MaryAnne Viegelmann
First and last name: MaryAnne Viegelmann
Year in school: Junior
Major: Business Marketing
Home city/state: San Jose, CA
1. Where did you work?
Align Technology, Inc. headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. I currently work for the Human Resources department at Align Technology.
2. What was the title of your position?
The title of my position is Human Resources Intern.
3. When did you work there?
This is an ongoing internship, which I started on November 15, 2004 and am currently still working there.
4. What did you do?
Currently I work for the Human Resources Program Manager. At the start of my internship, my manager was in charge on the implementation of a new HR system. I assisted her in running reports out of our old system to be put into the new system. I also assisted in auditing some of the data transferred into the new system. This is important in regards to data integrity.
My manager has taken on new responsibilities that I now assist her with. Presently, I help my boss with the weekly headcount sales and customer care reports that are used at the sales meetings. This requires keeping track of updating the status of requisitions and the current headcount for the sales team and customer support team. This is also used to help our finance team in terms of budget and how much the company has allotted to hire people for particular positions.
Every quarter, I also help my boss with metrics in terms of a Human Resources Perspective. This tracks figures such as our primary source of hire, benefit costs, cost per hire, recruiting costs, revenue factor, headcount etc. This is especially helpful for recruiting purposes as well as for finance and budgeting purposes. At the end of the year, HR uses a service which tracks our metrics compared to other companies in the industry.
Along with these major projects, I do the typical filing, data entry etc.
5. How did you hear about this position?
I actually planned on starting to look for an internship at the end of my sophomore year, but luckily this came a long at the beginning of my sophomore year. I was searching online using BroncoTrak and saw the position as an HR intern. I quickly jumped at the chance and had my resume and cover letter reviewed at the Career Center. I also went through a mock interview. All were extremely helpful!
6. How does what you learned through this experience relate to your coursework and/or career goal?
During my high school years at Archbishop Mitty High School, we had an internship program that I was fortunate enough to participate in. After interviewing, I was placed in the HR department of Tax at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. From that experience, I really enjoyed the role of HR and the difference that it can make in the company. After that great learning experience, I decided that I wanted to explore Human Resources as a career for myself. So in order to do this, I decided to look for an internship, and I found Align Technology.
7. How did this experience help you develop your skills and abilities, your personal qualities, your values and perceptions?
I believe that Human Resources is a very important aspect to many parts of the business world. It is generally connected to many departments in many ways. Working with people is always going to be a common daily occurrence. Being able to do this through an HR role has taught me patience and looking at the bigger picture of many situations.
8. What did you learn about yourself that surprised you?Although I thought that I was generally one to speak up in situations, I found that at a company this is often harder to do. From my experience so far, I have learned to speak up more and ask questions. It generally never hurts to ask questions.
9. How would you describe the value of this experience to other students?
The value of this experience has been amazing. The networking that I have created in a matter of months has expanded greatly. I have definitely learned how the business world functions and the importance of staying informed and on your feet. I would not trade this experience and if I had to do it over again, I would probably take the same route.
10. What advice would you give to students interested in doing this?
My first advice would be to start early. If there is something you are interested in, take the time to explore it. I really took advantage of the services that the Career Center offered. This helped me greatly. Networking and talking to people is definitely important.
