KT's Blogs

I really did enjoy this MGMT 548 class this term and when looking for classes to take for this spring term I felt it would be very beneficial for me moving forward. Over the course of the term many things stood out but a couple things that I learned I felt were important and will positively impact me in the future. These couple of things include discrimination laws and regulations as well as recruitment goals and methodology.

As for key laws and regulations for discrimination it is good to know for myself in the application and interviewing process to make sure I am treated fair. But also to make sure in the future if I am looking to hire people I don’t break any of the rules in my place my self whether I am trying to or not. First now really knowing and understanding the Civil Rights Act, and Title VII as some of the basics of the laws and regulations is important. Also very big thing is knowing the protected classes which is the groups of people who have suffered discrimination in the past and who are given special protection. As prior to this course I knew some about these laws and regulation but not as much as I should and didn’t ever really learn about this type of material until my last term of college. It is needed to be known moving forward.

The other thing in class that I learned that I feel I really benefited from was recruitment goals and methodology from organizations. This might not seem like a big deal but being able to understand and learn how a company looks to hire its employees can be beneficial. As far as recruitment I have had some experience with this in my life by getting recruited by different colleges to play football and continue my academic career. As this recruitment is different there are still similarities between what I have experienced and the process that organizations take. I think understanding the methods used to recruit applicants is important to know. With the way an organization targets its applicants and the method to reach these targeted applicants. Ever organization can’t use the same method. It may depend on their business strategy and culture. But it also can depend on the industry that a company is involved in as well.

In all I have to say this class was very cool and wish I was able to learn more about this type of information during my time in college. Instead of having to take a lot of other classes that quite frankly didn’t benefit much especially when comparing to a class like this.

What am I good at?

I would say that I am good at building relationships with people and connecting with them regardless of their backgrounds. I am good at communication and building long-lasting relationships. On top of that I am a hard worker that will bring a to work each day. I am good at getting work done on time if not early. I am on top of my stuff and very organized and detail oriented.

What do I Value?

I one value my relationships with people around me whether they are close or not. I value honesty and loyalty from people. Starting with honesty I don’t want people to not tell me the truth and say something that doesn’t happen at all. Also with loyalty I want to be around people that have my back especially when things get tough. I value that honesty and loyalty in life and the workplace.

How did I get here?

I have gotten to where I am with a great work ethic and focus. Since I was young I was always had a drive to do great in whatever I was doing big or small. Throughout my life I was able to set goals and achieve them with that work ethic and focus. Now in a time of transitioning from my masters to a career I will look to continue this work ethic and focus as I feel it has served me well thus far.

Where am I going?

I plan on growing in the next few years as a working man. I am looking to get into sales and do well as a young businessman. I hope to be able to make some good money especially early out of college to help set up my future well. After maybe about 10-15 years I could see myself maybe moving into more of a leadership or management position so it’s less sales unless I love sales a lot and keep moving forward that way. It will be interesting to see where my journey takes me exactly but I am excited for the potential possibilities.

Looking at the first personality cluster of Extraversion I scored very high. With a total average score of an 87. In this cluster I scored a 98 when comes to activity level which I believe to be completely accurate. I sure do like to be on the go and doing things that are productive and better myself. I also scored a 90 on cheerfulness and this is also accurate because I have been told I am fun to be around and are a light in my many peoples lives.

Next looking at the second personality cluster of Agreeableness I scored average with an average score of 60. In this cluster my scored has a wide range with altruism scoring the highest with a score of 89. I did score low in the trust segment of the cluster at 42. I feel these scores were slightly accurate as I do love to help people genuinely and don’t have a lot of trust in other people especially strangers. my modesty and cooperation scores seemed very inaccurate overall.

In the third personality cluster of Conscientiousness I scored the highest. With a score of 99. This cluster was very accurate because I set clear goals and pursue them and get them done. I scored a 99 in self discipline which is totally true and in the high 90’s for self efficacy, orderliness, and dutifulness. the only segment I didn’t score in at least the 90’s was cautiousness at a score of 87. I knew I was these things prior to the test so these results make me feel more comfortable and accurate with the test it self.

In the fourth personality cluster of Neuroticism very low with a score of 17. In this cluster scoring low makes sense because I am a very calm person and don’t express anger. I stay composed and do not react with intense emotions. My lowest score was a 9 for depression which is a really good sign that I don’t get depressed that often. I did score highest in anger which makes sense because I can get annoyed when things don’t go to plan or whatever the case might be. I would say I get more frustrated than angry because I don’t get that intense.

