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- Nicole Martin
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Showing posts with label Careers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Careers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Photo Job Shadow: Full-Time College Student
4:43 PM | Posted by
Nicole Martin |
It's time for another edition of Photo Job Shadow! Reader and fellow blogger Caitlin approached me about being a part of this project as a full-time student. She quickly related balancing classes, homework, and other activities to having a full-time job, and she's right. My college days were jam packed as well, and most days I didn't see my dorm room for 12 hours straight. Thinking back, I'm not sure how I did it all! Caitlin, I give you and other active college students major kudos for doing it all - keep up the great work!
9:30-midnight – I spend the rest of my night hanging out with girls on my wing, watching movies, doing homework, and getting my blog post ready for the next day. I also pick out my outfit ahead of time.
Full-Time College Student
Name: Caitlin
Blog: Re-Mix-Her
Industry: Academics
Quick summary of your day: I’m currently a junior in college with a full-time load of classes. I’m majoring in professional writing and minoring in public relations and Biblical languages (Greek and Hebrew). As a student, each day differs; for instance, I have no classes on Thursdays, but on Wednesdays (the day I took pictures of), I’m in class for over five hours.
7-7:50 am – Getting ready for the day, putting on my makeup, watching a big of The Office while I get ready
8-8:20 am – Eating breakfast at the dining commons and studying for a test
8:30-11 am – Going to classes and chapel
11 am-12 pm – I have a break for about an hour, during which I typically go back to my dorm room and finish some homework
12-1 pm – Eating lunch at the dining commons with some of the girls from my dorm wing
1-1:50 pm – Going to class
2:-5:30 pm – I have another break from classes that I use for a number of things. Sometimes I need to run errands (like on this particular day during which I went to WalMart to buy a new umbrella), to work on my blog and homework with a little French press coffee, or to do homework at the local coffee shop.
5:30-6:30 pm (no picture) – Eating dinner at the dining commons
6:30-9:30 pm – Depending on the day, I either have class during this time, a seminar to attend, an intramural game to watch, or I work out.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Photo Job Shadow: Communications Manager & Editor
4:09 PM | Posted by
Nicole Martin |
I'm so excited to bring you another edition of Photo Job Shadow! This time, we'll get a peek into the daily happenings of one of my favorite pro style bloggers, who spends her day working as a...
Communications Manager & Editor
Name: Angeline
Blog: The New Professional
Industry: Nonprofit serving higher education institutions
Quick summary of your day: I work in a nonprofit that runs about 13 programs and serves over 100 locations statewide, so there is quite a bit of variety in my day-to-day. You never know when a program has something that comes up, and they usually need it yesterday. My duties run the gamut from writing (both marketing speak and magazine articles), page layout/document production, social media, editorial duties, and project management. Currently I’m working on retooling our magazine model (from a three-times-a-year online/print to a constantly updated blog) and gearing up our photo contest for its fifth year. After work, I usually just want to relax and try to do one night on the computer, another night off. Here is a glimpse of my day.
7:20 a.m. – Stand in front of my closet asking “What should I wear today?” I actually have an idea, so I grab stuff and try it out. Start pulling accessories and piling them on.Done.
7:30 a.m. – Put on my face. Aside from face lotion (which I put on right after getting out of the shower), this is my entire makeup routine. Love my drugstore brands. Head out the door.
8 a.m. – Get to work and make some breakfast. Instant oatmeal (Target’s generic lower sugar apple and cinnamon), green tea, and a fiber bar that looked tasty on the box and was on sale. It was so-so.
8:40 a.m. – Edit some documents written by one of our interns. It wasn’t as scary as it looks—I prefer to give overall feedback in comments rather than making a ton of nit-picky in-line edits. My weather widget in the bottom right hand corner is reminding me that it’s only 34 degrees outside right now…brr!
9:30 a.m. – Prep for my two back-to-back meetings. Lots of printouts, ideas, and notes.
10 a.m. – Monthly magazine team meeting. We just churned out our first online issue in January, so I brought breakfast as a thank-you. There was a chocolate muffin on that plate, too. I may or may not have eaten ¾ of it. After the magazine meeting, head straight into a conference call about the annual photo contest I coordinate.
