Three years ago this very day I reported for my first day of training with my current employer,
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group). This post may be a little boring but seeing as I've never written the story of how I am where I am I thought I do that now.
I started in training to be a reservations agent for the general reservations department, nothing super special, on February 12th, 2007 though I had originally applied and been interviewed for a guest relations (customer service) position. The reason I was in a reservations class was I needed employment and they weren't hiring a guest relations class for another month or so. Anyway, so training lasted four weeks (two weeks in class and two weeks on the job, paid of course) and at the end of the four weeks we were able to take calls with minimal questions about the process of making reservations. During the last week of training I was again interviewed and offered a job in guest relations which I accepted. I spent one week actually on the floor taking calls as part of a regular team rather than a training class before I began training for guest relations.
Guest Relations training lasted five weeks (two weeks in class, a week of on the job, then another week in class and another week on the job). After those 5 weeks I was assigned to a regular team and began taking calls like a regular guest relations agent. During the training for guest relations I had applied for several openings (I knew going into this job that I had to get off the phones as quickly as possible or I wouldn't have a job for very long, phone jobs really aren't my cup of tea) and been interviewed for two of them. The second one I applied and interviewed for was Developmental Global Workforce Analyst and after only two weeks on the phones for guest relations I was called back for a second interview/presentation.
As I prepared for my presentation I was given the topic "Everything an Agent Needs to Know About Workforce Management" and the only stipulation was that I could not talk to anyone currently in the Resource Planning department. So I set out doing my research on the programs I knew IHG used for workforce management, I also asked my team manager for any recomendations she had. She sent me in the direction of a reservations team manager for reasons I didn't know. When I arrived at the desk of this reservations team manager she listened to my story of what I was doing and why, picked up her phone, called her husband and asked him. I was a little confused thinking how is your husband going to help with this. When she got off the phone with him she turned to me and gave me tons of information about what our Resource Planning department does and told me that her husband was one of the graveyard Global Workforce Analysts in our company. (Remember the stipulation was only that I couldn't talk to anyone in Resource Planning)
So the day came and I left my station dressed in my best and with my presentation in hand. I stopped by my managers desk to let her know where I was going, she wished me luck. I walked into what I now know as the megaplex and gave my presentation at the end of which I was asked a few questions, thanked for my time, and told that they would make a decision and let me know by Monday (which is when they wanted the position to start). I gathered my things and set off to my station back in guest relations. Upon arriving in the guest relations department my manager called me to her desk to see how things went. I told her that I thought things had gone really well. Little did I know that Brad Johnson, one of the Resource Planning managers, had already called her (between me leaving their office and arriving in my managers) and informed her that they would be offering me the position.
As I recall the next day was a Friday and one of my days off, I was in the back yard of my house doing yard work when my phone rang and it was work. When I answered Brad Johnson was on the onther end and he informed me that they had made a decision, he didn't make the offer right away which caused me to think
I'd be stuck on the phone forever, but he finally told me that they'd like me to start on Monday which again if memory serves me right was May 7th, 2007. I was beyond excited I could hardly wait this meant three things: First, I was getting another promotion, the second in less than three months. Second, I was off the phones! I had reached my goal of being off the phones as quick as possible. Third, I had the weekend off as I was to start training again which is Monday - Friday.
So a quick summary I started with IHG on 2/12/07 and twelve weeks later was no longer in a position where I was on the phone. Lets also keep in mind that of my first twelve weeks I only spent three weeks out of training and nine weeks in training and here I was going back to training for four more weeks. So thirteen of my first sixteen weeks were spent in training. Needless to say I am very pleased with my progression up within the ranks of IHG.
Since becoming a Global Workforce Analyst I worked in that roll for about two years before the department openend a new position known as Global Planning Analyst for which I applied and was one of only four applicants chosen. I have been employed as a Global Planning Analyst for nearly a year now and I must say, I enjoy my job and the people I work with.
If any of you are seeking employement I would encourage you to see if IHG is hiring and if they're not keep you're eye on it cause they will be...I know remember I'm one of the ones with the plan! *hahah* Anyway, check out their jobs site at:
jobs.ihg.com
