Student's co-op opportunity leads to full-time position
"I had decided that I wanted to work with people and work with benefits, compensation, training and development and various other functions that work closely with employees," Hatfield said. "I knew that HR was a hard field to get into, but I knew that after a lot of research about the many different career paths in HR, this is what I wanted to do."
Hatfield is a senior at WSU majoring in human resources management. She is doing a co-op with Hampel Oil as the human resources generalist. Hatfield has a number of responsibilities, including documentation for all the paperwork that flows through the department, assisting the HR manager, recruiter, safety manager and payroll coordinator with assigned tasks, as well as federal and state reporting. She does all of this in addition to attending seminars, workshops, career fairs and other events to stay up to date on HR practices and to assist with recruiting efforts.
"I think one of the most important things that I have learned is how to work in a corporate environment," Hatfield said. "There are so many things to learn, such as culture, values and other things that can't be taught and are not industry-specific, but vary from organization to organization.
This co-op opportunity has led to a full-time job after graduation.
"I highly encourage students to participate in the cooperative education and internship program here at Wichita State," Hatfield said. "It serves as not only a means for obtaining a position, but also a means for networking with companies, people and recruiters to get yourself and your resume out there and get noticed."