Alex Trevisan

CNS 220
Job Shadow Summary
My job shadow experience was successful in that it taught me that human resourcing is
not necessarily a field I would like to pursue. The information was valuable because it lead me to
make an informed decision about my future. I thought I would enjoy this industry because I could
use my psychology and religious studies skills to understand multiple worldviews and apply
problem solving techniques to help facilitate a more cohesive work environment. In reality, it
turns out that the vibe I got from the work environment was very serious and dull. Perhaps this is
not the case with all human resourcing work environments, but the atmosphere in the Wake
Forest office was not one I could see myself enjoying on a daily basis. Honestly, I formed this
opinion after my informational interview with a wake alumni working in human resourcing, and
this job shadow experience only reaffirmed it.
I learned that neither of the individuals I worked with in my job shadow intended to end
up in human resourcing. One was a business major and one was a psychology and
communications major. One started out in hospitality and learned that this industry was not for
him, while the other got a human resourcing job right out of college, but later got her graduate
degree in counseling. Both individuals were familiar with Wake Forest (one attended Wake) and
ended up applying for human resourcing positions at the University.
One of the individuals discussed his position of running job training programs. He
originally worked in a position where he was responsible for firing people and informing people
of issues in the office, which he did not like due to the constant negativity. Now he is in charge of
assisting individuals prepare themselves for new positions, giving him a much more positive
mentality at work. He also promotes team member relations, and works with the leadership
program. Overall, his responsibilities include enhancing functionality of the work environment,
and educating either new members on the job responsibilities, or educating old members to reach
a new level within the organization. The other individual I spoke with was primarily responsible
for managing curriculums of job positions and working in the professional development side. I
spoke with this individual although I spent my of my time shadowing the individual who worked
to enhance the work environment though job training and leadership programs.
Other functions of human resourcing include: employee relations (ER), where individuals
work with the bad things that are happening, discipline, firing, conflict amongst teams: working
as a liaison between different sectors. Also recruiting, including talent management/talent
acquisition and recruiting applicants; benefits, where individuals must be numbers driven, detail
driven, and wanting to look at plans and data; and finally, HR systems: reporting (head count)
ages, and when the company can expect people to be retiring. I asked about travel opportunities,
and I was told that most can be found in corporate international companies. There is not much
international travel, it is mostly domestic.
The individuals I spoke with were very nice and passionate about their careers and claimed
that they enjoyed each others company. I felt as though the atmosphere was very serious and
almost too professional; it seemed too stuffy for me- for lack of a better word. There are
various facets to the industry, but with lack of opportunity for international travel, and sitting in
an office every day working with either employee issues, numbers (head counts, proxy reports),
or leadership training, I found it would be hard be me to thoroughly enjoy my daily duties.
Overall, this experience was informative facilitated in my progress of finding a career right for
me.