The College of Applied Science and Technology’s “A Day in the Life of a CAST Alum” series is designed to shed some light on how CAST alumni spend their days. As with many careers, our alumni will tell you that every day is different, but this series aims to provide a peek into an alum’s world.
As a university relations manager, no two days are the same! Amie Hasselbring graduated in 2013 with a degree in agricultural communications and leadership. After graduation, she started work with GROWMARK and now works with the university and community college internship programs, job shadow program and new graduate rotational program.
7 a.m. – Arrive at the office. I am a morning person and power through emails in the morning before majority of people arrive in the office. It is also a good time to get a handle on the day to make sure I am ready for the day’s meetings and events.
8 a.m. – Quick touch base with my teammates as to how previous day’s travels were. With our travel schedules, it is a great day when we are all in the office at the same time! We take advantage of the time to discuss our events and our whereabouts for the next week. Being able to work while on the road and remotely is key to our survival as university recruiters.
9 a.m. – Phone interviews, phone interviews and more phone interviews. After spending the fall on the road and at various campuses and career fairs throughout the country, students have started to apply for our internship program. The first step in my process is to phone screen the candidates. I enjoy hearing students’ interests and how they could fit into the GROWMARK and FS System. Phone interviews typically take around 30 minutes apiece.
Noon – Eat lunch in the cafeteria and study with my teammate for a human resource certification exam. The exam is a growth opportunity for us and allows us to further our expertise in the field.
1 p.m. – Call the hiring managers for my open job postings, provide them with notes from phone interviews and collaborate to schedule face-to-face interviews. Relationship management is a large portion of my responsibilities in this role. I have the opportunity to work with all areas of our business as they request interns, employees from across our trade territory – including Canada, students, faculty and career center staff.
2 p.m. – Work with team to plan events for the internship program conferences. We plan and coordinate all events related to the internship program, including networking opportunities, tours, speakers, facilities, food etc. There are a lot of logistics to take into consideration which keep us on our toes and adds a lot of variety to our day-to-day roles.
3:30 p.m. – Head over to Illinois State University campus to recruit and network with students who could potentially gain full-time or internship roles. We have the awesome opportunity to meet great students and market our many career opportunities within the GROWMARK and FS System! Many people see us as only hiring agriculture majors. However, we have positions including IT, communications, marketing, human resources, accounting, sales and more.
7 p.m. – Pack-up career fair gear, load the car and head home!
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