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It’s been awhile since we brought you back to the roots of this blog. I realize there are some new faces here, exploring the purpose and value of this blog. I am here to help! Welcome to the GROWMARK, Inc. Talent Management blog. Our recruiting team has a mission to improve transparency between the company’s people and the public. To improve our communication to the outside world, we have created this blog. Here are a few topics you can expect to find on our blog in the future months to come:
By: Tori Streitmatter
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12 weeks doesn’t seem like a terribly short amount of time, but a 12-week internship is only 60 work days. Each day at an internship is an opportunity to gain experience and grow as a professional, and with only 30 days left, I’m wondering how the time passed so quickly. When I began the intern program at GROWMARK, I had minimal prior experience in communications, and I had a lot of doubt over my ability to produce quality content for the System. Fortunately, my supervisor and coworkers did not share the same mentality. They saw through my lack of formal experience to my transferable skills, and found value in my experiences with customer service, teamwork, and time management. My supervisor believed in my capability as a professional and her trust enabled me to build confidence in a new field by allowing me to work independently. During the first half of my internship, I had a few moments of honesty with my coworkers regarding my lack of experience. They took those conversations and turned them into chances to teach me new skills. Luckily, GROWMARK places a lot of value in training and professional development, and I was given the chance to gain practical experience where I felt particularly lacking. Instead of ignoring the problem areas that I struggle with, my team gave me the opportunity to grow. I am honestly amazed at how much I have learned over the first half of my time in the System. Ultimately, the projects that I was most concerned about have turned out to be the projects that I had the most fun with. It was difficult to have those conversations in the beginning but the value of the experiences that came from them mean so much more because of where I started from. I continue to be surprised by how much I enjoy my job so far, and I can honestly say that most days it doesn’t even feel like work. As the old saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun, and that certainly has proved true so far this summer. I am excited to see what else I can learn in the next 30 work days, and I would encourage anyone who interns at GROWMARK to take full advantage of the 60 opportunities for growth. By: Becca Dwyer Dove-tailing off other blogs written this year the trend has been, well, rain and frustration. Being new to GROWMARK I never thought much of rain other than what it meant for my yard. Growing up in rural NE Iowa, I was raised in very tight-knit farming community. This has always given me a strong appreciation for farming, but being honest, in recent years through college, starting a family, and a fast-tracked career in insurance, I stopped paying attention to the ag industry altogether.
In my new position as a field trainer I’ve had the amazing opportunity of traveling across Iowa, Illinois and Missouri all this spring. Everywhere I go the conversation is generally the same: frustration about the amount of rain. Which has led to worried farmers, worried crop specialists, worried general managers, etc. This level of frustration by many made me reflect on why I chose to go into ag industry in the first place. Late in 2018, I was shocked to receive notice that my job (and my amazing team) were no longer needed, and as a result I was laid off. My job search was one of the hardest things to endure as I was dealing with a ton of emotion. I had been a top performer for 9+ years, I was being groomed for director-level leadership roles, my team had outperformed other teams, and our business unit valued our work – how had this even happened? It didn’t compute, it was frustrating, and maddening at times. Similar to how our companies and their customers are frustrated with the weather you must stop and ask, “what is in my control?” This was my mantra for several months and carried me through a very difficult time in my life. The amount of stress, frustration, angst, was plenty for me, but I kept focus on the long-term payoff. Simply put, it was vital in keeping the faith. Like my job search, we need to be that voice for our companies and their customers. Keeping them focused on what’s in their control and positioning them for the best success as possible – even if it’s a down year we can still make a difference. Now into my second month at GROWMARK, I have realized this: sometimes you make career choices, but sometimes a career chooses YOU… With that, I’ll encourage you to take pride in the amazing industry you are in, strive to make a difference, stay focused on the long-term, and help people along the way. By doing this, you will always have job fulfillment and a purpose driven career. By: Joe Wegmann Have you ever had a professional mentor of your own? If you don't have a mentor to help you conquer professional roadblocks yet, I suggest securing one! Though there are many ways to do this, here's the story of how I successfully found my professional mentor!
Real talk, when I first started here at GROWMARK, Inc. just a couple weeks after graduating college, I did not have a professional mentor. It wasn't until one of my colleagues mentioned she was getting lunch with her mentor that the light bulb went off in my head. Immediately I thought to myself "Lunch with a mentor? I need that in my life! How do I identify a mentor in my life? Where do I sign up for that?" I started to think about the people closest to me: family, friends, and my work team. I soon realized if I wanted to get the most out of a professional mentorship, it couldn't be with any of those individuals. Instead it needed to be with someone who would give me honest feedback and not sugar-coat situations. I think we all seek guidance, but it's important to make sure we seek the right kind of guidance. I started making a list of professionals who had impacted my life through internships and past work experiences. I identified my top three mentor picks. I reached out to my first pick… within 24 hours I had a response verifying that I now had a professional mentor! Immediately I knew this was going to be an excellent fit for both of us I was so excited to embark on this journey! My mentor and I meet for lunch once a month. We each bring a list of questions to ask one another, eat lunch, and then discuss the topics we bring! It's that easy. A year later, we still make a pact to meet every month! It always gives me something to look forward and we never run out of topics for conversation. After reflecting on my time with my mentor, I cannot imagine my professional life without her. Since I have had someone to seek out for professional advice, I have become more confident in my career leading me to improve my performance in the workplace. I hope this inspires you to seek out a professional mentorship as well! By. Tori Streitmatter Careers take twists and turns making your professional experience a path unique to you based on your aspirations and experiences.
