Introduction to Kate and Some Quick Application Tips

Hi everyone!  My name is Kate Seifert and I am a first-year student in the Master of Human Resource Management Program.  I am so excited to share my experience throughout this journey with you all as well as tips and tricks that may make your experience easier!

I was pretty sure Human Resources was the right path for me around my junior year of undergrad, and I decided I wanted to go to grad school for HR during my senior year.  I was a little bit of a late bloomer when it came to choosing a career path, so if you aren’t sure exactly what it is you are interested in yet, that is fine!  Some of you may be looking at/entering the program because you want to further a career, you want more education before entering the workforce, or you are just exploring the HR industry through education.  Whatever your reasoning is behind looking into the MHRM program, here is some information and tips that I hope can be helpful to you in making your decision!

Class time – Most of the classes in the MHRM program are going to be night classes (6:15 pm – 9:30 pm), which can be a bit of a shock to those of us coming out of a typical undergraduate degree with day classes or those of you who have been working mainly during the day.  I work two jobs right now and would advise anyone looking into the MHRM program to make sure you really take time to consider how much you want on your plate before committing to too much!

Class size and feel – I came from a very small liberal arts college where my class sizes hovered around 10 to 15 people. Even though these classes are larger than I was used to, it already feels just about the same as undergrad in terms of comfortability with each other and the feel of discussions.  As long as I stayed actively engaged, it felt like I just fell right into it!

Organization – One of the most important things I have learned so far, which may seem obvious, is to stay on top of everything!  If this isn’t something you are used to or if you are typically a procrastinator (if you are, I can relate!), then try to start practicing doing things earlier and keeping on top of everything you have going on.

• I work best in a physical calendar so for me, physically blocking out times on my planner when I needed to do research about the program or had an interview was the most helpful.
• Something I did that turned out to be really helpful was keeping a log of everyone I talked to in the program, what their position was, and what I talked with them about!  Having a log like this helps you keep track of everyone in the program; and when you show to people in the program that you take the time to remember them, as well as information about MHRM, you will stand out as a candidate!

I hope these brief tips and some of my thoughts were helpful for you and your graduate school journey.  I am so excited to document my experiences to hopefully continue to help people considering the MHRM program and those of you starting the process!