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Showing posts with label contracts risk specialist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contracts risk specialist. Show all posts
Thursday, June 23, 2016
2016 Annual State of the Business Meeting
I attended my company's Annual State of the Business Meeting today. My favorite part was finally being able to put faces with names. The meeting was very insightful about the overall health and direction of the company. I am so proud to work for this amazing company! Everyone in attendance received sunglasses with our logo on them because "the future's so bright" for us.
Since I had to go onstage with my entire department, I decided to wear a dress. Obviously, that's a big deal to me because dresses aren't my favorite thing. I even wore baby heels! By some miracle I didn't fall or trip onstage while I was being introduced. My sister, Kelly, took pictures to document the rare moment in time that I actually looked presentable. Now I have a new LinkedIn profile picture. By the way, I don't remember if I mentioned that I have business cards now! Go professional me!!!
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Yes, Take a Cookie for Your Brother
While I was in line to get a cookie at Savanna's VPK graduation tonight a little boy asked me if he could take a cookie for his brother. I nodded my head and confidently told him, "Yes!"
My supervisor's mother passed away last week and my supervisor has been out of the office since last Wednesday. She'll be returning on Monday. I have just a little over two months of experience and I've been on my own at work. Executives have been coming to me for my input and comments on contracts and markups. Project Managers and Project Assistants have been looking to me to lead negotiations. Our vendors have been contacting me with questions and having me manage the process to get mutually agreeable contracts executed. Usually, I tell my supervisor my opinion on these things and ask her questions to better understand the issues and she tells me if I'm right or wrong, and then she explains our company's stance on the topic to me. This is how I've been learning in this position. Since she's not there, there's no one to tell me if I'm right or not. Don't get me wrong, I love the excitement of my job; however, I can't help but feel like I did when I told that kid he can take a cookie for his brother. Who am I to tell you what to do? People are looking to me for answers, guidance, and solutions. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as telling them they can take a cookie for their brother. I'm doing my best and making, what I believe to be, thoughtful business decisions. Only time will tell if I've been doing a good job or not.
Sink or swim
Pass or fail
Get fired or get a raise
My supervisor's mother passed away last week and my supervisor has been out of the office since last Wednesday. She'll be returning on Monday. I have just a little over two months of experience and I've been on my own at work. Executives have been coming to me for my input and comments on contracts and markups. Project Managers and Project Assistants have been looking to me to lead negotiations. Our vendors have been contacting me with questions and having me manage the process to get mutually agreeable contracts executed. Usually, I tell my supervisor my opinion on these things and ask her questions to better understand the issues and she tells me if I'm right or wrong, and then she explains our company's stance on the topic to me. This is how I've been learning in this position. Since she's not there, there's no one to tell me if I'm right or not. Don't get me wrong, I love the excitement of my job; however, I can't help but feel like I did when I told that kid he can take a cookie for his brother. Who am I to tell you what to do? People are looking to me for answers, guidance, and solutions. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as telling them they can take a cookie for their brother. I'm doing my best and making, what I believe to be, thoughtful business decisions. Only time will tell if I've been doing a good job or not.
Sink or swim
Pass or fail
Get fired or get a raise
Thursday, March 17, 2016
A New Chapter Professionally
Tomorrow will mark one month since the Contract / Risk Specialist opportunity came my way. If I could have looked through binoculars into the future, I'm not sure I would have had the guts to envision where I am today. Even though my official start date for pay rate purposes is Monday, I trained with my new supervisor again today and I will train with her again tomorrow. I finally got the offer/transfer letter from HR and signed it, so it's really official! This is a huge opportunity I have in front of me and I am extremely thankfully that my new supervisor and Wharton-Smith want to invest their time and money in me. There's no doubt it will be challenging, but that's part of what makes it appealing.
I wrote my payroll supervisor a thank you note for being an amazing supervisor. It was sad turning over all of my payroll access (passwords, key cards, keys). I am super thankful she supported me during this transition to the extent of coming in really early and staying really late in order to allow me to transfer quickly. Seriously, she needs a cape with a dollar sign on it. I'm glad I have someone like her in my corner.
I wrote my payroll supervisor a thank you note for being an amazing supervisor. It was sad turning over all of my payroll access (passwords, key cards, keys). I am super thankful she supported me during this transition to the extent of coming in really early and staying really late in order to allow me to transfer quickly. Seriously, she needs a cape with a dollar sign on it. I'm glad I have someone like her in my corner.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Coming Down from the High
Dare I say this week has been the best week ever! I know, I know I won't shut up about it.
