Author: Victoria Hildebrandt

One of the most valuable things I have learned in this class has been a greater appreciation for the various ways firms hire to fill job vacancies. My prior knowledge of hiring was superficial. Now I understand the strategic choices employers make between internal and external hiring, and how that decision guides the recruitment process. It has opened my eyes to job applications. I now see how I can present myself as a more desirable candidate by aligning my credentials and presentation with the requirements of employers. Understanding how hiring managers approach the process, what they are seeking, where they post jobs, and how they filter candidates has made me feel so much more confident and prepared to begin my search for my first job following graduation.

This is stuff that I can use now in my life, but it’s also so useful in the long term. As I grow in my career and eventually look for promotions or potential jobs, understanding how hiring happens on both sides of the fence will be so worth it. I can use this information to speak up more for myself and to recognize opportunities when I see them.

Another major takeaway I’ve gained from this course was from our final blog post assignment. The reflective inquiries we were asked to ponder: What am I good at? What do I value? How did I get here? Where am I going? All really spoke to me. These questions are a great asset for ongoing personal growth. I often get caught up in routine and lose sight of my greater goals or sense of direction. Having reflection time like this makes me remember to get centered again and be purposeful in what I’m doing. These are the kinds of things that transcend academics or career, they’re life skills that I can use for the rest of my life.

1. What am I good at?

I’m good at reading people and being an observant person. Because of this, I’d also say that I’m good at adapting to others and being a good conversationalist. I’d say that the combination of these things help me to be perceived as a welcoming and inviting person.

2. What do I value?

I value the honesty and genuineness of those around me. For example, valuing others’ time the same way I value my own is one of my top priorities since I wouldn’t want someone to disrespect me in this way. This golden rule is something I try to live by in more ways than this and shows my value of people’s intention over what might be superficial.

3. How did I get here?

I got to this point in school and life by focusing on my talents and being guided by friends and family’s influence. A combination of these brought me to OSU and to study accounting. I got my current job by being an honest person, good candidate, and hard worker.

4. Where am I going?

I am going to Vienna in the fall to continue studying business through Oregon State. After that I will be back in Corvallis for winter term to finish my minor in Management. These extra terms will help me to reach the credit limit required to sit for the CPA exam which is beneficial in searching for a career post-grad. Through winter and spring term of next year I will be job searching for my first Accounting position while continuing to work at my current part time job at a coffee shop.

When taking the Enneagram test, I best fit in the category of 9, known as the “peacemaker”. The website described this personality type as the peacemaker because of the common avoidance of conflict that is associated with these people. It said that is this the case in order to keep peace and harmony. It goes on to explain, “They are generally reliable, sturdy, self-effacing, tolerant and likable individuals”. The avoidance of conflict is also mentioned as leading to reservation of change. This personality type is also described as resilient and adaptable to change. 

A potential employer would be eager to hire someone with this personality type due to their agreeable and cooperative nature. Individuals like this typically avoid conflict and prefer to maintain harmony in the workplace. Because of this, they are unlikely to cause disruption and will likely strive to stay out of trouble, flying under the radar. From an employer’s perspective, this is highly beneficial, as it reduces the likelihood of interpersonal issues within teams and contributes to a stable work environment. This personality type’s tendency toward neuroticism can actually work in their favor, making them detail-oriented and conscientious, which will result in high-quality work. Employers would also be impressed by their reliability, tolerance, and general likeable demeanor. These attributes are important traits for creating a positive workplace environment, meaning an employer would want to add them to the team. This archetype also has some potential drawbacks. One concern could be this individual’s reluctance to embrace change. While adaptability is a strength, a lack of internal motivation to seek improvement or growth may signal stagnation and be a big red flag for a hiring manager. An employer might view this hesitance as an unwillingness to push themselves to exceed on their own. 

If I were a business owner, I would be more likely to hire Jaime than Avery. My decision of hire is based on the type of business I would likely see myself running or operating. Since this would likely be customer-facing and operating throughout the week, I would likely need someone more reliable and consistent. Since this would likely be a retail store or coffee shop or restaurant, I think that Jaime would be a better choice. If I were to be running a tech startup with the need for someone who is creative and will bring new inventive ideas to the table, my decision would be different. 

Avery would be the best fit for a job with a focus on fast-paced, chaotic, and high-energy environments with lots of stimulation from either their peers or from the work itself. Since they struggle to stay consistent in their work, putting Avery in an environment that is high stakes to get them into the creative headspace that pushes them to their full potential would be the most optimal type of work environment. 

Jaime would be the best-suited candidate for a role that is the more typical type of 8:00-5:00 full-time office job. Due to Jaime’s struggle to push themselves, they would do best in a role that has clear guidelines and objectives on a day to day basis. Since they struggle to operate at a high level or at peak performance, they would be best suited for low-intensity or team-structured work that is focused on long-term projects where they can exercise their high level of consistency. 

A) As a potential employee, I would describe my brand as a someone who is friendly and welcoming but also prepared and determined. I think that the first impression I give off to potential employers is overall very positive but may not be the most accurate to my everyday self as I’m often nervous in an interview setting. This could be considered a weakness by an interviewer or hiring manager. I think that generally I am a very good team player and customer service employee but these are things that may not be portrayed through a first interaction with hiring manager. I think something that could be considered a strength is my adaptability that could be seen through my work experience. 