12:10 p.m. – It’s Chick-Fil-A Wednesday! Some of my coworkers and I hit up this place once a week (it’s usually Fridays but moves around quite a bit). Eight-count nuggets and a small order of fries, please! Decided not to go with ice cream today even though it’s pretty nice out.
1:30 p.m. – Spend the afternoon checking in on our social media sites and looking for a dashboard (preferably web-based) that would allow us to manage our 9+ social media profiles and the 8-10 people that work on them. We don’t have a single dedicated social media person—it’s really a team effort, but could be more coordinated. Work in progress.
5:35 p.m. – Get out of the office while it’s still light out. Score!
6:05 p.m. – Swing my a friend’s house in the next town over to pick up my curriculum for teaching Sunday School this weekend. I have the preschoolers (age 3-5). They are the best.
6:35 p.m. – Home sweet home.
6:45 p.m. – Take outfit photos. K teaches a class on Wednesdays until 7 p.m., and I’m dying to get into my pajamas, so I go with my usual solo set-up.
7:00 p.m. – Homemade pizza for dinner. Made the dough last night from the recipe in The Joy of Cooking. Half sauce for K, half ricotta cheese for me.
7:30 p.m. – Blogging. I liked my outfit so much I decided to forego the prepped posts I had and post this one right away. You can see it here.
8-10 p.m. – Catching up on blog reading, Glee, and now Sportscenter. It was just one of those nights. 
11 p.m. – I’m over a month behind on my Sports Illustrated, so I try to do a bit of reading before bed each night. The eye mask is a must when you live in a downtown area and have blinds with lots of holes in your bedroom—there are floodlights in the alleyway right outside my window, so it never gets completely dark.
Communications Manager & Editor
Name: Angeline
Blog: The New Professional
Industry: Nonprofit serving higher education institutions
Quick summary of your day: I work in a nonprofit that runs about 13 programs and serves over 100 locations statewide, so there is quite a bit of variety in my day-to-day. You never know when a program has something that comes up, and they usually need it yesterday. My duties run the gamut from writing (both marketing speak and magazine articles), page layout/document production, social media, editorial duties, and project management. Currently I’m working on retooling our magazine model (from a three-times-a-year online/print to a constantly updated blog) and gearing up our photo contest for its fifth year. After work, I usually just want to relax and try to do one night on the computer, another night off. Here is a glimpse of my day.
7 a.m. – Hot shower while the heater kicks in.
7:20 a.m. – Stand in front of my closet asking “What should I wear today?” I actually have an idea, so I grab stuff and try it out. Start pulling accessories and piling them on.Done.
7:30 a.m. – Put on my face. Aside from face lotion (which I put on right after getting out of the shower), this is my entire makeup routine. Love my drugstore brands. Head out the door.
8 a.m. – Get to work and make some breakfast. Instant oatmeal (Target’s generic lower sugar apple and cinnamon), green tea, and a fiber bar that looked tasty on the box and was on sale. It was so-so.
8:40 a.m. – Edit some documents written by one of our interns. It wasn’t as scary as it looks—I prefer to give overall feedback in comments rather than making a ton of nit-picky in-line edits. My weather widget in the bottom right hand corner is reminding me that it’s only 34 degrees outside right now…brr!
9:30 a.m. – Prep for my two back-to-back meetings. Lots of printouts, ideas, and notes.
10 a.m. – Monthly magazine team meeting. We just churned out our first online issue in January, so I brought breakfast as a thank-you. There was a chocolate muffin on that plate, too. I may or may not have eaten ¾ of it. After the magazine meeting, head straight into a conference call about the annual photo contest I coordinate.
12:10 p.m. – It’s Chick-Fil-A Wednesday! Some of my coworkers and I hit up this place once a week (it’s usually Fridays but moves around quite a bit). Eight-count nuggets and a small order of fries, please! Decided not to go with ice cream today even though it’s pretty nice out.
1:30 p.m. – Spend the afternoon checking in on our social media sites and looking for a dashboard (preferably web-based) that would allow us to manage our 9+ social media profiles and the 8-10 people that work on them. We don’t have a single dedicated social media person—it’s really a team effort, but could be more coordinated. Work in progress.
