National Association for the Practice of Anthropology
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
NAPA
  • Discover
    • About
    • Annual Meeting
    • Join/Membership
    • Volunteer
    • NAPA Awards
    • Donate
  • Practice
    • About Practice
    • Ethics
    • Best Practices
    • Interviews
    • Toolkit of a Good Professional Anthropologist
    • 2019 American Anthropology Master’s Career Survey
    • Case Studies
    • Student Achievement Award
    • Related Organizations
  • Mentoring/Career
    • NAPA Mentor Program
    • Mentoring FAQ
    • sNAPAshots
    • Career Development
    • Internship Tips
    • Position Listings
    • Field Schools
    • Fellowships, Volunteering, and Internships
    • Graduate Programs
    • Why Anthropology?
  • Communicate
    • NAPA Listserv
    • NAPA Notes
    • Submit to NAPA
    • Blog/Social Media
    • Contact Us
  • Discover
    • About
    • Annual Meeting
    • Join/Membership
    • Volunteer
    • NAPA Awards
    • Donate
  • Practice
    • About Practice
    • Ethics
    • Best Practices
    • Interviews
    • Toolkit of a Good Professional Anthropologist
    • 2019 American Anthropology Master’s Career Survey
    • Case Studies
    • Student Achievement Award
    • Related Organizations
  • Mentoring/Career
    • NAPA Mentor Program
    • Mentoring FAQ
    • sNAPAshots
    • Career Development
    • Internship Tips
    • Position Listings
    • Field Schools
    • Fellowships, Volunteering, and Internships
    • Graduate Programs
    • Why Anthropology?
  • Communicate
    • NAPA Listserv
    • NAPA Notes
    • Submit to NAPA
    • Blog/Social Media
    • Contact Us
NAPA
  • Discover
    • About
    • Annual Meeting
    • Join/Membership
    • Volunteer
    • NAPA Awards
    • Donate
  • Practice
    • About Practice
    • Ethics
    • Best Practices
    • Interviews
    • Toolkit of a Good Professional Anthropologist
    • 2019 American Anthropology Master’s Career Survey
    • Case Studies
    • Student Achievement Award
    • Related Organizations
  • Mentoring/Career
    • NAPA Mentor Program
    • Mentoring FAQ
    • sNAPAshots
    • Career Development
    • Internship Tips
    • Position Listings
    • Field Schools
    • Fellowships, Volunteering, and Internships
    • Graduate Programs
    • Why Anthropology?
  • Communicate
    • NAPA Listserv
    • NAPA Notes
    • Submit to NAPA
    • Blog/Social Media
    • Contact Us
  • Discover
    • About
    • Annual Meeting
    • Join/Membership
    • Volunteer
    • NAPA Awards
    • Donate
  • Practice
    • About Practice
    • Ethics
    • Best Practices
    • Interviews
    • Toolkit of a Good Professional Anthropologist
    • 2019 American Anthropology Master’s Career Survey
    • Case Studies
    • Student Achievement Award
    • Related Organizations
  • Mentoring/Career
    • NAPA Mentor Program
    • Mentoring FAQ
    • sNAPAshots
    • Career Development
    • Internship Tips
    • Position Listings
    • Field Schools
    • Fellowships, Volunteering, and Internships
    • Graduate Programs
    • Why Anthropology?
  • Communicate
    • NAPA Listserv
    • NAPA Notes
    • Submit to NAPA
    • Blog/Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Main Blog » Interviews » NAPA Career Profiles: Jen Cardew Kersey

NAPA Career Profiles: Jen Cardew Kersey

July 8, 2014 No Comments

“I was lucky enough to go through two applied departments that focused on training for practitioners, so I left school very ready to handle clients, scope realistic research, work with others and have a small knowledge of business skills.”


After graduating, Jen began working as a research consultant. Starting in a small boutique firm, and working her way into a global advertising agency.

“I was bold when I was younger, simply out of naiveté. I got into every meeting I could, did a lot of my own participant observation and absorbed everything. I volunteered for every project I could and in every role I could. I worked long hours after getting myself in too deep sometimes. I reached out to my network for resources, questions and support. The first few years are hard. But it is so worth it when you hear a friend or family member raving about something and then getting to say “I worked on that. I was a part of that.”

 Jen now has over six years of experience in design and strategy research, completing projects for such clients as Microsoft, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Mattel and a slew of others.

“I love understanding clients’ business problems, and translating that into a research approach. Going out and spending time with users, and ultimately supporting the creation of something that fits into our users’ lives, rather than something we try to get users to fit into. I work in multi-disciplinary teams and find the collaboration of the different lenses and skills powerful when it comes to creating awesome experiences for users. Some of my favorite moments have come from taking clients and colleagues into the field and watching as their assumptions are challenged, their empathy develops and they have those a-ha moments.”

 Jen credits anthropology with not only shaping her career, but also shaping who she is personally.  The foundational knowledge of methods, theories and history, allows her to see the world differently from other disciplines, which she says become crystal clear when working on multidisciplinary teams.

