Office Parties and socializing

On Friday, my office had a Halloween party. It was a great way to socialize with other employees. These are the colleagues that you don't see everyday, the ones who work in different departments or just walk by your door and all you do is wave and smile at them and that's it. It was great to see everybody again because even though we are all together 5 days a week we are all so busy with our work that we rarely have time to really sit down and talk with one another.

Informational interviews

Last week I conducted my first informational interview and it was a great experience. An informational interview is a short meeting that you have with an experienced professional when you want more information about a field or company. It is best to get started by asking people you already know: friends, past colleagues, schoolmates, etc. about their experiences. You could also ask them about how they came to be where they are today or what it is like to work for the company and where they think it is going in the future. Informational interviews are also helpful for building your network because can ask them who else they would recommend you talk to. If you are relocating or the person you want to talk to is always busy, call them and ask if you can e-mail them a short list of questions. Don't forget to be professional: dress nicely, be punctual and have a business card ready.

Nonprofit HR Conference

Hello everyone,

Today I volunteered at an NCHRA seminar. It was about working as an HR professional in the nonprofit sector. It was at the San Francisco Marriott, Union Square area conveniently located near the Powell BART station. We had a continental breakfast in the morning where I had my first piece of coffee cake. It tasted great. The hotel was very clean and had a good atmosphere. The staff was friendly and did their part to make sure the event was a success. Lunch was a salad followed by chicken with a mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes with gravy. Many people agreed that it was good for hotel food. Now on to the seminar.

First Bill Coy and Cathy Claggett talked about why they were holding this seminar. Next, Steve Hirschfeld told us about employment law in the nonprofit sector. He went over legal issues regarding unlawful termination, reasonable accommodation, privacy rights, workplace bullying and unions. He also advise us on how to stay out of trouble and avoid or win lawsuits brought up against our companies for the above reasons. I liked his talk because he was organized, clear, funny and he used good examples. Then Dalya Massachi and Kim Coulthurst gave us some tips on improving our communication skills including knowing your audience, thinking about your tone and making sure you proofread or rehearse. Lastly, Marcia Hodges, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area spoke to us about effectively managing people in a nonprofit context. It has a lot to do with credibility, knowing yourself, building relationships, being a good leader and being optimistic.

Boy, I am learning a lot lately. Has anyone else attended a seminar, conference or another event were they learned something recently?

My HR Classes

Last week I started the Effective Performance Management class. It is going to last until December. I have already gotten a brief overview of what performance management is, how messages affect people and the benefits of implementing a performance management system. In my Benefit Plans class I am learning all about health benefits including the difference between traditional medical expense plans and the newer, more widely used managed care plans, which consist of HMOs, PPOs, POSs and Multiple-Option plans. We also discussed the legislation around health benefits such as the HMO Act of 1973, ERISA, COBRA, the Mental Health Parity Act, the Patients' Bill of Rights and the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act. Lastly, we went over benefit carve-outs. At work

This weekend - woot woot

There was a lot of stuff going on this weekend; lots of fun activities and events. To start off with, I attended my first Cal Black Alumni Club event at Pican in Oakland on Friday night. It was a homecoming event. I met a lot of great Alums and will be attending more of their events in the future.

Then on Saturday I had my last employee recruitment, selection and placement class. Our teacher Nicole Jackson is a great educator. She really knows a lot about recruiting, especially the legal environment surrounding recruiting and how to get the best talent. I will also miss learning from all of my classmates but effective performance management starts on Wednesday so I should meet new classmates. For our last class we had to do a presentation which I posted on slideshare so go check it out. After class I was walking to the mall and ended up right in the middle of the lovefest parade. It was fun. Good music, people in weird outfits; everyone was just having a good time. After I got my pretzel, I took the BART home. It was packed because of the USC/Cal game. Saturday night I went to the PEERS Sweeney Todd Ball in San Mateo. It was fun. There was singing, dancing and a show. I particularly enjoyed dancing the grand march and being part of the chorus. I met some cool people and can't wait for the vampire ball next month.

On Sunday I got my hair done and went shopping at Macy's. Got some great business clothes. Overall it was a busy but fun weekend. I hope you had a good weekend too.