Tag Archives: planning

For Posterity

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Leaving instructions and guidance for future holders of your position is something all employees should be thinking about. What advice can you leave for them? What things weren’t explicitly mentioned during training that you had to learn over the course of your time there? What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?

The intern before me left me notes for me everywhere—on the computer, on sticky notes, in note pads—and she even stopped by the office after I started to give me as much guidance as possible when I was just starting out. She told me a lot: everything from where things are stored in the office and where important files are located to what to do when someone hostile calls and what our boss’s favorite drink is (so I can stash some in my bag if I get to travel with her).

When I googled the word “posterity” the first hit was John Adams. Happy 4th, everyone.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about what I can pass on to the next person who has this job. Doing so may seem a little premature. Why would I already be thinking about the next intern when I’m not even a month and a half into the summer? Well, I’m realizing that there are things I can be doing throughout the internship to make my successor’s (and my own!) job easier. Curious what I mean? Here’s some tips that I’ve rounded up so far!

1. Get samples of good work and save them in a convenient place.

Pin this on your lapel. Everyone will know what you mean.

Whether you’re working on correspondence (as in my case) or some other process that changes from situation to situation, it’s a good idea to get some examples of the job done really well. Lucky for me, everything our office sends out gets saved into a database that I can access. It’s also a good idea to ask your supervisors for samples of strong letters that they’ve written and stash those somewhere handy. I also save copies of documents my manager or our office director have edited and revised for me (including my original copy with the changes tracked!) to that folder so that future interns have an idea of how to do it when they’re starting from scratch.

2. Learn the technology and processes related to your job better than you have to.

If you find this button, ALERT US ALL.

In this job, I’m working with legislative software that isn’t always especially user-friendly. I was lucky to get good training on the everyday basics of the software, which meets my needs about 90% of the time. But every once in a while I need to do something different than what I’m used to, so I call our tech support folks for help. They can do whatever I need remotely if I ask, but instead I always have them walk me through it and take detailed notes of the process as they describe it. This way our office has a permanent copy of these notes and won’t need to call tech support every time, and training new interns will be just that much easier.

3. Keep things organized.

“You can get ALL this for just THREE easy payments of $19.99!”

You never know what’s going to happen or whether you’ll have time to clean things up before the next person steps in. You might be scrambling to tie up all your loose ends before departing, or there may be days when someone needs to take over your work because you’re gone. Making everything organized and easy to find will make sure your successor (or substitute) can do their job efficiently. Label files, documents, and folders, and try not to tuck things away in mysterious places. Lists are also everybody’s friend. Before I leave for the day, I try to make a list of what I need to do the following day. This jogs my memory when I get in garishly early in the morning, and it provides a potential substitute clues about what I’ve been up to. The previous intern left me with a brief list of projects she hadn’t been able to finish before she left, and this gave me a place to start when I was still learning the ropes, and make for a smoother transition from her to me.

4. Keep a record of everything.

You may want to type up your notes if you’re not sure people will be able to read them.

This is in the same vein as #3, but a little more specific. Luckily for me, the documentation software we use allows for users to record pretty much everything we do and makes it available for anyone to see. If I’m working on a case for someone and can’t finish it, someone else can open the file in the program to see all my correspondence with them and any notes I made about what I was doing. The more detailed I am, the more useful my notes are to everyone involved. If you don’t have such a system in your office, make one for your work. For whatever you’re working on, make a list of things you need to do, and check tasks  off as you do complete them (rather than crossing them out). Save the list even after you’ve completed everything you need to do. Store the list in a place where it will easily be matched with the project it goes with. This little bit of maintenance will save the day for anyone who wants to access your work later—whether they’re trying to pick up where you left off or just wanting a good example of what to do in a similar situation (think of #1!).

5. Leave your contact information for your successor.

TIME WARP.

The previous intern and I exchanged information when she stopped by to show me the ropes. It’s been so comforting to know that she just a message away in case I have any questions or concerns I don’t feel like I can ask my manager. Getting to know people who have held or will hold your position isn’t a bad idea either, especially if you’re just starting to work in your target area. In the short time we chatted when she was in the office, my predecessor clued me in to a couple of other really interesting internships in the area and talked with me a little about her decision to go to law school. Don’t pass up this opportunity to get to know to other young professionals with similar interests!

