Have you ever seen photo diaries that have one or two pictures per hour of that person's day?  Photo Job Shadow is just like that, except that in this new series, you will be able to see what other people actually do at their job!  Some may choose to share their full day so you can get an idea of work-life balance as well.  I will feature a couple different jobs a month, and I truly hope you enjoy having some first-hand insight into the various careers and industries highlighted in this series.  To kick things off, here is my day as a....

Human Resources Specialist

6am ~ Time to get up and get ready!


7am ~ Quickly take indoor outfit pics since it's cold and dismal outside.  Then venture into said dismal weather, clean off car, get to the office.


8am ~ I always start my day off with breakfast (egg wrap & green tea that day) and check my e-mails.


9am ~ Working in our HR system to correct any bonus or merit increase errors and meet our budget for final submission to leadership for their review (super confidential stuff - can't show you the specifics here ;)


10am ~ Schedule a meeting with one of the teams I support. We will discuss team members who are ready for their next job and then who should backfill them (yay career progression!)  Then a conference call to prep a training instructor so she understands the learning needs specific to that group of employees.




11am ~ Quick pick-me-up snack (dang those were salty!)  Then I attempt to create a document for the meeting I previously scheduled.  However, my phone starts ringing off the hook and IM's begin popping up with employee questions/issues/concerns/etc.


12pm ~ A small but filling lunch!  And a mental break with some blog reading :)


1pm ~ More work in our system and more phone calls.  I can tell by now that my to do list won't be as complete as I would have liked today!


2pm ~ I feel a little overwhelmed so I reassess items on my to do list.  Figure out what I need to prioritize and what can wait a day or two.  Then finally complete that document that I had started at 11am.  This breaks down a ton of info by employee: time in role, performance ratings, career desires, etc.




3pm ~ Resolve some more issues via instant messenger (a lot of people I support don't sit in my office, so we communicate in all different ways!)


4pm ~ Finally eating my apple from lunch, and added some peanut butter (yum!!)  Also got to those last e-mails that needed to be answered today.


5pm ~ Chip away at my frozen car (actually good stress relief :) and run a couple errands.


6pm ~ Gym time!  I love using medicine balls!!


7pm ~ Work on a blog post in front of the tv.  Then dinner cooked by The Husband.  Because I'm a stinky cook :)


8pm ~ The Husband is also a fine barkeep.


9pm ~ Cuddling with the pup (how happy/lazy does she look?!)


10pm ~ Herbal tea (because I'm a granny like that), book, then bed.


So there you have it!  Working in Human Resources is a fine balance of keeping those details organized and interacting with a variety of people.  Passion for working with people is a must!  The best way I can describe what I do on a whole is that I work for the company while also keeping in mind what's best for the employees.  Again, another fine balance at times.  Also, as you can see, you never know what a day has in store for you - so I'm rarely bored but need to be flexible and just roll with things.  If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel free to contact me!

Did you like Photo Job Shadow?  Want more??  Please let me know if you would like to participate by e-mailing me at employed.panache@gmail.com.