“Once you learn these things, you use that knowledge without consciously thinking of it. I never put theoretical frameworks in front of clients, but I most certainly use them to inform my approach and analysis. I use abbreviated versions of our traditional methodologies. My anthropology looks different from Boas’ anthropology, but it is anthropology none-the-less.” 

Jen strongly values how anthropology unconsciously informs her approach to new situations, and feels it is distinctly different from that of other backgrounds such as business or marketing.

“When I enter on to a new project I tend to take a passive observer role at the very beginning.  I am usually the research lead so I do have to balance observer with leader. Once I get the feel for the team, the rhythm, the ways in which they do things, and the processes, I start to become more active (sound familiar?). Then I start to ask a lot of questions so that I clearly understand the clients’ needs, my team’s needs, and the problems at hand. Once I have that knowledge, I create a research approach that will answer our research questions, and will fit within the timeline and budget and get out into the field for some deep hanging out with users. What is familiar to us is not as familiar to others. I see people join projects without regard to the existing culture and I see people start working without clear understandings of the stakeholders’ interests and the research problems all the time.”

In addition to her work as a consultant, Jen has always been involved with the larger community of anthropology through volunteering and mentoring. Early on, she helped launch the SfAA Podcast Series, has developed two internship programs, and was previously the Chair of the Communications Committee for NAPA.  Jen finds this kind of involvement critical for new practitioners, as a strong network can provide the support necessary to get a career going.

“Having a network is incredibly important, in having mentorship, resources, not feeling alone outside of academia, and in finding jobs. Also, take advantage of internships and class projects. Any research experience you can get is incredibly helpful when it comes to getting a job and being successful in that first job. If you have research experience from school, consider adding it to your resume and creating a portfolio. Downplay the fact it was a class project and emphasize what you did and why you did it. Stay naive and always be a wide-eyed-observer.”

These brief interviews of some key anthropological practitioners appeared on the NAPA LinkedIn pages (2013); subsequent interviews were posted on the NAPA blog (2014). They are listed here by the most recent interviews. The interview series was produced by NAPA Communications Committee members Kristin Keller and Nicole Conand.

NAPA Career Profiles
« Previous Post
Next Post »

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Welcome To NAPA

NAPA promotes human-centered work applied to practical problems by linking a network of professional anthropologists working across employment sectors.  We support all anthropologists in bringing real solutions to communities, organizations, and policymakers, by offering advocacy, information, networks, mentoring, and continuing education.

 

AnthroJobs Of The Week

AnthroJobs of the Week, 22 December 2021

Happy HolidaysReaders, we’re back! We have several interesting positions at North Range Behavioral Health, Tech Goes Home, The University of Oklahoma, and the University of North Texas. Check them out! 

Read More »
Latest Announcements

sNAPAshots: Anna Marie Trester and Adela Rahmati

Student Paper Awards

sNAPAshots: Marietta Baba

sNAPAshots: Suzette Vontell Chang

Sign-up To Our Newsletter To Stay Up To Date!

Browse NAPA’s Blogs:
  • Announcements
  • Annual Meeting
  • AnthroJobs
  • Best Practices
  • Main Blog
    • AnthroCurrents
    • Case Studies
    • Guest Blog
      • Design by Anthropologists
    • Interviews
      • NAPA Podcast
      • Volunteer of the Year Award Interview
    • Member Blog
  • Newsletter Archive
  • s-NAPA-shots
Tag Cloud
American Anthropological Association (AAA) analytics anthro/studio anthropology anthropology jobs Anthropology News best practices biological anthropology book reviews business anthropology Call for Papers careers expo profile change mangement check community Consulting corporate anthropology design design anthropology design ethnography Design Research digital anthropology digital ethnography ethics ethnography fieldwork forensic anthropology Governing Council Today linguistic anthropology LinkedIn Series Interview marketing medical anthropology NAPA Awards NAPA Career Profiles NAPA Notes Networking organizational anthropology political anthropology quantitative research technology theory TWIAN user research UX Volunteering

Discover

  • About
  • Annual Meeting
  • Join/Membership
  • Volunteer
  • NAPA Awards
  • Donate

Practice

  • About Practice
  • Ethics
  • Best Practices
  • Interviews
  • Case Studies
  • Student Achievement Award
  • Related Organizations

Mentoring/
Career

  • NAPA Mentor Program
  • Mentor FAQ
  • Career Development
  • Internship Tips
  • Position Listings
  • Field Schools
  • Fellowships, Volunteering, and Internships
  • Graduate Programs
  • Why Anthropology?

Communicate

  • NAPA Listserv
  • NAPA Notes
  • Submit To The Annals
  • Blog/Social Media
  • Contact Us
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Terms And Conditions

  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer

The National Association For The Practice of Anthropology is a section of The American Anthropological Association (AAA) – contact GC

© 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A COLLABORATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY NETWORK SITE

Scroll to top
Skip to content
Open toolbar

Accessibility Tools

  • Increase Text
  • Decrease Text
  • Grayscale
  • High Contrast
  • Negative Contrast
  • Light Background
  • Links Underline
  • Readable Font
  • Reset