Do you think there’s value in planning ahead to help your successor? Or does it detract from getting your own work done? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Planning from Day One

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At the beginning of my second semester at Scripps, I remember attending a required, yet enlightening, Off Campus Study information session. I was one of only two freshmen siting quietly in a humanities classroom surrounded by ten or twelve second-semester sophomores. The off campus advisors present didn’t even have the appropriate planning forms for freshmen and they simply asked us to write down my contact information separately with which they would schedule us an appointment. Mostly, they just seemed a bit confused as to why these freshmen were so intent on getting a meeting with Off Campus Study so far ahead of time. Truthfully, from the beginning of my first semester, I knew that there would only be a small window of time to develop what I called my “study abroad strategy” and I wanted to get working on it as soon as possible.

Like I have mentioned many a time on Beyond the Elms, I am a science major. Though undeclared at that point in time, I found myself drawn to Biology and Physics classes and was excited to take each new prerequisite. As a budding Biology student, I knew that I would have to take a substantial number of classes for my major, so planning for my sophomore, junior, and even senior semesters was essential. However, these science classes weren’t the only experiences for which I was ready to start organizing. Since early high school, I had been mesmerized by the mere thought of traveling to Japan. For me, being able to see the wondrous sites of Japan in person excited me to no end. I knew that, once I was in college, an off campus study program was my opportunity to travel there. Unfortunately, my academic and “cultural” goals eventually became mutually exclusive; it would be very difficult to study any field of science in Japan, but additionally impossible to become immersed in Japanese culture staying here at Scripps. Planning for both required finesse and I was determined to start early and fulfill both of my dreams.

While my experience of scheduling early and time management revolved around study abroad, you can utilize this type of approach for many different scenarios. It is first important to recognize what is most valuable to you, either an experience, class, opportunity, etc. Once you determine a goal or two that seems to rise above all others, you can then compare the weight of your other opportunities against them to help you develop a hierarchy or desires. “Demoting” less desired experiences both clears up your scheduling in an effort to work towards those more important tasks and strengthens your desire for certain experiences by understanding why certain wants were eliminated. The next step is to find the people or institutions that can help you achieve those larger, overarching goals. For me, this was done by not only contacting Scripps Off Campus study, but also identifying Scripps during my college search in the first place. Scripps appeared to be an institution where I would have the resources and ability to both participate in science and study abroad. You often don’t have the funds or time to accomplish many of your most important goals all on your own, so finding those people with the connections, resources, and knowledge can help to alleviate that burden.

Given the opportunity to dress in a traditional kimono through my study abroad program

Given the opportunity to dress in a traditional kimono through my study abroad program

Eventually, I was able to get to Japan without falling behind and I am still actively on the road to graduation. Since returning, I’ve been reminded that, without the work I put in before I had even stepped foot in Japan, I may never have gotten there in the first place.

The Questions. The Future.

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Where are you going to college? What are you majoring in? Where do you want to work? What do you want to do with your life? How’s your thesis? What are your plans for the summer? What are you plans after graduation?

I don’t know about you, but I hear these questions asked almost daily. From professors, parents, family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. There are a lot of things wrong with these questions, besides the fact that they are stressful to answer. They don’t really get at the heart of who I am as a person. My self worth is not based on what job I have or what company I work for, and these questions imply that is.

Not only do I plan to analyze the type of society that asks these questions (of course I will because I go to a liberal arts college), but I will explain the problem of the content of the questions themselves and how they deter for the development process of an individual.

First, the problem with these questions is that they are “fluff” questions. They are asked when you don’t really know someone and you are trying to get to know them. But in our formative high school and college years, these questions are asking you exactly what you do not know. They also imply a specific direction that we are all supposed to go to reach a specific achievement. It implies that we are all going to college, that we will have an internship, that we will have a job and at least a 5-year plan upon graduation (or the semester before). It assumes that this formula works for everyone. When in fact, college isn’t for every one, a plan (especially 4+ years ahead) isn’t for every one and isn’t always possible, an internship isn’t for every one, etc.

Second, the questions themselves are more stressful for the receiver because they assume a level of planning and personal understanding that hasn’t happened yet. College is supposed to be a place to grow, expand horizons, learn about yourself, what you like, what you don’t like, who you are, and where you want to go. But all that doesn’t happen the moment you step on campus; it’s a gradual process starting from then through graduation, and even then, some people still aren’t sure. Because these questions are asked on a somewhat regular basis, I have to keep reminding myself that the first job I get after graduation isn’t where I will end up for the next ten years, and definitely not for the rest of my life.

It’s because of these questions that I didn’t take a gap year before going to college. I wanted to, but I didn’t want the added stress of not following crowd. I didn’t want to be that one girl who didn’t go straight to college after graduation. Looking back, that was a pretty dumb reason for me not to do what I wanted. But in high school, I didn’t want to stand out, I wanted to fit in. In contrast, my three years at Scripps has taught that it’s good to stand out because it makes you a better and stronger person and it makes change happen.

