Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Brad the Intern - Employment Opportunity Fairs

Hello Friends,


My internship is beginning to wind down, but don’t think that I am not still keeping busy.  This past week I may have been the busiest that I have been so far. 
I was back at home base with Talent Acquisition and I was working to finish as many projects as possible.  I worked especially hard on what will become a training video for potential applicants.  The training addresses all of the steps of the application/job search process.  My portion of it is nearly done then it will just need to be sent off for approval and then recording.  After those steps are completed, it will be posted on the website.

The other big project that I worked on last week was the Employment Opportunity Fair at the Indiana Black Expo.  As I have mentioned before, I had the opportunity to sit on the planning committee for the event and it was amazing.  My job was to help run the State of Indiana employment booth.  In doing so, I was able to speak with numerous potential candidates.  The Employment Opportunity Fair has definitely been one of the highlights of my internship so far. 

That is it for now, as you will hear from me again, as I have three more rotations/adventures left, so stay tuned.

Thanks,

Brad the Intern 

Monday, July 13, 2015

Intern Haley Says Goodbye!

It is my last day here at Indiana Veterans’ Home (IVH) and my time here has been a great experience. I have learned so much about the importance of a well run Human Resources department and how serving employees of an agency can assist in all aspects of the establishments overall mission.

For the last few weeks my focus has been mainly on talent acquisition, but during my time with the State Personnel Department, I have had a chance to be involved in all operations of HR. I have been verifying employment history and running orientation programs for our new hires. We have updated the database to comply with new retention policies and have finally settled into the new offices for the department here at IVH.

Specifically I have learned to verify new employee information and how to contact previous employers for professional history. Through the Talent Acquisition process we have found dozens of strong candidates and everyone is hopeful about the energy and assistance these recruits will bring to the facility.

The management staff at IVH is incredible. The superintendant Linda Sharp works so hard for her residents and everyone follows her example. When it comes to the veterans, people around here really advocate and it has been rewarding to work with such a dedicated group of people.

As part of the Governor’s Intern Program, I have also attended speeches at the Statehouse from Supreme Court Justice Brent Dickson as well as General Goodwin. I have learned a lot about the goals of Indiana; how we are trying to focus on health and fitness by encouraging State employees to be active, and the new opportunities in higher education.

Back at the Veterans’ Home, we are ramping up for the 4th of July which should be fun. The residents here love it and are looking forward to Fireworks. I have become well acquainted with some of the veterans that live here and that has made my time as an intern even more special.

I am leaving this internship slightly sooner than most of my peers because of a semester of Study Abroad. I will be leaving the country and so I have to say goodbye to SPD and IVH. I want to thank everyone for their time, patience, and assistance. I have learned so much about what the work force really looks and feels like as well as the intricacies of the Human Resource profession.

  
Thank you,
Haley Arndt

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Brad the Intern: Department of Corrections Pendleton



Hello Again,

This has been a very interesting couple of weeks.  As I mentioned in my last post, I have been working in the Pendleton Correctional Facility.  I spent most of my time bouncing back and forth between the Juvenile Correctional Facility and the Industrial Correctional Facility. I started my week by getting to tour all three of the facilities.  It was a great experience, and while slightly intimidating it was definitely one of the highlights of my time here. 

As far as the projects go, I helped to plan two career fairs.  I designed advertising materials, researched possible contacts, and finalized some of the finer details of the planning phase.  Also, I have been processing background checks for potential future employees, such as professional references and employment verification checks.  Another learning experience I had at Pendleton was the opportunity to sit in on a few employee termination meetings. Right now, I am working to finish up my final project which is to plan a few activities that will provide the workers here an opportunity to earn some Humana Vitality points, which feeds into the State of Indiana Invest in Your Health initiative: http://www.investinyourhealthindiana.com/  

All in all, I have really enjoyed my time here in Pendleton.  Tune in next time for my next adventure Brad the Intern: Department of Correction Pendleton. 


Brad the Intern