As for the last personality cluster of Openness to Experience I scored low with an overall score of 24. This score was pretty low I have to say and I am not surprised that it was low. I know I can be stuck to my ways or not being a fan of trying new things like food or what not. As I have been working on being better about this. I did score high with a 72 for imagination which I do think is accurate. I feel I am very imaginative and can be a creative thinker regardless of the context with ideas. I did score as low as a 5 in the adventuress segment. Which sounds quite bad and is embarrassing if you ask me haha.

In regards to what a potential employee might think of my results as an employee for their organization would be quite well. I have to say I think my results overall would come across an organization quite well. As I am wanting to get into sales in the future for my career that aligns well with being a extraversion and having social skills. Knowing that I enjoy building relationships is huge. Also that I am a conscientious person and mean business. They can see from my results that I get things done and done mess around and that’s what they want to see art the end of day. They will know they can count on me. Being dependable and responsible will not hurt one bit in my opinion. Then in areas like openness to experience where I scored low I don’t think this will hurt me to much overall. I look at it as I am comfortable to doing a specific task and will do it well. I cant be perfect at everything so if there was an area to score lower on I am glad this was one of them. I sure would be curious to see what an employer things of these results. I do have to say it was cool to learn about the Big 5 model of personality clusters in class and than to try the test out for myself was cool. Certainly allowed for me to have a better understanding of the concept it self.

If I was a business owner in this situation looking between a typical or maximal performance worker to hire it would be a tough decision to make for sure. In my decision I would need to look over my entire company and think about the work that I am doing now and potentially in the future. As well as knowing the people I have working for me already. For example knowing if I have a couple employees that I can count on whenever and will get things accomplished than I will be in good shape to have a consistent worker. Although at the end of the time I am probably going to hire Jaime in this situation because of her consistency. If I know the output she can bring and stick to that than make sure everything else is covered. I am all about consistency and Avery might be really good at times and in the clutch but I need someone that I can count on all the time it will be much better in the long run. Especially for my business.

An example of a job where hiring someone like Avery would be better than Jaime is in high stress situations or when an order is at its deadline. Lets say for example I run a t-shirt printing shop. I need to print over 500 t-shirts by the end of the night. If I hire Avery he would be able to produce the shirts in time and complete the order. But a draw back would be he would get behind on many other orders or the quality of the work for those smaller orders would not be good. Though the smaller orders are not going to make as much money they are still important. Avery would be the only one to deliver and get the large job done that would be making us all of the money. Jaime would not be the right hire because we know she could only get half that order done in time. The amount she gets done would be high quality but have our largest customer unhappy. There is certainly times where each applicant would be a better fit. In the end you just have to decide on what would be the best decision moving forward.

In the same type of job it would be better to have someone like Jaime because you know the output you will get and the work will always be consistent. Knowing Jaime can produce lets say about 300 shirts a day you know how much she will need to work to get the job done. Also with that how consistent there quality would be and she would be on top of other small orders to have all customer happy at the end it. Providing a positive experience so customers come back again. Avery would not be the best option in my opinion for long term success in a company. Unless my company is in a situation where we could afford to have someone like Avery then maybe but that is most likely not the case. The only real value I see is Avery can get you out of a Jam but that is about it. I would take Jaime almost all of the time because it is better for business and by having someone like Jaime would help for steady growth and a consistent product. Should be able to avoid getting in a jam or anything like that.

When I think about brand I think about what that person or place is known for and the reputation they possess. When I think of my own personal brand I think about what others/companies think about me on not only my first impression but forever after that. I believe that the first impression that I give off is a warm and friendly individual. I also think that my own brand would represent myself as someone who is confident, means business and will leave a positive impact where ever I go. My strengths are being disciplined, determined, detailed, loyal, trusting, hardworking, and leadership qualities. I believe my brand shows these strengths when you meet me on the first go around. I look to treat everyone equally and fairly and after that the brand really grows and have a huge networking system. My weakness are being stubborn at times, and trying to be a perfectionist and learn to ask for help and know everything isn’t going to move smoothly.

In moving forward knowing my brand and what I stand for is very important I have to say. It doesn’t take long to decide the brand that I want hold in society. Though it does take time to build that brand up for others to know and for it to stick. Once others believe in your brand and know it then the rest is history.