These questions make me so focused on figuring out my future, that I forget to take time for the present. I forget that I actually came to college to find myself and what I want, what I love, what my passions are, and that only one part of that is finding a job you like and having a “successful” career. It’s because of these questions that I have to keep reminding myself that the first job I get after I graduate doesn’t define the rest of my career. But these questions do assume a specific definition of “success” that doesn’t belong to every one.

Scripps is in the process of creating a leadership center. These questions assume a specific kind of leader: a CEO, CFO, captain-of-her-industry, game-changer sort of leader. But there are community leaders, non-profit founders, and other “successful” leaders that may not fall into the preconceived notions (as defined by these questions). We all need to remember that some times.

These questions, while seemingly neutral and inconsequential are actually the opposite. So next time you think about chatting with a propsie, or a senior, think about how loaded these questions are. They get it enough from their parents and family friends, make sure you don’t fall into the perceived structure with an upward trajectory that grounds these questions.

Because, let’s be honest, I put enough pressure on myself to succeed. I don’t need it constantly coming at me from all sides on a regular basis from loved ones and strangers alike.

 

Thesis Excitement and Inspiration

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Hope everyone is having a relaxing and rejuvenating fall break! We’ve officially passed the half-way mark for the semester—insane. And scary. Insane because time is literally flying, and scary because thesis is becoming ever more pressing as the work piles up and deadlines loom nearer. Even though I am just now beginning to get a sense of the real scope and immensity of thesis, I am SUPER excited about my project and topic (now there’s a line you never hear). I think the reason for my enthusiasm for thesis has everything to do with the fact that I carefully and actively sought out a project that genuinely interests me.

Thesis is an intense commitment. Essentially, by the time you have a finished product, you will be the resident Scripps expert and master of your topic. Hence, for your own happiness and well being, it is in your favor to select a project that intrigues or impassions you, because otherwise thesis can become a soul-draining and rather unpleasant burden on your senior year. Personally, I figured out pretty early on in my college career that, as much as I love Keck and the faculty and science in general, counting fruit flies or growing mold in a lab would be a painful experience for me. My future (hopefully) and ambitions lie in the realm of public health and human rights, and I wanted a thesis that engaged my true interests.

So, I began seeking out alternatives to a lab thesis early junior year. I was ecstatic to find out that Keck recently partnered with the CGU School of Community and Global Health (SCGH) to offer science majors the option of conducting their thesis with a SCGH adviser. Through the application process, I was even able to indicate preferences for specific faculty and project areas. I feel very fortunate in that I ended up with a perfect match—I am working under the guidance of a SCGH faculty member on tobacco use among young adult South Asians. My end of the project is actually much more narrow and focuses on emerging polytobacco (the concurrent use of multiple tobacco forms) trends and the contextual factors influencing such decisions and usage. I am still fine-tuning the details, but much of this first semester has involved building a case for the research and obtaining all the necessary stamps of approval from review boards. (Hint: submit IRB requests as early as possible! Your life will be infinitely easier because you cannot start data collection with human subjects/many animal species without authorization.) Because I hope to pursue a Masters in Public Health (and possibly concentrate on health promotion and disease prevention), this project directly aligns with my goals and is invaluable research experience that will benefit me beyond graduation. I am fascinated with this area of study and am eager to dive in to the interview/ data collection part of the project. Hopefully that should begin soon—I will be sure to keep all you dedicated readers updated on the progress!

In the meantime, here are three tips that helped direct me when I first began thinking about thesis. I know it can seem daunting and distant for non-seniors, but investing a little time now will aid you immensely in the future, promise.

1) Think about your favorite classes, the ones you have absolutely loved or found inspiring. What subjects were those classes? Who taught them? Are they related (or could you relate them) to your major(s)?

2) What are your potential post-graduation plans or career goals? However vague or uncertain they may be, thesis is a fantastic opportunity to become the expert of a topic that could help expand your understanding or knowledge of a particular field and later give you some leverage in the outside world. Could you craft a topic that has some sense of a trajectory to a possible career path?

3) Take advantage of your department’s website and investigate what projects faculty are working on or areas they have researched. Reach out to faculty you find interesting—they are a wealth of ideas and support!

Fellow seniors, what other tips to you have to add to this list? How did you go about choosing a topic? Everyone else, what are your concerns and thoughts about thesis? Happy Halloween—stay safe and have fun this weekend!