2011!

The new year is approaching FAST! Honestly, 2010 just flew bye...I cannot believe it. Honestly it was not that good of a decade to be completely honest, a lot of bad things happened. I am more than excited for 2011 & the opportunities it will bring! I just read that there were less jobless claims for the first time in a very long time--which makes me very happy for people out there--there is still hope! :o) Any progress is good progress in my eyes!

My new years resolution is to tone tone tone! I got a personal trainer for a little while this fall--he taught me some excellent strength training techniques and I'll probably sign up for another package because I am beginning to master the moves. I am glad I set this goal before the new year so it is already in progress. Also this year I am going to really need to sit down and create a budget for myself. Chicago really does suck you into all of its entertainment. Or maybe its because when I moved here I had...3 friends? So i didn't do much--that's probably the reason to my intense increase of money spent. (A really good website to use for capturing your money is mint.com--it's free and very easy to use I would strongly reccommend this website!)

This new year I will be travelling to Lax, WI & then possibly spending time in Minneapolis! I am very excited for this weekend! I never knew New Year's Eve was considered a holiday? But I guess you learn something new everyday.

 As I spend more time at my internship I am learning more and more about people every step of the way. I'm amazed how much I have learned in my classes (personnel) that I actually see in my everyday life here at my internship. For example, I learned that verbal cues and and the way someones writes is not a very good predictor of performance. I even thought it was funny that someone would actually think that the way someone writes would tell you anything about a person. But some of the other employers at my job actually do take into consideration verbal cues and writing skills! All you can really do is take those things with a grain of salt. I made sure to inform my personal boss what really matters in  terms of performance predictors.

It's also interesting to see how different our generations are. Some employers hate the idea of technology or the use of facebook and other social media websites. But if they took the chance to read more about it, they would understand that those websites are the future. Yet, it takes some people time to change. With change comes great ideas. The internet is not a dangerous tool in my opinion. I think the advancement in technology is great & it allows us to do great things. It allows us to stay connected, recruit, find jobs, post jobs, etc. Without the use of the internet, I would not have found my job or even learned about my Master's program. I am living in the tech world and I embrace every minute of it!

Anyways, you have no idea how many entertaining applications I go through a day and even more entertaining is when the applicants come in for an interview. People have quite the interesting personalities, questions etc. I feel very fortunate that every day I can learn something new and exciting. I will say this--this year I was very blessed! I thank god everyday for all the opportunities!

Well I am about to do an interview--I already know it is going to be entertaining. Everyone have a safe and fabulous New Year! I cannot wait until the clock strikes 12:00. 2011 will be a great year--I can feel it.

*Ash