Evaluating Job Offers & Salary Negotiation workshop

I had signed up to take this workshop and was really excited to attend it. I have always been curious about how to go about evaluating a job package when it is presented to you. Unfortunately the workshop was cancelled. The facilitator did, however, leave a lot of materials with career services for me to pick up and use as resources. It included the power point presentation and a couple resource sheets and guidelines. I have to say the information is very useful. I am approaching the one-year mark at my current job and have been thinking its time for a salary increase. My responsibilities have increased significantly and i feel i perform well. The materials from this workshop provided tips on how to negotiate salaries and what you are worth as an individual to a company . This is useful when presenting your case for a salary increase or negotiationg an initial salary. Eventhough the workshop was cancelled, i think i still gained some valuable information.

When your boss is sick.....again

It was really sad to learn that my boss was sick again. This time she was out for two weeks! I wasn't sure what to do with myself exactly. Two weeks is a really long time and I was worried about her health. However it was business as usual. I worked on the town's social media pages, completed research on various topics, and completed two town-government press releases for the website. Even though I had been through this before, it was hard not having the direction I was used to. But I guess that is all part of growing as a professional.

Social media and research

This week I set up gmail account for all of the town's social media exchanges and continued research on content management systems, in particular co-tweet. We use co-tweet at my job and it is really effective. I convinced my boss that we should look in to it. I also continued researching for items on making a calendar portion of social media pages and website as well as advertising possibilities for fan box and extras on social media pages. I also created a photo library so that our department could start archiving photos of events etc. It was a busy week!

Fall Festival photo from library

Thus far in the fall semester....

I have to say, with everything going on I am beyond burnt out from working full time and the fall semester. What is really weighing me down is PAF 573: Advanced Regression. I was not prepared for the intensity of this class. Between learning a new statistical software, completing regression problem sets, and reading assigned research journals, I barely have enough time to read the text books! That doesn't even count the research project I am doing for this class on top of everything else that is required and my other classes. My research project is quite interesting to me, which has become the small flame in an otherwise burnt out candle. All I have to say is I am grateful that December has almost arrived!

Week 8

This week was fairly laid back. I worked on three town-government press releases and the town social media primarily. I also started researching opportunities for the town's economic development team. There had been alot of budget cuts and the town was facing some hard decisions. The economic development team is responsible for finding opporunities for economic growth and development in the town. Since my boss was still sick and catching up from when she was out, I was asked to help the economic development team. It was really interesting researching possible ways to bring growth and stability to the town.

When your boss is sick.....

It makes for an interesting experience the first time your boss is sick and you are left to independently do events, complete assignments etc. When my advisor/boss called to let me know she was sick that week and then listed off my assignments, I wasn't sure how to react. My first thought was that this could be my time to shine and show her (my boss) that I could be trusted to get the work done without consulting her first. At the same time, I was also a bit on edge. I didnt want to make a mistake and have the opposite affect happen! But I independently compsed press releases during that time, conducted research on social market networks and continued to improve the town's social media sites. That was a good experience to have, looking back. I am now more comfortable taking the lead and getting things done.

Community get-togethers and leisure afternoons

The Town of Fountain Hills continues to be a great example of a close-knit community. As part of my responsibilities I had to get the word out about upcoming events, neighborhood gatherings and community news in general through web and social media. These events are so important to the community, and when they are missing..the phones will ring! But I have to say there's something to be said about community involvement. Some favorite activities were "concerts in the park" where local and traveling musicians would perform for the community, movie nights, pot lucks and hot air balloon extravaganzas! I wonder how our world would change if more cities behaved this way? I welcome your feedback :)