Last Post...Internship update

I have finally reached 20 posts. I learned a lot about blogging over the course of this semester. One of the things that I learned was that it is hard to find something interesting to write about on a regular basis. I always think of the reader; am I writing something that is going to interest them, does it make sense, do I need to add something or take away?

I thought that I would end this blogging with an update on the internship. I think I can safely say that it was a little different then I expected. I thought when I started the internship that I was going to be a lot like everything I was learning in my classes at school. I thought that I was going to tackle all facets of Human Resources; the training and development, budget, payroll, etc. I quickly learned that Human Resources is respective to the type of occupation, where you work, and who you work with.

Some of the things that I learned while in the internship was: payroll and using new computer programs in order to do payroll, filing (believe it or not, there are more and less effective ways to file), assisting in the paying of bills and knowing how the office pays those bills, gathering research, presenting information to co workers in order to gain a better understanding of procedures and policies within the Treasurers office.

I am glad that I was able to do this internship and hope to be able to use the skills that I learned in the future.

Productivity

Today was a very productive day.  The thing that I liked about this day the best was that I kept it pretty well balanced.  I was able to get a good amount of socialization, service, school work, and physical activity in today.  I think the hard part is maintaining that balance.  I have tried to stay on a schedule but, like I have said in previous blogs, sometimes things come up that change your priorities.  Even though I know a certain amount of my priorities will change from time to time, i think I should try to maintain a good social, service, and physical amount of activity going on in a day.  

Some new possibilities

Today was a good day at work because I got to see a little bit of fruit springing forth from my efforts in my Masters program.  At least I think that my Masters degree had a little bit to do with it.  I applied for a job a week ago with the county and today when I checked its status, it said that the application was sent to the head department for review.  This is good news, considering a while back, I had applied for several jobs with the county and, all of the jobs rejected my application.  They made it no where near the review from the head department.  Not that this sounds too out of the ordinary but, when I applied, I applied for about 5 jobs, and the county was not in any type of hiring freeze like it is now.  I don't know, maybe the degree doesn't have anything to do with it but, if it does, I am becoming a lot more grateful for the long hours I spent in my classes.

Succession Planning

One of the things  I have been asked to do for my internship is research with regards to different policies and procedures in the Treasurers office.  As  part of the research and my responsibilities as an intern, I am supposed to administer surveys to my co workers in order to find out what things they would like to learn more about in the Treasurers office.  This can be anything from questions about their general job duties to issues regarding company policies.  Right now, I am working on a succession plan for the cashiering department.  One of the things that the cashiers question is the lack of training they receive when they get hired on in the Treasurer's office.  The reason their is a lack of training is because there is no succession plan.  Nobody knows what to tell the cashiers when they get hired.  My plan is to write a succession plan for the Treasurers office and to hopefully implement it so that it will continue on to future employees.

A change of season

I took the day off of work today so I could finish up a couple of loose ends with my homework.  I still can't believe that I only have a couple of more things to do before I'm done with everything.  When I say everything, I mean everything required of me through my classes in order to get my Masters degree.  The other day I was asked what I am going to do with all of my spare time now that I am going to be out of school.  I started to think about all of the time that I will have but then realized that I probably won't do too many new things because when I wasn't going to school I was still busy.  I just organized my priorities differently once I started school.  I think it is interesting the types of things we consider priorities and how those things shift as new experiences or opportunities come into our life.  Don't get me wrong, there are some priorities that may always be a part of our life that don't change but, there are additional ones that we allow to be shifted.    I am excited for this semester to end.  Not only for the sense of accomplishment in getting a Masters degree but for new experiences and a priority shift.

A day of redemption

Today was a great day!  The reason was because I finally got together with the people I needed to, in order to get the pieces for my final project together.  It was hard to get our schedules to go together but, once we did, everything went perfect.  In fact, I got a lot more information then I thought I was going to.  I thanked them for their help but I feel like I owe them something more.  Maybe I can keep this experience in mind and remember to put myself out there when someone needs my help.  

Picking the brain

Today at work I got to sit down with one of the HR people today and ask questions about their job.  I always find it neat when I talk to other people about their job and how they started doing what they're doing.  Most of the time it is interesting because it seems like no two people ever have the same story.  What is even more interesting is the amount of people that go to school for one thing and then end up doing something totally different.  The lady that I talked to today had been out of school for quite a while, so I didn't talk to her much about her degree or what she did in school.  I did talk to her about things that she did professionally that prepared her for the job she is doing now, and the types of things she did in previous jobs that helped her to be more marketable.  Ironically enough, it sounded like the position that she has now just happened to her.  She had been working for different places, doing different types of administrative things when a job opening came.  The supervisor she was working for at the time thought that she would be a good fit and so he referred her to it.  She applied and has been there ever since.  Sometimes I get a little nervous in job searching because I am never quite sure if the job I will take is going to be beneficial to me in the long run.  It is an interesting thought because I don't think anyone is really prepared for the experiences they encounter.  The best thing to do is take advantage of the opportunities as they come and work hard in everything we do.