Job Shadow

Jane Delahunt, Assistant Director of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center Job Shadow October 7th 11am-3pm

I arrived at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at 11am and met in the husky den to start our conversation and identify what we were going to cover in the job shadow. Then, we moved around to each part of the facility and she gave a brief oversight of what is done in each area and how those areas are related to her current position. We capped off our conversation by finishing with a Q/A back in the husky den.

Summary of what was learned:

Jane was able to walk me through the process of scheduling and staffing the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, and gave me examples of how the software works. She would go on to show me ways of sending out reminders through icalendar and had a running excel document that shows who's on duty at any given time. This was crucial information as I am striving to transition to a management role where I will eventually have to hire and staff events. The information I gathered from Jane with advice on how to handle no call, no show employees really stood out to me and will definitely be something I use moving forward.

Questions

Q: Do you foresee yourself continuing to work in hockey? If not, what other sport facility do you see yourself working?

A: She plans on staying within hockey as she sees herself as being an asset to a closed facility. She also mentioned that she would be open to working in a multipurpose facility. A venue that shares hockey with basketball could be an option down the road.

Q: Do you recommend graduate school for your work field?

A: Jane said that if she hadn’t attended graduate school right after her undergrad that she most likely wouldn't have gone back to get a master’s. She said just because of her personality type she would rather be working than in a classroom. However she does recommend pursuing a masters as it is also a prerequisite before getting entry level positions now.

Q: What are your five year plans/goals?

A: Jane plans to stay working at the hockey center for a few more years as she is in a higher up position while being fresh out of school. Only time will tell what the next steps are.

Closing questions

What you were hoping to learn but did not in this shadow:

I was hoping to maybe get some experience with scheduling or some facility management first hand experience. However, due to time conflicts and the middle of the week, we were not able to cover the physical aspect of facility management. Jane was nice enough to say she would be open to either meeting again or answering future emails.

Would you consider an Internship or Career In this Position/Field, why or why not

I would be open to an internship to get first-hand experience associated with the position. I would not foresee myself entering this as a full-time career. I believe a lot of management skills crossover and would be great to learn from an internship. However, this profession is nit something I see myself being in