B) Hi I’m Tori! As a dedicated and detail-oriented student with a passion for collaboration and varied experience, I am seeking the opportunity to bring my strong work ethic, positive attitude, and enthusiasm to a team environment at your company.

Throughout my academic and extracurricular experiences, I have consistently demonstrated the ability to work effectively with others, playing the role of both a leader and support in team environments. I thrive in team settings where communication and work style among the group is fast-paced, and in a consistent loop. I believe that both effective organization and attention to detail are essential to success. Especially in working within a team, as to stay on top of potential issues and stay mindful of potential problems that may arise. Whether managing group projects, coordinating with others, or collaborating within the group I work hard to produce work that I would be proud to take responsibility for. I do this by cross-checking work among team members to ensure accuracy and that we’re all on the same page. Though I may double-check my and others’ work, I always make sure to do so in an encouraging and positive manner, especially if any sort of feedback or critique is involved. This is to keep the energy, atmosphere, and attitude across the group both upbeat and productive.  

I am excited to contribute my skills in a professional setting where I can continue to grow and make a meaningful impact upon others!

In my most recent job experience, there was no formal job posting that drew me to the position. Instead, I solicited whether the business was hiring and dropped off a resume at the location of the coffee shop. So, I’ll instead talk about a previous position I’ve held at a grocery store. I applied to Market of Choice as a “Courtesy Clerk” and held the position for a few weeks. The job description was fairly vague as it’s a job with a very low level of responsibility and a very minimal amount of tasks. It described the position as a role that would include bagging groceries, assisting customers to their car if needed, facing products, grounds keeping, and helping to maintain the cleanliness of the front end of the store. I feel that because of these listed duties, the job fits the job description well as the tasks mentioned are the majority of what my work there involves. These can be seen in the attached screenshot. However, I had assumed that there was a lack of detail within the description, rather than having those listed responsibilities as the only things I would be doing. I feel that the job description differed from the job itself in the importance or emphasis it had placed on being an enthusiastic and cheerful employee. This is part of what drew me to the role as I was looking for a fast-paced environment, but don’t think it’s accurate, as it was not correct to the actual environment I experienced. 

Hearing claims of discrimination that a company I like is facing would vastly impact my outlook on the business and how closely I would want to interact with it or consume the things that it provides. For example, if a business that I often buy products from was facing discrimination claims I would have to balance how my need or want of that product is compared against my morals, most likely resulting in doing away with my interactions with the company. Generally speaking I would avoid a business if it were facing a discrimination claim unless I had no alternative to that business. I don’t think that this is likely to be a problem as there are very few things that don’t have a simple substitute, making companies generally fairly easy to avoid. Examples of things that would be hard to evade would be a pharmacy or very large manufacturer that you couldn’t really avoid buying products from. In these cases, I think that I would have to settle for still being in contact with the discriminatory business.

I think that a discrimination claim would heavily deter me from applying to or wanting to work for the company I previously appreciated, but it would be much more drastic if I fit into the group that was being discriminated against. Although I would’ve previously wanted to work for the business due to my enjoyment of the branding and its products or services, I wouldn’t be willing to put my own everyday well-being aside to work for such a company. 

Organizations may focus on allocating resources and funds toward marketing or product design rather than staffing and employee recruitment. This may be because they don’t want to spend additional time and money to find and eventually compensate the right people for the position. Companies may justify this focus by assuming that “anyone could sell a good enough product,” leading them to invest more in product design and advertising rather than in hiring and training staff, so they instead choose to focus on product costs like research and development and advertising rather than on the staff. Overall, the business might be more focused on advertising and pushing the product itself than creating marketing efforts just to entice enough qualified applicants to hire the best people. Overall focusing highly on recruiting efforts takes lots od tine and money that can otherwise be spent on a more direct part of the business. 

Strengths of choosing to abandon staffing and recruitment include the ability to focus on other areas of the business like expansion, savings from less amount of time spent interviewing and selecting a candidate, and savings from averagely compensated employees rather than highly valued staff. Weaknesses of an organization that doesn’t prioritize staffing may include overworked or poorly placed employees who are responsible for more than they are capable of, this may be a result of the skills gap, which may result in employee burnout and further future staffing problems.

The last job I applied for is the one I am still currently at. When applying for the position, my expectations of being hired were low, as I was aware that it was a fairly sought-after job due to being in a college town and that many other people could fill the position. This perspective didn’t change until recently, now that I can be on the other side of the recruitment and hiring process, being asked by potential applicants if we are currently hiring, I can see that the stakes aren’t as high as I had originally thought. This perspective has since shaped my impression of the job heavily. Originally, I had thought that this barista job was high-pressure and daunting. After submitting an application, I hadn’t heard back for months. This made me think that the chances of actually securing the job were low. Once I got a call back, I was aware that I was applying against other candidates, and while I wasn’t competing with them face to face, this continued to prove the job as intimidating and difficult to secure. This also made me more determined and motivated to secure the job, and even more excited once I was actually hired.