I have now officially been here a week. My office still looks like a storage unit and my nesting instinct is crawling with anticipation. However, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had to time to indulge it.
Yes, that’s right – BUSY!! I was immediately put to work revising and developing promotional material for the company. As someone joked on my first day, HRB provides wonderful marketing service to everyone…except itself! What’s more, HRB is in the process of rolling out a new logo, so there was a ripe opportunity for me to jump in and help out with something that really mattered. So far I have revised several promotional materials and developed a handbook for prospective healthcare clients.
I had been out of college for 5 months and was starting to despair before I received this opportunity. I had no idea why I spent $200,000 on an education when what everyone seems to care about is experience. I mean, how are you supposed to have experience if no one will give it to you in the first place?? It’s completely self-defeating logic that eliminates an opportunity for fresh ideas and innovation.
But Jim Thebeau, HRB’s CEO, was eager to take advantage of such an opportunity. I remember what he said to me on my first day: “We look to you as a source of fresh ideas, energy, and insight into a younger generation.” Wow. HRB is one of the most successful and respected marketing agencies in the Midwest, and I have to believe that this open, inquisitive approach has a lot to do with that. After all, the more information and ideas one has, the more they are able to work with and the better able they are to churn an advantage.
In the past week I have not only been assigned meaningful and educational tasks, but I have sat in on several staff meetings where my input was asked for, discussed, and in some cases incorporated. Jim wasn’t just talking – the HRB team is indeed using my inexperience and unfamiliarity as a valuable source of unbiased feedback.
But here’s the best part: I’m being paid!!!! Not much, mind you, but it sure beats the slave labor that other companies think they can get away with. Ok, stopping while I’m ahead………..