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.:Resource Guides:Interviews-Janice Williams.
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Interviews
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Janice Williams
Vassar College, 1990
Liberal Arts (History/Africana Studies)
Bailey House, Inc.
Program Director
New York, NY |
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A Day in the Life
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What are three things you love and three things you find challenging or frustrating about your work? |
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| Love: |
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High level of interaction with people |
| 2. |
Continually learning about different approaches |
| 3. |
There is a real need for my skills and knowledge |
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| Challenging or frustrating: |
| 1. |
Transference of skills and knowledge |
| 2. |
Agencies have little time and resources to devote |
| 3. |
Terminating realtionship/providing bad news
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What is the most important task on your desk right now? |
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Getting out information on a new RFP (request for proposal) and reviewing a stipend application.
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What drives you to do this work? What makes you want to get out of bed every morning? |
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While clients may express their problems in the same way, the underlying issues are different. This gives me a chance to think about the same problems from different perspectives, depending upon the age, history, industry, etc. I also
enjoy talking to many different people, and learning about how they approach their work and manage problems. Due to the limited number of clients I see (compared to other providers) I have a lot of time to reflect and get ideas form other colleagues.
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How often do you "dress up" for work? Describe the culture of your organization. |
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If by dress up you mean a suit, then very rarely. Once I dressed up for a client and noticed that it made them feel uncomfortable since they spent some time commenting on my nice wardrobe. We are business-casual. We can wear jeans on
Fridays, if we don't have meetings. I cannot speak for the organization since we are in separate locations. The culture in the Technical Assistance Program Evaluation Department (TAPE) is one where people are respected and publicly commended for their knowledge,
skills, and how they work with their clients. In addition, we are committed to individual and group staff development through trainings and formal education. We also believe that the client's need is the most important and will refer clients to other TA providers
who are better equipped to meet their needs.
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In a typical month, about what percentage of your time is spent on the following activities? |
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| Talking on the phone |
50% |
| Dealing with email |
4% |
| Meetings with individuals |
25% |
| Meetings with groups/committees |
10% |
| Traveling |
5% |
| Writing |
7% |
| Reading |
12% |
| Researching |
7% |
(Note: respondents could allow their answers to add up to be more than 100%)
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What do you do when you are feeling burned out at work? |
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Talk to colleagues, friends. Take time off, say a day or two, if there are no pressing issues to deal with. Leave the building for short walks or ask to work from home for a day.
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Career Center Resource Guides
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