Friday 13th January 2012

My First Week at Gravitate HR

My Background

I studied HRM and Law at Strathclyde University, graduating in July 2008. I was working in a contact centre as a customer services advisor until an opportunity arose in at GE Caledonian in Prestwick. The position was a 12-month internship in the HR Department of a large engineering plant who service and overhaul aircraft engines. I took the opportunity knowing that although fixed term it would expose me to HR at a multinational company and hopefully gain me solid experience in the area of business which I wanted my career to progress. This proved to be the case and I was kept on long past the initial 12-month contract. I gained a vast amount of experience through many different projects, most notably in the areas of recruitment & selection and sickness & absence management.
With my contract coming to an end in late 2011 I was seeking new employment and discovered that Gravitate HR were looking for an HR Assistant to support Account Managers as they carry out tasks for their clients. I thought the position represented an excellent opportunity to join a successful team and progress my career further as well as the potential for becoming CIPD accredited through recommencing my studies.

Getting the Position

After being invited back for a second interview at Gravitate HR I was to prepare a presentation to present to my potential colleagues. The areas I chose to present on were auto-enrolment through the Pensions Act 2008 and the Agency Worker Regulations 2011 through the 2008 Temporary Workers Directive, two areas which I have found interesting when reading about them recently. I presented briefly on these two topics and sat down for a chat with Margery and two others of the team where I was asked some questions relating to my presentation and more in general around my understanding of the work Gravitate HR do, my answers must have been okay as I found out shortly after that I was being offered the position – A perfect early Christmas present.

My First Week

I began my employment with Gravitate HR on Monday 9th of January where I sat with my new colleagues on a one to one basis and they advised me on their clients and what sort of tasks they had been carrying out for them recently. By Tuesday I was helping make changes to client’s handbooks and drafting contracts, already feeling like part of the team. I was made to feel extremely welcome during my first week and look forward to working with everyone on various projects and tasks over the coming weeks and months. I am also thrilled at the prospect of meeting clients and their employees and seeing how Gravitate HR helps businesses operate and thrive successfully.