What does HR look like in 2022?

March 7, 2023March 7, 2023Leave a comment

This article was written by an employee at Vert Digital and was published on their blog on May 17, 2022.

Today is a particularly special day at Vert – it’s HR Appreciation Day! We’d like to take a moment to shine a light on our Head of People, Debbie Aiken. Behind the scenes of all of the strategic campaigns that our Vertbags support, Debbie works to help support the people who power the creativity here at Vert.

Before Debbie, Vert’s HR needs were covered by the Executive Leadership Team and Culture Club, one of Vert’s committees. It was largely a group effort between many Vertbags on how to better support the people that work here. But as Vert grew in size, it was evident that there needed to be someone who could dedicate their time to the Vertbags’ needs on a full-time scale — enter Debbie.

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Marketing & People Ops: An Unlikely Match?

March 7, 2023March 7, 2023Leave a comment

This article was published on Vert Digital’s blog on January 26, 2023.

Hi there! I am Vert’s new head of people ops, the first full-time Vertbag hired specifically to serve HR needs (woo hoo for agency growth!). My focus is in human resource management, recruitment & hiring, culture & engagement, and retention & recognition. You might be thinking, why would someone want to work at a marketing agency — in an HR role? You might be surprised to learn that the two areas have a lot in common, and as someone with a marketing background, it’s what makes me love my role even more!

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Nat Geo, Here I Come!

October 12, 2014Leave a comment

In my current position at Oglethorpe University, a lot of my job is the creation, curation and promotion of original content. My team and I have experimented with many different ways of displaying our content, from Storify to Animoto and testing all kinds of Word Press plugins. In recent months have begun to lean toward using fewer words and more photos. We want to capture our community members’ attention, and we have learned that what they like best is photos. Photos of campus, photos of their favorite faculty members, photos of our traditions. They do not want to read an article we’ve had an intern write about it, they want to see it.

So, last week when a coworker popped her head into my office and said one of our biology professors was looking for an extra van driver to accompany him and his class on a 4-day trip to Sapelo Island, I jumped at the chance. It was a perfect opportunity to do accomplish several work-related goals: Continue reading →

10 Ways to Make Your Internship Awesome

July 29, 2014Leave a comment

If you are a college student, you’ve probably considering completing an internship. If you aren’t, you should. There is an abundance of evidence that an internship is perhaps the most important activity college students can complete outside the classroom to support their future career.

Here are 10 things you can do to help your internship reach its full potential:

ASK QUESTIONS! I put this in all caps because it’s the most important thing you can do. Your supervisor doesn’t expect you to have all the answers – that’s why you’re interning. Spend more time soaking up as much information as you can and less trying to impress everyone in the office.
But ask all of your questions at once. Don’t interrupt your supervisor 5 times each 4-hour shift. Write down your questions as they come up during your time in the office each day. Once you have a few on your list, ask your supervisor if he has a minute and get all of your answers at once. He’ll appreciate that you’re being considerate of his time.

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NPR’s Women in Technology and Why We Shouldn’t “Dumb Down” Tech Jobs

March 8, 2014Leave a comment

On March 7 I was invited to participate in a Twitter chat about Women in technology as part of a series by NPR’s Tell Me More radio news program. NPR asked Carletta Hurt, an Oglethorpe alumna who works in the field of education to share her day on Twitter in order to give young women a glimpse of what it’s like to be a woman working in the field of technology. She then chose several other women with similar backgrounds to have a one hour Twitter chat about their experiences, and that’s where I fit in. It was my first Twitter chat and I was super excited about the opportunity. The conversation went very well and I am happy I was able to share my opinions and experiences to help inspire young women to enter the STEM field in their future careers.

View the story “NPR’s Women in Technology Twitter Chat” on Storify

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The Employer’s Guide to Internships, Part Two

February 16, 2014Leave a comment

This is the second half of a two-part series about what you, as the employer, can do to ensure a positive experience when hosting an intern in your workplace. This article will focus on tips for managing your intern and dealing with the inevitable bumps in the road. See part one to find out what you can do to prepare for your intern before they even start working, and to read more about my credentials in this subject area. I will provide tips for employers and illustrate each one with a personal example of how I’ve applied my own advice to my work managing Pegasus Creative at Oglethorpe University.

Once your intern starts working:

#5: Give and receive feedback

Providing opportunities throughout the semester to provide structured feedback and asking your intern to reciprocate can be a very beneficial exercise for both parties. It allows for you to assess what the student is doing right, and where they could improve. Many samples of intern evaluations can be found online, and usually offer a point system for rating students in areas such as teachability, reliability and initiative. Asking the student to answer several questions about their experience thus far gives them the opportunity to voice any concerns they might have. Be as honest as possible and encourage your intern to do the same. Halfway through the semester is the perfect time to re-evaluate and make adjustments to the position or assignments so no one becomes disgruntled. Completing an end-of-term evaluation also provides closure for you and the student. Continue reading →

The Employer’s Guide to Internships, Part One

February 4, 2014December 27, 20161 Comment

This is the first installment of a two-part series about how you as the employer can ensure a positive experience when hosting an intern in your workplace. This article will focus on what you need to do to prepare for your intern before they even start working (steps 1-4). Next week I’ll follow up with the second half, which will focus on tips for managing your intern and dealing with the inevitable bumps in the road.

Why should the employer have to prepare?

There has been a lot of talk lately about benefits of hosting an internship in your office, and the ethics surrounding such an undertaking. More and more pressure is being put on the employers to offer beneficial experiences for the intern, and not simply use them as a personal assistant. Here are a few quick reasons to put in the little bit of extra effort to provide a positive experience for your intern: Continue reading →

My Existential Magazine Crisis

January 11, 2014January 20, 2014Leave a comment

A sample of magazines in my house. It took me 2 minutes to pull these together. Some brand new issues, some from years ago that I’m saving.

I’m a magazine junkie. I love the feel of a fresh issue, and determine the caliber of each by the number of pages I dog-ear. Once I pick one up, it’s hard for me to set it down. I love they way they flow (good magazines, anyway) with short articles mixed with features, lists and maybe a photo essay. I prefer reading print magazines to online articles simply for the presentation. In the same way that music artists craft their albums with one song purposely transitioning to the next, magazines need to have a rhythm. And my heart loves the rhythm of magazines. Continue reading →