Submitted by Jorge Gonzalez-GarciaDesign Thinking Action Lab

August 5, 2013

EMPATHIZE AND DEFINE

Empathy Map: The Interview

Elizabeth is a 19 year old student, and she has a challenge: How to get experience in the medical field she wants to work in, while juggling her schedule of university classes and two part-time jobs? Like many students her age, she doesn’t know how to make the transition to the kind of work she wants to do. And that uncertainty has her worried and frustrated.

I know Elizabeth from the Starbucks Café where she works, and which I visit on a regular basis. I like her because she is always in a good mood. And she strikes me as a student with solid potential. One day I happened to meet her on the street, and we ended up talking for almost an hour. I had asked her how she was doing with her classes. And she described her situation, the transition she wanted to make, and her worry and frustration. I listened and made mental notes.

I thought about my first job, 17 years old and working at a grocery story to support myself while finishing my last year of prep school. That was rough, but I had my own car and my own apartment. And I was proud of the fact that I had done it all on my own.

At the end of our conversation, I told Elizabeth I had an idea. And we decided to meet the next day at the cafeteria of the nearby university hospital. I wanted her to absorb the atmosphere of the hospital, and to imagine herself working there as a nurse or a medical student. We talked for an hour. I asked her how she was going to start getting experience in this field she had chosen. She said she wasn’t sure. I asked her to take notes, and I made some suggestions. And then we went knocking on doors. An hour later, she had a list of contacts and their business cards. And a roadmap for making the transition.

Challenge Statement: A Transition Roadmap

Elizabeth is a smart and motivated young person who is luckyin that she has a clear idea of the work she wants to do. In that sense, she is ahead of many of her peers. But, that doesn’t mean she knows how to take that all-important first step. The one that gets her inside the hospital door doing entry level work for not much money. Doesn’t matter, because it’s about the experience. And once she’s inside the door she’s smart enough to figure out the next steps.

In my conversations with her, I didn’t get the sense that she was getting good, practical advice from anyone. Not from her parents, not from her teachers, and not from her peers. Why is that? I have no idea. At the same time, I happened to be in a position to help her out. Am I an expert on medical careers? No, but I do know how to navigate in the real world. And I know how a person needs to present themself to professionals in the world of business, education and science.

And I remember how tough it was for me when I was still in high school and working to support myself, and pay for my apartment and car. I wish I would have had someone to give me advice on taking that first step toward the creative work I wanted to do. As it turned out, I was able to figure it out eventually. But I remember the feeling of navigating in the dark, and wondering if I was making the right moves. And I promised myself that if I could ever help a young person in a similar situation, I would do just that.

Given time, Elizabeth would have figured out a way inside those hospital doors. But I was in a position to help, and so I did.