"Workn' 9 to 5"

...Ok its actually 8:00-4:30. Today was my first day at work as the 211 Program Coordinator for United Way of Greater Duluth. As expected it was an overload of information, and a lot of handshaking as I met everyone in the office. I was a bit concerned about remember everyone's name, and what they do, but to my fortune their title is listed on their name plate outside their office/cubicle... and its not a big of an office, so I just start walking in a circle until I find who I'm looking for. My boss is super neat, and very approachable, and far from stuffy. She's got a great sense of humor and a contagious laugh that echo's throughout the office.
As the 211 program director I will supervise 2 full time staff, interns and volunteers in our call center. The unfortunate thing is that those other staff are relatively new to the program as well... with only 6 months and 3 months under their belt. So when the 2 gals training me in leave in August, it'll be my ship left to sail on my own... Just a bit of pressure on that one.
At first it was just normal first day on the job stuff, but then as the day progressed and I was around the call center staff I could sense some awkwardness... I was their boss, and they were treated me that way... You know with extra respect. It felt nice, but weird. But it didn't take long for me to ease into things and set a more comfortable vibe... All it really takes are some good parenting stories, and your a much more relate able boss.
211 is a Information and Resource call center that keeps a database of local, state, and national resources. The database has a special coding system and takes months to years to master. I have 6 weeks to learn the system, so that I can effectively oversee my Data Manager and be of support to her when things need attention or go wrong. This is the one area that's got me freaked a bit... But as part of the United Way system, we've got access to experts across the state to help us through any challenges.
The bigger, most interesting part of my job will focus on promoting and building relations with service providers in the community, and reaching the general public for better awareness of 211's existence. I've already got presentations, meetings and events scheduled into October that I'll be part of... But here again, I've gotta learn the insides out, because I'm the presenter! I love public speaking like this, so its a great motivator to learn it all (gotta now what I'm talking about), and I'm REALLY looking forward to all this community networking.
The day went by super fast and I hadn't even signed my W4... The paperwork is already stacking up and my To Do list is 2 pages long... Oh, its great to be back to work!!