Farewell, and Thank You

As some of you may know, my time here at The Training Connection, Inc. is coming to an end.  My husband, Zoltan, recently accepted a job down in North Carolina and we will be moving at the end of August!  This is an incredible opportunity for us as a family and we are so excited to start this next phase in our life.

Leaving TTC is a bitter-sweet moment for me, and it prompted me to write my final mentoring post here as I prepare to take this exciting next step.

I never realized how hard it was to actually say the words, “Kathy, we are moving.”  This being my first job out of college, I have learned more in three years than some learn in their lifetime – not just on the job stuff, but I learned invaluable things about myself and others. 

While I feel I could go on about the things I am thankful for, perhaps it is best said in poem format :

Farewell, and Thank You

Farewell, and Thank You
for all the things I’ve learned;

Farewell, and Thank You
for the enthusiasm that you’ve churned;

Farewell, and Thank You
on my tongue as I’m walking out the door;
For life is now leading me to a path of something more.

Farewell does not mean forever at least not for you and I;
So let’s choose to keep in touch no matter where we reside!

We are packing up our stuff and are ready to make the move!
Farewell, and Thank you – for this opportunity to start brand new.

Mentoring Moment: As you go through your journey we call life, remember to say thank you to the mentors that helped you get to where you are today.  It is their support, guidance and friendship that allows you to feel confident to take the next step – and know you will succeed.  In the words of Sir. Isaac Newton, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”

Thank you

I was recently re-reading my previous post on “Mentoring Hurts” (yes I re-read my own posts because I like them ) and I feel I left out a crucial part – trust.

At some point in your mentoring partnership, your mentor will say something that will hurt your feelings.  They might do it on purpose; they might not; either way it's probably something you need to hear.

I’ve been formulating this next post over the past month now trying to figure out the best thing to discuss and I finally came up with this topic.  Have you heard the saying, “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”  And while this isn’t exactly a “lemon” situation, the idea is that even if you don’t have exactly what you are looking for, take time to look at your current surroundings and see what kind of opportunities are available, or potentially available, to you.  These activities are usually concealed up in pretty wrapping paper known as an “additional duty” or a “volunteer project” and sometimes don’t look very desirable.

Part 2 – the Institute

So now, allow me to delve a little deeper into my TOC experience.  After attending the Institute, I had this sudden epiphany.  You have mentors all around.  This kind of made me chuckle because you’d think I would have already realized this – and I know it on paper.  But, after being with the same folks for about 3 days straight, you have enough time to get those preliminary conversations out of the way (i.e., where did you drive in from, what do you do) to take the conversations to the next level and talk about things such as retirement, generational differences, what are you going to take back to your organization, etc.

Part 1 – the update

After my long and inexcusable hiatus, I am back on to writing this blog.  A few things have happened so allow me to update you.

I’ve decided that if I ever wanted to switch careers, I can always join the circus (because that thought crosses my mind quite frequently ), I would be a professional juggler, though, not a very good one.

So, the interview has come and gone, now what?  Here are some of the things that have happened since the informational interview.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my SHRM mentor has so graciously introduced me to his fellow SHRM colleagues.  I have my meeting scheduled with the manager for the student programs at the national SHRM.  HOW EXCITING!  So, before the interview, I must prepare...

Since my first mentoring meeting, I've made a few connections within the SHRM community...

So, I've just had my first mentoring meeting with my new mentor, and I feel like this is going to be a very successful partnership.  We both walked away having discussed goals and expectations for the partnership along with some action items.  I'd say we are off to a great start.

Exciting news, my new mentor and I have our first meeting scheduled for next Tuesday. 

And so the journey began....