I ran 6 miles this week and today I knocked off over two minutes from my two mile time on Tuesday. I love it when my body feels good! It's only my first week of training and I was already able to run two miles without stopping for a walk break today. Today I ran two miles in 22 minutes and 13 seconds. That's pretty good considering how out of shape I am. I hope to keep improving. My motivation has been through the roof and I am head over heels in love with running again. I know health is always an uncertainty, but my goal is to train hard, train smart, and finish strong. If I can do that, I believe I can get a PR in NYC. My training schedule has been made, but right now my focus is to get ready for the Corporate 5k on April 7th. I can't wait to run with some co-workers! My company is giving every employee that crosses the finish line a Fitbit!
My first training day in my new position yesterday went well. My new supervisor had a lengthy conversation with me about how I got the position. I found out that I beat out six other candidates for the job. Originally my new supervisor already had a different internal candidate in mind for the position and was just going to offer it to that person, but the CEO told her that she had to open the position to everyone. She got two other ladies from her department to help with the hiring process since she felt she was biased. Evidently, my cover letter really gave me an edge because it showed my amazing writing ability. The person that my new supervisor originally wanted for the position is a Project Assistant, so he/she already has some experience and is familiar with contracts and work flow, but he/she didn't have a strongly written cover letter and didn't have a college degree. After all of the interviews, my new supervisor consulted with the two ladies from her department and they both chose me for the position. My new supervisor also agreed that I was the best for the position because I was also the best communicator in the interview. They all felt that it would be easier to train someone from scratch, which it's anticipated that it will take up to two years for me to fully learn the position, than to train someone how to communicate proficiently even if they already have some experience. My new position will be communicating with executives on a daily basis, so they felt it was extremely important to have someone competent that can write e-mails and such without having to proof read everything.
I am so proud of myself for really earning this position. This position will be a change of pace that will take some adjusting to. It's strange not knowing anything and not being able to really be productive at this point. At least, my new supervisor understands that it's a slow learning process. Its not slow because I'm not smart, it's slow because there's a lot of information to learn and a lot of decisions are circumstantial. There aren't necessarily rules for everything. Rather, there are guidelines with multiple directions. I can already tell she is going to be a great mentor. She knows her field well and she has passion for what she does. I can't wait to get on her level of understanding. The way she manipulates words and negotiates contracts is impressive. So far, I'm really intrigued. So far, I feel dumb.
I ran 6 miles this week and today I knocked off over two minutes from my two mile time on Tuesday. I love it when my body feels good! It's only my first week of training and I was already able to run two miles without stopping for a walk break today. Today I ran two miles in 22 minutes and 13 seconds. That's pretty good considering how out of shape I am. I hope to keep improving. My motivation has been through the roof and I am head over heels in love with running again. I know health is always an uncertainty, but my goal is to train hard, train smart, and finish strong. If I can do that, I believe I can get a PR in NYC. My training schedule has been made, but right now my focus is to get ready for the Corporate 5k on April 7th. I can't wait to run with some co-workers! My company is giving every employee that crosses the finish line a Fitbit!
My first training day in my new position yesterday went well. My new supervisor had a lengthy conversation with me about how I got the position. I found out that I beat out six other candidates for the job. Originally my new supervisor already had a different internal candidate in mind for the position and was just going to offer it to that person, but the CEO told her that she had to open the position to everyone. She got two other ladies from her department to help with the hiring process since she felt she was biased. Evidently, my cover letter really gave me an edge because it showed my amazing writing ability. The person that my new supervisor originally wanted for the position is a Project Assistant, so he/she already has some experience and is familiar with contracts and work flow, but he/she didn't have a strongly written cover letter and didn't have a college degree. After all of the interviews, my new supervisor consulted with the two ladies from her department and they both chose me for the position. My new supervisor also agreed that I was the best for the position because I was also the best communicator in the interview. They all felt that it would be easier to train someone from scratch, which it's anticipated that it will take up to two years for me to fully learn the position, than to train someone how to communicate proficiently even if they already have some experience. My new position will be communicating with executives on a daily basis, so they felt it was extremely important to have someone competent that can write e-mails and such without having to proof read everything.
