Friday, 22 April

Today I had a meeting with the Director of Human Resources. Earlier in the week, he approached me and asked when I would be available for a meeting to discuss the end of this internship and possible plans for after its ending.

Trying to guess when your potential employer is hard work. The CEO has been hinting about keeping me on staff forever now, and the support I've received from the Programme Directors has been tremendous; it seems that hiring me full-time is appropriate- but in what position?

I know the Dev Dir is looking for a Sr. Grant Writer, a position I'm not qualified for, but in the past she has hinted that she has some flexibility for this position, leading me to think that she might develop a position specifically for me.

There are, of course, entry-level positions that I am capable of doing, but I want to stay near research and development, underlying themes in all the work I've done here.

Going into this meeting with the HR Dir, I wanted to have a prepared statement for what I wanted to do here, so I asked around to some of the Programme Directors for their thoughts on what they'd like to see me do here. They gave me some good ideas and I prepared a statement:

Accomplishments/lessons learned:

• Conversations with the Experts Series and subsequent Staff Meetings. I was in charge of handling logistical planning of the last four (and upcoming) discussions, an undertaking which involved scouting facilities, establishing and maintaining professional contacts, arranging catering, gathering needed supplies (electronic and soft equipment), preparing documents for distribution, collaborating with our designer to create flyers, and, ultimately, coordinating all aspects of panel discussions on the day of event.
  Because I have been entrusted with making purchases on behalf of the Partnership, I created and maintained a spreadsheet of all costs incurred (and pertinent contact information in case this information is needed for future or current employees).
  I would like to research an appropriate foundation and write-up a grant proposal to help defray these ongoing costs.
  
• Research for grant writing. The first time I was asked to research our files regarding a particular foundation, I took the time to learn, inside and out, our current systems (electronic, paper, and Internet-based) for organizing our corporate, government and private funders.
  Through informal training and trial-and-error, I have developed a sense of how determine appropriate funders based on our need and the potential funder’s interests history.
  Likewise, I have learned (and adopted) the distinct style and voice of Partnership grant proposals, as well as our history with our funders, a feat which takes several weeks to months of researching to understand.
  Walking into this organization, I had no training on the process of grant writing. I have still more to learn before undertaking this process all on my own, but with a little formal training, I could easily handle the whole task.
  
• Organization of Development files. Since I began working as an assistant to the grant writer back in early December, I have spent a good deal of effort on organizing both our electronic and paper filing system. When Paula came on board, she set me to task cleaning out our massive filing system and reorganizing and filing our foundation information.
  
• Web-based Researching. I have been called upon numerous times to research everything from building code violations to studies on homelessness to refrigerator cost comparisons (for a shelter coordinator). I am thoroughly knowledgeable on major web search engines and know basic techniques for learning new engines.

1. Potential areas of interest and focus:
   
   A strong component of most of my work here has been research, an area of great interest to me, and one the Partnership should be leaning towards if we are to become leaders in our field. Drawing on my achievements and energies spent during the last six months, I have created a list of potential projects which could define and demand my continued position here. I’ve tried to base them on the Partnership’s current organizational structure
   
   1. Research component: The planned Senior Homelessness Prevention Campaign and Effects of HSP project will both need staff for research and analysis. With my background in SPSS (a data mining software), web-based search engine mastery, I could assist in both researching information and developing new research.
   2. Logistical research component: The Partnership’s use and need of existing research, and our gradual shift towards development of new research (and potentially as a research institution) demand the creation of a Research Library. I am skilled in organization and technology, two elements necessary for creating a Research Library.
   3. Policy analysis and research: This is clearly an area which will need to be developed as our Research develops and as we begin to make our voice heard in the community. And though I have no formal training in policy analysis, I can be a leader in the research component while simultaneously learning the analysis piece.
   4. Web Development: Without formal training, I would not want to take on the task of web developer, but if the Partnership wanted to invest in training, I would love to be involved in this aspect of our Development.
   5. Assistant to the VP of Programs and Advocacy: When our VP comes on-board, you might consider me for an assistant in this position.

It's a rough draft, but it helped me put some thoughts down on paper and develop some ideas. I ended up not giving it over to the Dir of HR. The meeting didn't go exactly according to plan. I was sure we'd be shaking hands and agreeing on my salary by the end of the meeting. Not what happened. He basically said there was no current position/funding for the position I wanted, but there were other posibilities for placement on the Partnership team. I was heartbroken and left almost immediately afterwards.

6 hours today.