My job

What do I do at work? Some of you have asked. As many of you know, I was offered and accepted the position of being the training coordinator with the Environmental Health and Safety department at the University of Utah. I had other options I was considering but this position seemed to have most of what I was looking for in a company.

One of the things that attracted me to this position was starting and developing a program from scratch. I thrive under pressure and I love it for some reason.

Here's my list of requirements from my employment:
1) Supportive supervisor
2) Open and honest communication
2) Synergistic team
3) Freedom to use my creativity without being micromanaged
4) Personal and Professional Growth

I've jotted down some of my experiences, reasons and examples of my list above:

Supportive Supervisor/Open and Honest Communication-

I meet with my boss on a regular basis to report on the status of our project. This creates an open dialogue between us. I know what she wants and she knows where I'm going. Misunderstanding hasn't been any issue because we have maintained an open dialogue. I can say what I think without politics getting in the way

Turns out that this is a golden experience. I met with some colleagues during a three day conference and this was one of their challenges.

During the interview process I asked her how she will measure my productivity-- is it my sitting in my office for 8 hours a day? Glad that she said no. I find that I get a lot of things done when I meet with people face to face as I am provided with real time knowledge on their needs.

Honesty and doing more than is expected of my job description is something I value.

Simply put, I'm not comfortable being a seat warmer.

Synergetic Team--

Since I am the first to hold this position, I have to work in selling, advertising and coordinating our training programs with other departments. My assertiveness is a great asset. I have been known to talk to everything and everyone and also for being opinionated. I say what I think and tell them so-- in a professional manner of course.

It's a positive trait to have in my current responsibilities. I don't have to spend uncessary time and energy worrying about unintentionally offending someone's insecurities-- another great plus.

I don't like rubbing elbows or stroking someone's ego. Besides I honestly don't see myself as below anyone nor do I see myself above being anyone.

I invest most of my time building positive relationships. My job description is simple- help them become more efficient. As I've slowly earned their trust, they understand that I'm here to help them succeed. Showing them how has been a simple yet powerful tool in creating a positive reputation.

One of our main concern was to ensure that the training we offer online aren't simply "click and read" but engaging. And also does not require hours and hours of sitting in front of the computer. Besides who wants and has the time to sit in front of a computer for training?

As many of you know I don't have any explicit technical training. My boss and department also knew this throughout the hiring process. But of all the candidates, I stood out due to my resourcefulness and also background in Leadership Development.

Case in point, I'd been able to find training with minimal to zero fees. I've also found many who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise with me simply because they love doing it. This by far is my greatest resource as I've saved my department thousands of dollars within the last 4 months I've been here with the free training I've received. I've also increased my knowledge without paying money!! I love anything free!

Thank goodness for them! I don't know if I would have accomplished what I have so far these past 4 months without their patient mentoring.

Freedom to Use my Creativity/ Personal and Professional Growth-

I am turning this into the job I'd like to have in 3-5 years.

We may be a constulting agency of government regulatory policies but the training we provide doesn't need to be dry and boring. Not that I'm spending alot of time developing fun and entertaining training (although that is controlled more by the subject matter experts).

What I've been focusing on is trimming the fat, so to speak, of our training. My boss gave me a great advice-- focus on what they need to know versus what we want them to know.

Effective planning is a significant and valuable skill to have. I spend alot of time planning everything, and then reviewing them. I do too much that I have to tell myself to stop at times. I like to get things done instead of talking about them.

Too often we spend so much time filling training time with information they don't really need to know. Instead of telling them all the regulations, all they really need to know is how to execute action that does not endanger them.

Currently, we have 5 projects we are working on, one I'm currently working on is developing a general guidelines for building evacuations.

Also, having recently returned from a three day e-Learning Conference, I'm trying to find the most suitable medium in delivering this training (and the others I'm working on).

What I do know and believe is that the traditional method of PowerPoint presentations is already an antiquated systen.

In summary, I really enjoy it here. It's a good starting place. I'll be here for the next three years at least or until I get bored and find something else to do.