June

So I was hoping to make my blog posts bi-monthly, but I seem to have fallen into a habit of making one big one at the end. For July and the rest of my term I will try to make smaller, and more frequent updates.

This month I sat in on an interview training session, which was very interesting. Then I had the opportunity to sit in on an actual interview! I participated in two telephone interviews, then a face-to-face interview. It was a great experience and I am very excited for more.

One particular week this month was crazy. On Tuesday I was invited to the C.A.H.R.M.A golf tournament. C.A.H.R.M.A is a HR organization in central Alberta, with some very nice members. I met some of leading HR professionals in Red Deer, and showed off my inept golf skills. I slightly improved my golf game, but only a little. I am terrible at golf. I plan to work on it a little more now. When you are with a fun group of people, golf is very enjoyable. The funniest part for me was when I bought pink women’s golf balls, and the old guys were not that impressed.

Then on Wednesday and Friday I was invited to go along for the Calgary Energy Expo. It was a giant job fair, with over 6,000 people looking for work in the Oil & Gas industry. I was a little uncertain of what to say, but before I could even think people started coming to our display. I jumped right in and started talking to people, and didn’t stop for what seemed to be hours. In fact, 8 hours with a lunch break. The experience was incredible though, and it was so interesting to be on the other side of the table for a change.

I decided to stay overnight with my family, which was really nice. The next morning I headed back to the convention center, where I met back with the team. My feet were still a little sore from the day before, and I was not feeling too good, but the day was much like the first, and still enjoyable. Everyone was very helpful, and looked over resumes when I was not sure.

The expo also gave me great insight on what I’ll be working on in terms of strategy. I met a couple of students while I was there, as well as U of C career center workers. Connecting with students I find very interesting because I can relate to them on a personal level. I am very excited for the upcoming school career fairs this fall.

One major skill I am working on right now is my typing skills. These blog entries are great practice, but I guess typing is something I should have worked on in the beginning. I'm proud to say that I finished that sentence without looking at the key board.

On a non-work related issue, my car is having trouble. I need to replace the wheel bearings, and I'm pretty down about it. However, our team leader, Rob, is very nice and helped me without hesitation. He recommended a great place and gave me a ride to the shop, and work the next morning. Not only that, I left my lights on in the parking lot, and he found someone to give me a boost. I definitely owe him now.

May

The month of May was very exciting, and slightly overwhelming. For my first day I wanted to make sure I showed up on time and in style, so I arrived a half hour early wearing a tie. The drive was faster than I anticipated, so I ended up waiting a half hour for everyone else to show, and I was the only one who dressed up, which everyone made a point of telling me.

My first week involved morning orientation (on-boarding), and meeting a whole bunch of people, including the rest of the HR staff. I have met so many people in such a short time I can hardly keep track of them all. In the mornings we learned all about NOVA and what the company is all about, including safety, and social activities. I jumped right into interview scheduling, which is much harder than one would anticipate. Nothing could prepare me for the logistics of scheduling interviews, but my co-workers are very supportive and encouraging. I am still in the process of learning where everything is, and the little details that come with starting a new job. I was fortunate to go on a little tour of the site, and I have never seen anything like it in my life. I hope to see more details of the Joffre site, and learn about the internal functions of the company

The adjustment of moving to Red Deer has been very smooth to my satisfaction. In think because I have traveled so much in the past year (Korea, Lethbridge), that moving was not that much of a shock to me. However, not having any friends in the area is quite a shock, but making new friends is always exciting. Red Deer reminds me of Lethbridge, and I think there are many activities where I can meet new people.