I am so proud of myself for really earning this position. This position will be a change of pace that will take some adjusting to. It's strange not knowing anything and not being able to really be productive at this point. At least, my new supervisor understands that it's a slow learning process. Its not slow because I'm not smart, it's slow because there's a lot of information to learn and a lot of decisions are circumstantial. There aren't necessarily rules for everything. Rather, there are guidelines with multiple directions. I can already tell she is going to be a great mentor. She knows her field well and she has passion for what she does. I can't wait to get on her level of understanding. The way she manipulates words and negotiates contracts is impressive. So far, I'm really intrigued. So far, I feel dumb.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Life is Good
Today, I finished my last payroll run at Wharton-Smith. It was bittersweet. I have loved working in the payroll office and learning from my amazing supervisor. There was not one day I woke up not wanting to go to work. That's how much I enjoyed it! It has been a great experience and I am truly going to miss it. I will be wrapping up my responsibilities as payroll assistant and training someone how to do some of my tasks. Even though my official start date is March 21st (That's the date my pay increase takes effect), my soft transition begins this Friday. This Friday, I'll be training with my new supervisor! Next week, I'll be back in payroll Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; and then I'll be training with my new supervisor on Thursday and Friday. After the 21st, I will officially be the contracts/risk specialist and I may float back to payroll occasionally until they're able to fill my old position. I can't wait to start learning my new position! I am up for the challenge and I think the folks in my new department will prove to be great mentors for me.
After messaging some friends, once I realized I really got into the NYC Marathon I went into my supervisor's office and told her with a shaky voice and tears in my eyes. She was ecstatic! She shared with me in my excited disbelief and even had tears in her eyes, too! I never dreamed I would get in on my first try because I know people that have been trying for 5 years and still didn't get in this time. I have never been this excited about anything before. I can't even describe exactly how I feel about it because words seem so inadequate.
Financially, I wasn't really ready for it, but with my new promotion and taking on some work with my dad on the weekends I should be able to save for the trip/race without sacrificing other things I'm saving for. My bestie, Taylor, has already committed to join me and Kim will join us if her school schedule allows her to get away. I've booked a hotel in Midtown New York for four nights. Holy crapola, that's the most I've ever paid for a hotel per night. They better have great toilet paper. We want to see a Broadway show and cross the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm sure we'll come up with more to do. Just envisioning crossing the finish line in NYC has made me cry more than once already.
I am officially in marathon training! Yes, I expect it to take the entire 8 months until the race to properly train. Seriously, I want to be in the best shape of my life on race day. I'm still working out a training schedule, but the good news is that I already have runner friends volunteering to train with me on my long runs to help push me through.
After messaging some friends, once I realized I really got into the NYC Marathon I went into my supervisor's office and told her with a shaky voice and tears in my eyes. She was ecstatic! She shared with me in my excited disbelief and even had tears in her eyes, too! I never dreamed I would get in on my first try because I know people that have been trying for 5 years and still didn't get in this time. I have never been this excited about anything before. I can't even describe exactly how I feel about it because words seem so inadequate.
Financially, I wasn't really ready for it, but with my new promotion and taking on some work with my dad on the weekends I should be able to save for the trip/race without sacrificing other things I'm saving for. My bestie, Taylor, has already committed to join me and Kim will join us if her school schedule allows her to get away. I've booked a hotel in Midtown New York for four nights. Holy crapola, that's the most I've ever paid for a hotel per night. They better have great toilet paper. We want to see a Broadway show and cross the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm sure we'll come up with more to do. Just envisioning crossing the finish line in NYC has made me cry more than once already.
I am officially in marathon training! Yes, I expect it to take the entire 8 months until the race to properly train. Seriously, I want to be in the best shape of my life on race day. I'm still working out a training schedule, but the good news is that I already have runner friends volunteering to train with me on my long runs to help push me through.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
This Smile is Glued to My Face
I have officially accepted the job offer for the contracts/risk specialist position. I will transfer on Monday, March 21st to my new cube downstairs. I am super excited about this opportunity!
Above is a snip from the e-mail that confirmed my entry into the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon! I won the lottery!
My lab results are in. Although they have improved slightly, the doc wants me to start taking iron again because my levels are still too low. He didn't mention anything about switching meds and since I'm feeling ok, I didn't ask.
It's not even Wednesday and this week has already been a whirlwind. When I have more time, I'll post more about my new position and NYC.
Above is a snip from the e-mail that confirmed my entry into the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon! I won the lottery!
My lab results are in. Although they have improved slightly, the doc wants me to start taking iron again because my levels are still too low. He didn't mention anything about switching meds and since I'm feeling ok, I didn't ask.
It's not even Wednesday and this week has already been a whirlwind. When I have more time, I'll post more about my new position and NYC.
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