Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The versatility of MBTI!

Courtesy of Carol Schrammel--our UExplore facilitator for our April 15, 2009 session--we bring to you a neat, little tidbit about how the MBTI is being used by Champlain College in Burlington, VT to help incoming freshman, resident assistants, and other officials to establish rules for a shared room and deal with potential conflicts.

http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/news/2008/12/12/myersbriggs

Champlain College began requiring all of its incoming students to complete the MBTI before arriving on campus as part of a newly launched “life skills” program.

While the students are not informed of their individual results when completing roommate agreements, they are asked to self-identity with their perceived personality when getting to know their roommates.

Then, later on in the semester, if conflict arises between roommates, this information can be used by resident assistants to mediate a resolution.

According to a representative of the publishing company for the MBTI, “The MBTI helps people understand their differences and appreciate them. It’s not about saying this person does this correctly or incorrectly. If you have this preference and I have another preference, how can we live together?”

What do you think about using the MBTI in this way?

Would you have wanted to know this information as a freshman?

s


Friday, December 19, 2008

Career Planning with Barry Niman

Barry Niman and Tehseen Lazzouni discuss the merits of keeping a job journal. Barry introduced the idea of keeping a job journal and said that data from the job journal can be used:
* to identify present skills and those for future development
* as a basis for upgrading your job description
* to identify what you like and dislike about your job tasks and about your work environment
* as information to include in your performance evaluation

Tehseen has been steadily keeping a job journal and already found it useful as a tool for self-evaluation and performance review. Macy Huynh, Christina Knerr, and Alexis O'Banion teamed up in a small group exercise. They each had 30 seconds to describe what they liked most about their job.
Meanwhile, Brian Pierini and Mark Plummer did the same as they talked about what they liked most in their jobs at Geisel Library and CalIT2, respectively.

Scott Paulson, Jane Peterson, and Richard Baran pondered the same question. Each work in different areas within Academic Affairs, so they benefitted from each others' experiences working in the Libraries, Stuart Collection, and UC Extension.

Afterwards, results were shared by volunteers, and we found some common themes to what we find most enjoyable in our jobs:

1) people--working with others, meeting new people, having one-on-one interaction

2) impact--being helpful, accomplishing goals

3) freedom and independence--in work responsibilities, to take initiative, etc


The list could've gone on and on. This is just how far we got in about 5 minutes!



Now Download-able!

Woo hoo!

You can now download PDF versions of December 17th's UExplore workshop presentations:

* Career Planning presented by Barry Niman
* Administrative Support Career Field Overview presented by Mo Latimer
* Administrative Support Career Information Panel presented by Bev Strobl, Shirley Higgins, and Mo Latimer

You can also access UExplore's customized handouts about additional classes you may take to learn more about administrative support:
* Administrative Support classes via Staff Education & Development

Just visit: http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/staffhr/uexplore/2008.htm

S

Happy Holidays


Happiest of holidays from your friends at UExplore!
s

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Ooh-ooh-ah-ah!


Every one of your opinions count!

Check out Survey Monkey, and let us know what you thought about yesterday's workshops.

CAREER PLANNING with Barry Niman (December 17, 2008)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=T0zEZD6Lv_2fpBE1QlvwgioQ_3d_3d

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT CAREER FIELD OVERVIEW & INFO PANEL with Bev Strobl, Shirley Higgins, Mo Latimer (December 17, 2008)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AUqK6F2yUfQgkHSbapDw2A_3d_3d

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Friday, December 12, 2008

Did you enroll?

Just a click away....

Career Planning:
https://enrollmentcentral.ucsd.edu/sed_course.cfm?&cdcrs=XCPLANUXPL

Admin Support
https://enrollmentcentral.ucsd.edu/sed_course.cfm?&cdcrs=XUXPLORADM

xd

What questions do you have brewing for our panelists this month?

We're featuring 3 speakers this month. They are professional experts who hold positions at the top of their field and come from different areas of campus.

We've got Bev Strobl from the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs; Shirley Higgings from the Geisel Library; Mo from the Jacobs School of Engineering.

They will and share information about:
* their career path
* the work that they currently do
* the resources they accessed and the choices they made to get to where they are today
* their professional advice

Take advantage of this opportunity to ask these important players about their work in front of and behind the scenes...

