Introduction to the Project
Interviews
To obtain a better sense of what workplace demands in
the real world are like in relation to information access and information
management skills, I began to interview a variety of individuals in workplace
situations. Rock Pfotenhauer (Dean, Career Education & Economic Development,
Cabrillo College) made some very helpful contacts for me, as did Laura
Grinder (Tech Prep/School to Career Director, Cabrillo College). Individuals
interviewed for the "world of work" portion of the project included:
Brunella Deeds, Assistant to the Superintendent, Santa Cruz County Office of Education
Gail Groves, Senior Analyst, Public Information Officer, Human Resources Agency, County of Santa Cruz
Jana Humbert, Information Specialist, Information Resource Center, Gartner Group (San Jose)
Kari A. Kubik, Human Resources Supervisor, Raytek (Santa Cruz)
Karen Laughlin, IRC Manager, BARC, Information Resource Center, Gartner Group (San Jose)
Don Masik, Human Resources Manager, Texas Instruments (Santa Cruz)
Jamie McGloin-King, Director of Customer Vibe, ProsperPoint.com (Santa Cruz)
Liz Morrison, Employment Services Manager, Personnel Department, County of Santa Cruz
Robyn D. Slater, Human Resources Business Manager, Texas Instruments (Santa Cruz)
Melinda Stasch, Information Specialist, Information Resource Center, Gartner Group (San Jose)
Interviewing was very fruitful, but one step removed from "real"
experience. In order to become personally more familiar with workplace
realities, I decided to see if I could obtain a part-time, temporary job in
the area.
Becoming a Temporary
Employee
I went to two temporary employment agencies: Manpower (in Capitola), and
Volt Services Group (in Scotts Valley). In filling out application materials,
I indicated that I would be interested in an office position.
At each agency, successful applicants become employees of the agency itself. The agency contracts with businesses and organizations needing employees for job assignments. The agency's reputation rests on the fact that they can match prospective temporary employees to the needs of specific jobs. In order to assure good matches, the agencies put prospective employees through several batteries of tests. Both Manpower and Volt tested me for math skills, and software skills, Word and Excel. At Manpower, I also took a PowerPoint test. At Volt, but not at Manpower, I was given a typing test (on an electronic typewriter) and an English reading/comprehension test.
Commentary on the testing The testing at each agency took between 3 and 3.5 hours. Math skills were at about the 9th grade level, as was the English reading/comprehension test. I learned that I type 69 words a minute without error. The software tests (Word, Excel, etc.) were scored in three tiers: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced. After receiving my scores, I could only reflect that my outcomes might be somewhat similar to others who have learned these programs on the job, on their own, and mid-career. While my basic skills were strong (or perfect), my intermediate skills were in the 80-90% range, and my advanced skills were in the 70-80% range.
After the testing, the prospective employee is then interviewed by a placement counselor. I had brought copies of a resume with me. This resume truthfully indicated that I am a librarian with a Masters degree, but it emphasized my office and computer skills. At both Manpower and Volt, the placement counselors were very understanding about my goals for this particular work experience.
Within hours, I began to get calls. (This was Spring 2000 with its very tight job market.) Within days, I took a temporary (3 week), part-time (20 hours/week) job as a file clerk in the Human Resources Department at Texas Instruments (650 employees) in Santa Cruz.
The job was everything I could have hoped for. I was working in a busy department (and walking through other departments, as I did odd jobs like Xeroxing) where I got to overhear people asking each other "Where would I find____?" "Have you ever had to look for ____?" Human Resources at Texas Instruments (TI) handles pre-employment testing. While I was there, TI was attempting to hire 80 additional entry-level employees in its local fabrication plant. For the pre-employment testing, I assembled testing packages, and scored tests, thus gaining an idea of what is expected of entry-level employees. The Human Resources department handled employee training, and I was able to see pieces of that. Additionally, I was doing a huge amount of filing, and couldn't help but gain a sense about how this company valued individual initiative and how it distributed rewards.
What I learned from the TI experience was invaluable. The major lessons and impressions were augmented by the interviews I did with individuals in other work settings. The "lessons drawn" are thus not from a single workplace source, but are a composite from a variety of sources, and are supplemented by what I have learned from my reading.
Investigating
Information Age Realities in the World of Work