When thinking in terms of a novel and creative situations for an organization. Really one thing comes to mind and that is just to be myself at the end of the day. Lets say I am applying to an organization I have interest in working for and become an applicant and receive an interview. I don’t feel I need to do anything out of the ordinary and try to be special to stand out. I feel if stick with who I am and and focus on showcasing my brand that is all I need to do. I am confident in my brand and will look to show that brand with accomplishments I have achieved in my past. I will look to showcase accomplishments I hope to seek in the future and use my past ones to support my case. Also in this I will look to showcase my personality and connect with the organization. I strongly feel with all of this will impress and want the organization to want to hire me. If not than that organization is not for me and move onto the next. I think being yourself is important and acting like something you are not is the wrong way to approach. Just like this weeks lectures talked about the recruitment process is a two way street.

In all it is important to like the brand you offer and are showcasing because you need to own and stick to it I believe to give yourself the best opportunity to be successful moving forward.

Since I have only had one job that was an internship due to me being an athlete all of my life I limited on work experience. With that being said I can use the internship that I did for this job description blog post.

The last job that I had was as a marketing intern for the Corvallis Knights. During this internship search I was looking for a marketing internship and came across this opportunity. I was suppose to help with selling and promoting tickets for games as well as help set up vendors and think of game themes. There was not much of a job description to go off of on paper but just what was told to me in person and in my interview.

With that being said I did a lot more tasks than what I was originally told. I built sports knowledge with a wide range of preseasons and summer assignments through customer service, ticket sales, and marketing promotions. I organized and ran game day stadium operations including in game entertainment, promotions, team merchandise sales and fan engagement. To sum it all up I ended up doing a lot more than what I had original thought but really enjoyed it. The opportunity allowed me to learn and gain so much more by doing such a large variety of areas.

In my situation I just really needed an internship so I was not to worried about the job description. Though I have been able to learn I should have that in writing so I know what I am suppose to be doing and getting compensated for. In my case I really enjoyed my experience even though I did way more than I had originally expected. I can see the job description really mattering in the future more so I know what I am getting myself into before I sign the contract. I had to do a lot more physical and grunt work than I had expected. Examples like helping set and tear down stadium each gameday. Going through and checking inventory answering calls in the office, and lastly I had to drive the team mascot to an event that took a few hours away from my day that was last minuet on a day off.

Well the topic of discrimination has been in the headlines for some time now. As it should be for the amount of discrimination and wrong doings that have been going on in our country especially and still going on today. I am a person of color and this past year especially has been quite amazing to see the social injustice that has occurred and things that are trying to change. At the end of the day people just need to be treat equally and have the right to the same opportunities as everyone else.

Especially when it comes to jobs and jobs of power the discrimination of peoples ethnicity is eye opening. During the hiring process these aspects should never impact the hiring the decision. It should come down to who is the best applicant for the job. I have spoken to job recruiters that I think are taking the discrimination things to far. Recruiters in interviews have told me that they are looking for people of color because their company/industry has a lack of it. I feel like the intent is good but the morals and ethics behind this are not.

If I was looking at a company that has claims of discrimination I would be turned off for sure. I would be taken back and look elsewhere because no job is more important than any type of discrimination or wrongdoing. I would absolutely consider to stop supporting that company and choose to take my business elsewhere. Depending on the claim and situation but it would impact my decision to apply or ever work for that company in the future. I feel this was because at the end of the day this is not okay. No job or salary makes discrimination or wrong doing of any kind okay.

Before I make any decision I would need to make sure I had all the facts of what happen to make an educated decision moving forward. Things to consider was it just one employee that was accused of such wrong behavior. Or was it the companies core structure and main leaders all acting this way? Because the severity of the infraction or whatever you want to call it does matter.

I certainly have a counter argument for Professor Hardy’s belief that “recruitment and selection is any companies most important function and that failure to effectively staff your organization will inevitably result in its failure”. I can agree that the concept of recruitment and selection is important to the success of a company but it is not the most important or key factor. Of course there is many factors that play a role in the success of a company but I personally believe management and leadership within a company is the most important.

But first in answering the question to why might organizations decide to allocate more resources toward marketing or product design rather than using those resources to do a great job of employee recruitment and selection?