5:35 p.m. – Get out of the office while it’s still light out. Score!
6:05 p.m. – Swing my a friend’s house in the next town over to pick up my curriculum for teaching Sunday School this weekend. I have the preschoolers (age 3-5). They are the best.
6:35 p.m. – Home sweet home.
6:45 p.m. – Take outfit photos. K teaches a class on Wednesdays until 7 p.m., and I’m dying to get into my pajamas, so I go with my usual solo set-up.
7:00 p.m. – Homemade pizza for dinner. Made the dough last night from the recipe in The Joy of Cooking. Half sauce for K, half ricotta cheese for me.
7:30 p.m. – Blogging. I liked my outfit so much I decided to forego the prepped posts I had and post this one right away. You can see it here.
8-10 p.m. – Catching up on blog reading, Glee, and now Sportscenter. It was just one of those nights.
11 p.m. – I’m over a month behind on my Sports Illustrated, so I try to do a bit of reading before bed each night. The eye mask is a must when you live in a downtown area and have blinds with lots of holes in your bedroom—there are floodlights in the alleyway right outside my window, so it never gets completely dark.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
3 Best Interview Tips
7:18 PM | Posted by
Nicole Martin |
If you have ever been on an interview, you know that there are a gazillion elements to think about leading up to that day: “What is the quickest route to the office? Did I contact all my referrals?? Is my breath fresh???” But in comparison to the actual interview, these details are minute and can distract from the main event. Follow these three tips, and you’ll be ready to rock the interview… plus have time to eat breakfast :)
1. Research the Company: I think most everyone does the bare minimum here, which probably means browsing the company’s website. Go a step further and dig for current news articles mentioning the company. This will give you an understanding of how your skills can be applied to real-time business issues and changes. It will also allow you to ask meaningful questions.
2. Become a Storyteller: I think every company that I have interviewed with uses behavioral interviewing techniques. This is where the interviewer will ask for examples on how you have demonstrated your skills. What behavioral interviewing does is allow the interviewer to assess how strong your skills actually are. Sub-tip 1: You will know it’s a behavioral interview if the interviewer asks something like, “Tell me a time when…” Sub-tip 2: Make sure you have not stretched the truth on your resume, because false details are easily identified through this technique.
3. Practice Makes Perfect: If there is one thing that is guaranteed to ease your nerves, it’s practicing. And the more you practice, the easier it will be to answer any curveball question that gets thrown at you! Find anyone who will listen to you: your mom, your friend, even your dog… they do not have to know the right answer to the practice questions, though it helps if you want feedback!
If it hasn’t been obvious, let me spell it out to you: it all comes down to preparation! If you want to get that dream job, all the time you put into preparing for those interviews will be worth it. What's your fail proof interview tip? Please share, I'd love to hear them! :)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Photo Job Shadow: HR Specialist
8:00 AM | Posted by
Nicole Martin |
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Considerations When Working at Home
8:00 AM | Posted by
Nicole Martin |
 |
| Source |
- Set expectations with your boss & colleagues. Discussing your work at home schedule with your manager might be obvious, but be sure that your colleagues are aware of your schedule. This note should also include all ways to contact you throughout the day: e-mail, phone number(s), instant message, etc.
- Stick to your normal hours. While working from home might mean an opportunity to sleep in, just be sure that you are ready to begin your day when you normally would. Do not take advantage by sleeping in til 10am when you are normally in the office by 8:30am.
- Recreate your work environment at home. Having a distinct work space separate from the rest of your living space will mentally prepare you for a productive day. You don't necessarily need an entire room, but an area that is designated to work only. If you need home office inspiration, check out this post from Jane Has a Job.
- Get a sitter. If your children are home all day or even part of the day, get a sitter to watch them while you are working. Working at home is not a solution for cutting back on child care costs. You wouldn't want to end up in a tough situation, like your boss or a client calls while you are in the middle of consoling a crying infant or breaking up a fight between siblings.
Overall, your work environment should have as little distractions as if you were actually in the office, and your colleagues should not notice that you're not physically there. For those of you who regularly work out of a home office - any other tips??
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