Interview

Assessment #6

Hansvi Patel
Steve Osborne
Point Innovation
1826 Lakeway Dr.
Lewisville, TX 75057
January 31, 2018
3:00pm
As I was interviewing professionals, this company really stood out to me just
based on the number of reviews this company had indicating that people have liked
their services. After noticing that, it was just a matter of trying to get an interview. I had
left the receptionist Ms. Joyce Anderson a voicemail, but did not really expect to hear
from the company again. Not only was I surprised by the fact that she called me back,
but she also told me that one of the electrical engineers, Mr. Steve Osborne, would be
willing to be interviewed, and so that is how I ended up interviewing another
professional within the last two weeks.
The interview was definitely not what I was expecting though. I was slightly
disappointed by the fact that this interview was probably one of the shortest ones that I
have been on so far nearing only about thirty minutes. I do not know if the reason
behind this was because of the fact that Mr. Osborne would not expand on questions to
try to keep the conversation going or if I did not ask enough questions. I feel like the
latter is probably not the case, as I felt that I had asked more than my usual amount of
questions. I also did not feel like I was asking questions based off of what he said and
was instead asking random (still related to my topic) questions in order to fill in the
awkward pauses. I think that he may not be a good choice for a mentor mainly because I
felt like the work they were doing was a more advanced field of electrical engineering
whereas I believe it would be in my best interests to start learning from the basics
meaning focusing more on the manufacturing aspect of electrical engineering. Despite
really liking the work environment and the idea of learning from a professional that
integrates various systems into airplanes (like outlets and televisions), this interview
helped me realize what field of electrical engineering I would like to learn more about.
Even though, I did not feel like Mr. Osborne was the right professional for me, I
really enjoyed learning from what he had to offer and appreciated the time he took out
of his day to speak with me. Not only did he tell me that communication and
documentation is vital for electrical engineers (something that has also been repeated
multiple times by various professionals) and reinforced its importance, but he also
emphasized the amount of group work that you will be required to do and how much
you will rely on the help of others. What he meant by this is that many people assume
that electrical engineers can just sit in their cubicles and get their work done by
themselves and just go home with minimum contact with your coworkers. However,
many times projects require you to get the help of another to understand how the
system works. The example Mr. Osborne gave me was when he tries to put an electrical
system into an airplane, he might need the help of an aerospace and mechanical
engineer to understand how the overall space of the plane works in order to make sure
that when he puts in the electrical system, everything will still function properly and fit
exactly into the designated space. Despite the fact that I have heard there is a lot of
teamwork that goes into being an engineer, it also shows that knowing a little bit of
other aspects of engineering can also be beneficial. In Point Innovation, the electrical
engineers use a lot of CAD software which is usually something many mechanical
engineers use, as it allows you to build a 3D model of the equipment you are trying to
look at. I had not really considered knowing other fields of engineering to be important,
so I am glad that Mr. Osborne brought this up in our conversation.
From that piece of information, I realized that even though I am not at the point
where I am learning about different fields of engineering, I can still apply this idea to my
journey right now. In high school, I have found many classes to be completely pointless
and a waste of time; however, I realized that there should always be something you
should take out of it, as you never know how it will help you in the future. He helped me
realize that even though I do not like something now, the skills and opportunities that
will open up to me, because I have some more experience than another candidate, can be
a determining factor in my success. Even though I may not see it right now, I have
started to look at things on a more positive note and am proud of what I have come to
accomplish in ISM so far. I am just glad that I had decided to step out of my comfort zone
and applied for this program in the first place, as I have not only learned a lot so far, but
I feel like I am getting a lot of experience that I could use many years down the road.
After having this interview, I hope to continue to recognize the importance of learning
and learn to be grateful for all that I have. If I recall correctly, Mr. Osborne told me that
he wishes he had the opportunity of doing this when he was my age, and he also said
that he had to work a lot to get to where he is today. It was not an easy feat for him, but
the work he has done to get there has ultimately paid off. I hope to one day be as
successful as he is and I know now that it all starts with working hard and pushing
yourself to be a better person than you were yesterday as well as not giving up.