Hello for the final time everyone!
So it is with great sadness that I end my placement at the Department of Sport and Recreation today but on the plus side I have applied for a graduate position here so here's hoping for a good result !
By the sounds of it, everyone has enjoyed their placements, have made some valuable connections and possibly even secured ongoing future employment. I certainly know I tick 2 out of these 3 boxes.. So far :)
The last few weeks have been a bit hectic and with the uni workload towards end of semester I almost feel as if I have been coming in here to relax which is hardly the case with the report I have been working on!
Alas, I am a firm believer that crisis brings out the best in people and I have certainly learned how to multi-task among other things as a result of being placed here.
I have covered the majority of my placement details in previous entries so I will simply list some of the more important lessons I have learnt as a result of working within a Government department.
1. Government workers are happy workers. With a mixture of flexi-time and 9 day fortnights, the people here have a terrific work/life balance. My supervisor for example has a young child and a husband who works shift work with the fire department. As a result, she can change the times and days she works on a daily basis if need be to make sure someone always looks after their girls.
2. Benefits! I have had two massages, a yoga lesson, played frisbee, cricket, soccer and football all in the time I have been here and during my lunch break if I didn't feel like sampling the fine coffees and food that Leederville offer, there is a huge screen with foxtel on it in the staff room.
3. Meetings and morning teas! There are those times when you just can't get motivated, no matter how hard you try. For those times, there are always staff up-skilling seminars or meetings on that provide a wealth of information and interesting case studies (as well as coffee, gourmet sandwiches and other nice treats)
4. The importance of people capital: The people here work hard and are treated accordingly. You can take 5 and lie in a bean bag, watch some television, chat to your colleagues, read a book etc. Being the representative body for sport and recreation, people are encouraged to be active and not just sit at a computer all day. So, there are initiatives in place that remind people to meet someone new and do some stretching at the same time. Meeting new people is a great way to network too, you would be surprised at who some of your random colleagues know!
I could go on guys, but I will leave it there and continue on with this final report !
Take care everyone, hope to see you in the industry around Perth soon!
Kieran Vanpraag
4 comments:
Hi Kieran,
By the sounds of it you really enjoyed your internship and gained a lot of insight. It's great to hear that you also wish to obtain a graduate position and continue further work with the Department of Sport and Recreation.
From all of your posts it seems to me that the government puts a huge emphasis on employee relations. I'm not sure whether this is because they believe the public holds bad impressions about working for the government and want to advertise incentives or whether they just value their employees. Either way, I think this is a good PR tactic to increase goodwill for organisations.
I completed my internship at Sunset Events who also had a large focus on employee relations. I too went to various team lunches and also participated in a free yoga class once a week! It was a great experience and I appreciated the effort Sunset made to ensure their employees were part of a good working environment. I also hope you appreciated and enjoyed the working environment.
Good luck for the future and for the graduate job offer!
Melissa
It's been great working with you at the DSR mate, except I don't know where you go these massages I didn't get told anything. Are you sure it was a department initiative and not just all the girls in the building that want to touch your body?
Jokes aside I'm glad you enjoyed it, I did too. And I agree what you say about the work/life balance here, but the impression I get is that that is a DSR specific thing, and other government departments aren't as lighthearted about working hours and such.
Anyway I'll see you around mate.
Sound really great! I also have noticed a huge emphasis on Employee relations! It is a great PR tactic!
Hi Kieran,
Great blog and great to hear that your internship has been fabulous! Good luck with your graduate position.
Lucy
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