X

Career Planning...preview

For those with an extra eager heart, we've posted the PDF versions of the handouts for Barry Niman's Career Planning workshop on the UExplore website.

Check them out at: http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/staffhr/uexplore/2008.htm

We'll have the color copies of the presentation ready for you on Wednesday!

Z

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

December 17th Agenda

I live for agendas! I love it when I can know what's comin' 'round the bend, so here's a taste of what's to come.

We'll start of the day with a debrief from last session. This is our time together to ask questions about the topics covered from last month and to share any good news, progress, or professional tips we've had recently. If you've got a question about human resources, please just pitch it to me, and I'll do my best to give you a clear and informative answer.

We've planned for a break after Barry Niman's Career Planning session too, and for a 5-minute stand and stretch to get the juices flowin' again.

We'll close with the Administrative Support Career Information Panel, with time allotted for questions, beginning shortly past noon.

Back to the Seuss Room

We're going back to where it all started....

Please note that the location for next week's UExplore session focusing on Career Planning and the Administrative Support career field is at the Geisel Library, Seuss Room.

c

Online Enrollment for Presentations on Wednesday, Dec 17th!

Good Tuesday morning!

Here are the online links to enroll for the Career Planning and the Administrative Support Career Field Overview and Career Information Panel.

By enrolling, you may receive credit for attending these presentations on your educational history recorded by Staff Education and Development.

Career Planning:
https://enrollmentcentral.ucsd.edu/sed_course.cfm?&cdcrs=XCPLANUXPL

Administrative Support Career Field Overview and Career Information Panel:
https://enrollmentcentral.ucsd.edu/sed_course.cfm?&cdcrs=XUXPLORADM

See you next Wednesday!

Best,
Linda, your UExplore Program Coordinator

Friday, December 5, 2008

Home-Grown Spotlight: Bev Strobl

A day in the life of Bev Strobl can be easily described with one word: Juggle—with a capital “J.” As the Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs (SVCAA) for the past 9 years, Bev manages the workload and schedule for one of the campus’ most influential and sought-after leaders.



The amount of activity that Bev coordinates is staggering. Just imagine: over 2000 high-level conferences, seminars, special events, and meetings a year. Add to that: on average, Bev reschedules six other meetings in order to fit in another meeting. Then, take into account that Bev also researches and prepares the back-up materials for these meetings and coordinates the domestic and international travel involved with these activities too. It’s a whirlwind of tactful calls, skillful emails, and keen interpersonal communication that gets the job done. Correction: well­-done and served with a smile.



As the Executive Assistant, Bev also enjoys serving as a key liaison between the SVCAA and the Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, Deans, Provosts, Chairs, faculty, community organizations, Regents, Office of the President, and other campuses and members of the SVCAA staff. Looking at the “big picture,” the work that Bev coordinates with these professional leaders fosters the growth and long-lasting health of the University.



The key support role that Bev plays as the Executive Assistant to the SVCAA is a match for her organizational talents and her satisfaction in “working behind the scenes, rather than being in the limelight.” Bev’s parents instilled in her the “sense of strong work ethic and doing a good job no matter what the task might be.” Afterall, she advises, “Enjoy what you are doing. If you don’t, find another line of work.” And, for Bev, it’s a situation that she says “works well for me.”



Bev’s 20+ years in the field of administrative support is a testament to the fact that she feels rewarded by the profession she’s chosen. It can be like a miniature White House with the massive number of priorities, schedules, meetings, and visitors that call for the attention of the SVCAA; however, with Bev’s reliable brand of patience, perseverance, and professionalism, good order and good organization prevail.



For more information about Bev, ask her questions at the December 17th career information panel.



In the meantime, here are some more fun facts:


#1 On a Saturday, you’ll most like find Bev tending to her garden
#2 Work philosophy: “Be organized and never procrastinate!”
#3 Bev is the middle child in a family with one older sister and one younger brother
#4 Bev's first entry-level job in the administrative support was as the Assistant to the Director of Personnel at SDSU Foundation
#5 Before she came to the Office of the SVCAA, Bev was the Executive Assistant to Dr. David Schanzlin at the UCSD Shiley Eye Center