While in college I was told, "Your degree will help you get placed in your first job – after that it will be based on your experiences." At first, I was unsure how this was possible due to my degree being the career path I was wanting to take. I knew the skillset it equipped me with prepared me to take on a communication based career. However, as my career path began to evolve the above statement has never been more true. GROWMARK has a variety of positions available across multiple facets of business. No matter the position you are in, you are developing valuable transferrable skills to prepare you to take on your next career move. Transferrable skills can be applied whether you are in accounting, energy, agronomy, etc. If you find an area interesting, talk with the team currently in place and learn more about it. Determine the skillset you need to develop that could be applied to a similar position. Recently I took a different position in the company and many people saw the switch as an extreme change. Yes, it is very different from my former position. However, I was able to apply skills gained from one role and build new skills in my current role. All of which are preparing me for my future career goals. Again, the path is unique to you and no two people may have the same path. A path is there for guidance not set in concrete. It is meant to be flexible and allow for the individual to make his or her decisions based on interests and new discoveries along the way. It is not meant to be straight and narrow but allow for curves along the way. If you have an interest don't be afraid to pursue it because you could end up finding a position that fulfills a passion you may not even realize you had! By: Amie Hasselbring Every day we engage others in conversation, presentations and meetings. You engage in communication where you need to make key points about your perspective, thought or idea. Your intent is to have credibility and impact with the direction or outcome of the interaction. You need to ERASE all doubt in communicating your key points that will increase your influence and outcomes. Below are five different forms of evidence to support your key ideas. The acronym ERASE will help you remember them.
Before your next conversation, presentation or meeting; take a few minutes to identify your key points you want to make, then select one of the five ways you can ERASE all doubt to increase your impact and credibility. By: David Hansen "I don't know why you are so excited to graduate. You're going to be working for the next 50 years of your life" – stated my senior year college professor. I am now several years out of college and still refer to this as one of the best statements I had ever heard. Like a smack in the face, this rather blunt statement put my future career into perspective and prompted me to think of what I do and the company I work for with a different approach.
I believe it is not only important for every person to find passion in what they do, but also important to find a connection to the purpose of the company... What makes you complete your best work? What keeps you walking in that door every day? What makes you stay the extra hour – or four to accomplish the task? The big reason that rises to the top for me is my connection to the big picture – what is the company's impact on the world? I may not have grown up on a farm, but I find the agricultural industry a place where I can see a real impact on the world. I connect to the work I do because I work for a company that is making a difference in the world by providing. The ways we impact the world range from supplying propane to heat the house on a cold winter day, feeding and fueling the world by providing the best products and services to farmers and growers, and by being the best we can be for our customers daily. I'm proud of the company I work for and the industry which it does business. I find passion in what I do daily because I know the difference the GROWMARK System is making on the world. Although 50 years is literally a lifetime, the days go fast when you work for a company whose business you are truly connected to on a deeper level! By: Marissa Williams Earlier in my GROWMARK career, Jim Spradlin explained to me the best way to showcase your leadership abilities and advance your career is to "leave your mark on the organization." At the time Jim was my supervisor in Agronomy and he has since become the CEO of GROWMARK. Those words have really stuck with me and I think about them often. I have since realized this "mark" can be outside of your job description. So, a few years ago I began seeking out additional opportunities in which I could "make my mark" on GROWMARK.
It began when I was invited to join GROWMARK's Diversity and Inclusion initiative. What started as a think tank, turned into a task force with me serving as a co-chair because of my personal interest and the time and effort I was willing to invest. About that time, I learned of an opportunity with the IAA Credit Union's board. I had inquired previously and learned the board consisted of employees from the IAA Family of Companies. After getting involved on the board, my desire to make an impact led me to serve as the chairperson. More recently, I was asked and accepted an opportunity to join a GROWMARK advisory committee which helps navigate the balance between the need for information security and employee productivity with systems and processes. Leadership comes in a variety of forms beyond holding a specific job title or being a supervisor. Sometimes being willing to take on additional responsibilities, outside of your position, department, or even company, is a great measure of your traits and capability as a leader. There are multiple variations of the phrase "say yes and figure the rest out later." While I don't believe this is a great rule to live by without question, remember stretch assignments and opportunities will not appear every day or forever into the future. I highly encourage all employees to think strongly before just simply responding with "no, I don't have time" when an opportunity presents itself. By: Jeff Frank Hello! Welcome to the GROWMARK, Inc. Talent Management blog. We have a mission to improve transparency between the recruiting and training teams and the public. In an effort to improve our communication to the outside world, we have created this blog. Here are a few topics you can expect to find on our blog in the future months to come:
By: Tori Streitmatter |
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