The reason I selected her is because she began as an accountant and then progressed to the job she holds now.  Having risen through the ranks in the banking and business world, she has a great deal of knowledge about writing within her profession.  The questions I selected were geared toward getting an understanding of what kinds of writing she does on a daily basis and what skill make an effective business writer. I discovered that she uses many different genres of writing depending the task and the audience.  Some of the styles of communication include preparing reports, formal presentation using PowerPoint, hand written letters, and e-mails.  Additionally, she uses explanatory writing within charts and graphs. She believes good communication skills are critical for success at any business position. The skills she finds most important are understanding the audience, the message that needs to be communicated, and the method of writing being used.  Also, she emphasized the importance of utilizing peer review of her work before distribution.  Some things about writing she learned after entering the work force were that her written work told the audience a great deal about her and her ability to communicate, each individual has a preference for a particular style of communication, and understanding the difference between casual communication and a formal document. She stressed that writing for her is an ongoing process and she continues to look for ways to improve her communication.