I was unaware that there is a 600 word requirement. I am going to redo my post now.
Over the summer I worked at a staffing agency called
Professional Diversity Network. I
obtained this internship near the end of last semester and had no idea what I was
getting myself into. My first day on the
job, I was given a piece of paper that detailed what I was going to be doing
over the summer. Some of the items on
the piece of paper intimidated me at first because I had never done anything
like it. One of the items on the list
was a long explanation that basically meant cold calling. At first I dreaded the idea, but it helped me
learn so much about the business as a whole.
Cold calling was such a minor part of my internship. I worked directly under the director of
sales. Basically, anything he needed
done, I did it. The director of sales
and I became very close. He showed me the
ins and outs of our organization as a whole.
He taught me everything I learned over the summer. Through him, I was able to learn the main
foundation of a successful organization, at least in the field of
staffing.
The most important aspect of an office is the feel of the
office. The feel of my office over the
summer was incredible. There are at
least 15 people from the office who I am going to remain very close with. Everyday I went to work with a smile on my
face because I knew that my day was going to be enjoyable. If I was ever unsure, or had a question, I had
no problem going to anyone in the entire office of 30ish people and asking them
my question. Since I was so comfortable,
I was able to really show my personality and that is the reason I was able to
make so many good connections there.
Another important aspect of an organization is the ability
for everyone in the office to work together.
At my office, the success of the place was reliant on how well everybody
was able to work together. One great
example of a time when everybody worked together really well was when we held a
career fair at Navy Pier. The other
interns and I were in charge of setting up basically the entire event. When we got there at 9AM, we were told to do
countless chores that needed to be done.
The event started at 12PM and because all of the interns were able to
work together, we got everything done in plenty of time. When all of the employees from the office got
there, they immediately began to aid us in anything that needed to get done
without question. The office really came
together as one unit and showed that in order to be successful, working
together is a must.
Overall, I feel as though the organization I was a part of
over the summer is a successful organization that will remain successful for a
very long time.
Now to the topic of transaction costs. I looked up transaction costs online and it
says that “a transaction
cost is a cost incurred in making an economic exchange (restated:
the cost of participating in a market). ”(Wikipedia) I am not entirely sure what that definition
100% means, but I can attempt to understand it.
Time is always a very important point in terms of economics. A major transaction cost must be the time it
takes to understand and complete a good transaction. For example, the time it takes to seek out
all of the information that you need to make the transaction. I can see transaction costs playing a major
role in a game theory situation. Is that
true? Are transaction costs mostly
related to game theory?
I am glad that you went to the effort of producing another piece. This one is appropriate in length and the effort you put in.
ReplyDeleteYou might have spent some time at the outset of the piece on what a staffing agency does. I don't want to put words in your mouth here, but to tie that into one of the questions we've already asked in the class is whether the company goes to the market or does the activity internally itself. Small companies, in particular, might outsource the HR function. They go to a staffing agency when in need of personnel rather try to hire the person directly. On the other side of the market, people looking for work might get themselves listed at a staffing agency rather than apply for each job listing they find. If this is a reasonable description of what a staffing agency does, then its function is as a broker - it helps to make the market work. It then generates its revenues, not off of listings, but rather off of successful transactions.
Next, where you talk about the director of sales and doing what he told you to do, an example to illustrate would be very helpful. As it is written now, I gather that you were busy at work, but beyond that I have no sense of what it was that you were doing.
Were you the only intern at the place? And might this be a place that you work at after you graduate? Those are other immediate questions that come to mind reading this.
Regarding transaction costs, consider this question. Did you have a lot of autonomy in the work you were assigned or where you closely monitored? Did you every screw up doing some of the work and if so, how was that managed?
I can see why you could be a little confused by my post. The company I worked at delivered candidates to companies for a fee. There are multiple sides to the company, but I was not directly involved with everything. I do know the sales side, therefore I know that we do not replace a companies HR system. Instead, we aid them in prospecting, sourcing and qualifying candidates.
ReplyDeleteOn the note of what I did. It is hard to say because no two days were ever the exact same. I would often observe my director during one of his sales calls, but there were many times were he would invite me in on these calls and allow me to share my ideas with the clients. This helped me learn how to be quick on my feet and never allow a dull moment when I was making a sale. At times I would be selling job postings, but other times I would be selling our main product which basically brought companies completely through the recruiting funnel.
I was not the only intern at the place. I do not know for sure if I am going to work there long term. I know I have an offer for next summer, but I am keeping my options open as I really want to find my own path which will consist of more Microeconomics as that is what I primarily want to focus on for the rest of my life.
I was not closely monitored whatsoever during my work. I had the freedom to make my own choices and act freely. There were multiple times that I screwed up, but my director would always be quick to show me what I did wrong and give me multiple ideas on how I could fix the problem.