The Astron Road Show

After Orlando, Astron’s Paul Hart Miller and National Director, Michael Maciekowich can be found at the 2008 Vermont State SHRM Conference held between September 8th and 9th.

Come on out and say "hi" to Astron Solutions! We’ll be waiting!

Mythbusters

Keeping in line with our prior Mythbusters segment, we’ll examine yet another myth about your Social Security benefits.

Myth: Your Social Security benefit is based on your income in your last five working years.

Reality: Your benefit is actually based upon income during the 35 years you earned the most. Your earnings are first indexed to account for changes in average wages since the year in which you earned the money. Then a formula is applied to calculate your basic benefit, or “primary insurance amount” (PIA). If you don’t have 35 years earnings, some years with no earnings will be used to determine the average amount.

Thanks to: T. Rowe Price Retirement Services, Inc.

Mini-Interview

1) What is your position in Astron Solutions, and how long have you had this position?

I guess you could call me the official Blogmaster. I've done this since snagging an internship with Astron back in the Summer of 2006. I wanted to stay active with Astron once I went back to school and this gave me a great opportunity to do so.

2) What convinced you to do HR consulting?

The interview with Jennifer. HR consulting was FAR from anything I had ever thought of doing but one Human Resources lesson to learn is that while the candidate is trying to woo the interviewer, a company can attract good employees through a great interview. Hearing about what Astron did and stood for and seeing how happy the employees were really went a long way into convincing me to join the Astron family.

3) What do you do when you are not consulting?

I work double duties...I also work at Genworth Financial in Stamford, CT. But blogging has become a passion of mine and I love doing it. Having to keep my readers up-to-date on what's going on in the world of HR also keeps me up-to-date and I'm always plugged into the latest news. I'm also an avid sports fan so I'm always watching games and talking sports with my friends.

4) What is your favorite place to travel to and why?

I spend a semester studying abroad in Copenhagen. Although 90% of people I know can't pick it out on a map, it really is an amazing place. When most people think of visiting Europe they think of London and Paris and Italy...but Copenhagen is one of those treasures that I think has to be part of any European travel. The people are amazingly nice, the city is so much fun, and it has been named the "Happiest Place on Earth" the past two years. And bonus: everyone speaks English so you won't need to carry around a dictionary!

5) Where do you see Astron Solutions this day next year?

It's amazing to see Astron continuing to grow. I think that as Astron continues to attract new and diverse customers through word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers, you'll see Astron out there more and more with the big names in the market. Genworth is a "People Driven" company very involved in the local community and I see Astron continuing to follow those same ideals.

iShuffle

Kanye West - Through the Wire
Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
Fallout Boy (feat. John Mayer) - Beat It
Madonna and Justin Timberlake (feat. Timbaland) - 4 Minutes
Rick Ross (feat. T-Pain) - The Boss
Lupe Fiasco - Hip-Hop Saved My Life
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'
Counting Crows - Rain King (Live from Soho)
N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing on the Line...)
Dave Matthews (feat. Tim Reynolds) - Lie In Our Graves (Live at Radio City)

Favorite - Everybody Nose. The song gets you pumped, smiling, and is just overall fun. You know a song is good when you get into it in the first 15 seconds you hear the song for the first time.

Least Favorite - 4 Minutes. There's nothing wrong with the song at all. Actually I like it. But it's repetitive and you get sick of it too quickly. When a song comes on and I start reaching for the ipod, it's a BAD sign.

Seen Live - Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Counting Crows, N.E.R.D., and Dave Matthews I have all seen live this summer (and I saw John Mayer in the past). Dave is my favorite live act. Some people have great songs. Some sing really well. But very few combine both these and put on a great, entertaining SHOW. Dave does this. I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert after my Junior year of high school and I really was not a big fan at the time. He put on such a great show that I'm not only a huge fan, I've been to his concert every summer since (at least once).

Many organizations view internships as a head start in recruiting college graduates. As the intern becomes acquainted with the organization, professional relationships build. Both parties experience many benefits, which include increased productivity and valuable hands-on experience within the career the student has been studying in school.

What Can Organizations Do to Ensure a Successful Internship?

In order to make sure organizations benefit from hired interns, many organizations may turn to colleges with internship program requirements already in place. Joining a school’s internship program will allow perspective students to come to the organization on a semester-based routine. This approach could also possibly permit the student to gain school credit. With a formal internship program like this, the student will have an allotted amount of hours to be used for the work experience.

Other organizations may want to invest in creating an internship program supported by the organization alone. Resources such as the Internship Institute’s Internship Kit offer to help organizations to build their own in-house successful internship programs. Some other things employers need to keep in mind when developing their own internship programs include:

• Have an internship job description available. There should be details entailing what the intern should be expected to do. Making things clear in the beginning will allow perspective interns to decide if they can fully commit to what the organization needs from them.

• Make sure within the job description to mention what the possible end dates are, and what type of monetary compensation the intern may receive. Creating a written agreement listing these factors should help make things clear between both the intern and the organization.

• Utilize mentoring. Having someone in the organization to guide and mentor the intern(s) will serve as a resource for interns to raise any possible issues or concerns.

• Include intern(s) in meetings, organizational gatherings, and projects to provide additional hands-on experience within their chosen field. Having interns only working in the mailroom and / or research is helpful from a productivity standpoint, but interns seek a “real-life” work experience. Involving the intern in one or two big projects, or several small projects, can help him or her to decide if this career is “the one” for them. Including interns in organizational lunches helps with practicing networking skills.

It’s Not all the Organization – What the Intern Should Do to Ensure Success

Internships are a two-way street. It is not only an organization’s responsibility to make an internship experience work. There are many things an intern can do to impress the organization, and help make a difference. For instance:

• Goal Setting: Whether it’s long-term (i.e. working after graduation) or short-term (i.e. creating a personal deadline for a project), setting a goal allows an intern to become motivated to achieve. Organizations can help in goal achievement by having the intern list some goals they wish to achieve while interning. After the internship is over, they can go back and see for themselves what goals they have achieved, and the experience they’ve received.

• Pacing and Time Management: Interns need to make sure they have the time to dedicate to the organization. Overextending oneself with work and school does not always work out for the best. Organizations can help an intern to recognize this potential for burnout by asking pointed questions about school during the interview process. Getting a good feel for what type of a workload the perspective intern may have during the internship can help when deciding if the person is the right fit for the organization and for the job.

• Networking: Branching out in an organization of any size can help an intern to find his / her place. Additionally, by meeting new people interns can find guidance from all areas within an organization. They also become exposed to different facets within an organization, and may discover a new career avenue in the process.

Internships can be a wonderful thing. Not only does an organization gain a helping hand in functioning at its best, but organizations also get a head start on potential new recruits. Internships also allows an organization to give a select number of people the chance of a lifetime…the chance to peek into the future, vision themselves after graduation, and reach for their dreams.

Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting? Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues. For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.

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Copyright 2008, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467