Our intern Nicole says farewell!

I have just completed my last rotation as an intern with the Indiana State Personnel Department!  I spent my last two weeks with the department working for the Adjutant General’s Office.  My time there was extremely interesting and I feel as if I was able to learn a lot, not only about human resources but also about the United States military and National Guard.

One of my assignments for the AGO was to create a Good to Great Plan for the organization.  I was able to assist the HR department in creating a plan to change the way their office and organization operates.  The Good to Great Plan I created included changes such as advancement in technology as well as future goals for the organization.  I was also able to assist in narrowing down the candidate pool for some of the positions that are currently open within the National Guard.  I also sat in on training sessions and helped to create their employee orientation guides.  One thing I really liked about AGO is that they included me in their employee relations issues.  I was able to sit in on employee relations phone calls!  It was interesting to see how the division operates, because the National Guard houses both federal and state employees.

Because I was creating a Good to Great Plan for AGO, it was necessary for me to have an understanding of the National Guard and how they operate within the state.  My supervisor and I traveled to Camp Atterbury for an award ceremony the SPD was hosting and in order to learn more about the Guard, we were able to tour the facility!  Soldiers were training on the shooting range so we heard real gunfire!  We were also able to take part in the facilities’ simulated gun range.  It was like being at Disney World! After we played with the toy guns, my supervisor and I also traveled to other National Guard facilities around the state to perform spot-checks.  It was interesting to see how each facility and the human resources department within them differed.

I hope from this blog, readers are able to better understand the State Personnel Department internship and all of the great benefits that it has to offer.  I have gained more experience in the field of HR than I ever could have imagined before beginning this internship.  I know I will encourage all of my friends to apply!  I hope you have enjoyed reading my posts and that you have a great rest of the summer!