I can see companies deciding to make this decision because they can see the extra money being spent on marketing or a better product design making up for employees not being the best. Lets say you hire an average salesman to sell a car. If you have a basic car and average salesman than not a lot of cars will be sold. Though you can use the angle of if you have the top product and best car on the market than an average salesman can sell and sell and sell. When people really want a product because it’s the best or everyone knows about the product then this makes up for the quality of recruitment and selection practices a organization uses.

When a organization decides not to prioritize recruitment and selection in favor of other aspects of the business it comes with potential strengths and weaknesses. To start off with some of the weaknesses they include the potential of lost hiring expenses, lost business, lost time due to correcting mistakes of bad employees, dissatisfaction among the organization is contagious, and also litigation fees. All of these potential weaknesses/negatives have to do around a cost argument. Though potential strengths are possible by the organization focusing on marketing and product design. Like I said before having a stronger focus on either of these areas can certainly help make up for maybe not having the best employees.

With that being said even if either of those areas doesn’t help you cans till focus on those because it will only help. I also think by focusing on management and leadership within the company will elevate everyone’s performance. Most heavily improving those employees who were not the best hire and use leadership qualities to guide, inspire and initiate action moving forward. Just because the employee’s selected in the process didn’t turn out to be the best fit they can be groomed into where they need to be.

So for myself I have never had a job or even applied for a job before. I grew up and my parents always wanted me to just be a kid and always told me I will have plenty of time to work when I am older. Now that I am older I am fortunate enough to have been able to experience this and have a much better understanding of why my parents felt that way. I was able to just focus on school, sports I was involved in, and social life with friends and family around me.

In terms of sharing my experiences from the perspective of an applicant for the last job for which I applied has not happen. Though I can speak from experience about the process I am currently in now looking for job postings and getting ready to apply for jobs. As I am finishing up school soon and finally ready to make that first step and becoming an applicant for various jobs I have interest in. As of right now currently I have had the toughest time finding jobs that I will qualify for and meeting those requirements/qualifications that are necessary. For my trying to determine if the job is even worth my time applying for has been a challenge in my process.

My experiences from interactions with companies in the job application process have impacted my desire to work for them in the future. With companies that I have talked with some have been pushy and I have not liked that. After a few conversations with a recruiter I have felt the companies style and the job they are looking to fill doesn’t match up with who I am as a persona and what I would enjoy doing. Throughout the process I have learned to be patient and keep networking and not trying to force finding and applying for a job that isn’t going to be right. When company culture values, and the job itself line up with what I am looking for no doubt my interest and desire goes up tremendously for that company and I have found that to be true for a few companies in the industry I am looking to get into in the near future. One last note I want to mention is it is okay to say no or move on from a company if you are not feeling comfortable or right moving forward. In my past experiences it has been easier to let companies know that I appreciate everything but I want to head in a different direction.

As I look into my future I can see myself working in a competitive sales role in the future with a large international company. Lets say after a few years I work my way up to being one of the top salesman in the west coast and potentially one of the top rising salesman in the country not only in my company but the industry that I am in. imagining this has happened an I have been presented with a huge career opportunity for the long term. This opportunity would have to do with expatriate compensation and thank you to my MGMT 549 class back in college has prepared me for this decision. I now know some of the factors that I would be looking for and considering in making my decsion to pursue this huge opprotuntiy.

Some of the factors that I would be looking at when considering whether to pursue this opportunity or not includes how the base pay would be set between the home and host country, various elements of compensation, and look to avoid repatriation. When I look at the factor of my base salary I would not want it to based off of either home or based pay really. I would want to be paid more than what I am currently am in the new foreign place. For me pay would be a big factor in my decision. As I am not a big fan in moving/relocating I would need to make really good money and even more than before to really consider this. Money talks. These various elements are things like incentives, allowances for housing and utilities, goods and services as well as standard and enhanced benefits. These incentives are really important to me and are a extra benefit and I see them as another form of compensation. Lastly for repatriation If I go back home and to nodal I don’t want for it to be to much of a drop off and difference if possible in term of compensation. Like I learned in my MGMT 549 course some expatriate treat the return home like a punishment. So I would want to make sure my agreement would be I wouldn’t feel this way to much when taking on the new opportunity. If I don’t feel comfortable with the move than I don’t have to do it. What would convince me moving forward would be to hear of the awesome opportunities it can bring me. Also probably most importantly is the safety of the opportunity making me feel more comfortable.