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Future State - The Division of Residential and Hospitality Services is undergoing a strategic planning process that will change the face of our Division.
Division of Residential and Hospitality Services Announces Rebranding and Name Changes - Realigning our organization into four primary operating functions
Help Tackle Hunger Food Drive - RHS teams with Athletics to prmote food drive
Division of Residential and Hospitality Services Environmental Stewardship - The Division is making contributions throughout the community.
Divisional Job Shadow Initiative Program - One of own learns about other career opportunities in our Division
Meet RHS - Read about Division employees and their take on Delivering Outstanding Spartan Experiences.
Division of Residential and Hospitality Services Construction Web Site - Renovations abound in RHS. Check out the latest improvements.
Eat at State - Residence Hall menus and everything else you need to know about eating on MSU's campus.
Employment for Students - Apply online and find a job for extra spending money!
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DIVISIONAL JOB SHADOW INITIATIVE PROGRAM REVEALS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
By Laura King, RHS Assistant Human Resources Manager
 Before starting my career at Michigan State University, I dreamed of a career at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center. While I never landed at Kellogg, I had many diverse opportunities in University Housing (now Campus Living Services), Dining Services and Housing Operations before joining Human Resources. After becoming HR’s divisional trainer I decided that now was a good time to learn more about the Kellogg Center and take advantage of our Divisional Job Shadow Initiative Program. Arranging a job shadow was easy; I simply asked my supervisor’s permission to learn more about the “behind-the-scenes magic” of the Kellogg Center. My supervisor and I worked with Kellogg General Manager Geoff Parkerson and, during my job shadowing week, I was able to explore its many different career opportunities.
Job Shadowing
Job shadowing is having the opportunity to connect with or “shadow” a departmental professional (job shadowing mentor) who has specific knowledge about an occupation or career in which you are interested. Job shadowing mentors like conducting job shadows because they generally:
- Enjoy talking about their jobs and career fields
- Are flattered that you seek their advice to assist with your career and future
- Are empathetic about career transitions because they have experienced them
- Like to assist others because it makes them feel good
 On a job shadow, you observe positions, responsibilities and tasks associated with a particular career. During the job shadow, you are given the opportunity to ask questions about the knowledge, skills, talents and level of education required for the job. While the purpose of job shadowing is to gather career-related information and expand your networking contacts, it also allows you to build interviewing skills, become aware of trends in the field and see workforce technologies in action. You can arrange multiple job shadowing experiences to explore a variety of career paths. A job shadowing experience may:
- Present you with up-to-date facts about an occupation to assist you in making career decisions
- Inform you about the skills required for certain jobs to help you match them with your strengths and skills
- Provide you with valuable networking contacts to use in your job search
- Help you develop communication skills and self-confidence
- Give you an edge in future interviews by providing you with inside industry knowledge
- Help you develop the basic skills necessary for conducting a targeted job search
- Show you what kind of settings, career areas and specific industries or careers you enjoy
Easy as 1-2-3
For employees of the Division, getting connected with a job shadowing opportunity is as easy as 1-2-3:
- Contact Laura King in the divisional Human Resources office at 517-353-7260 or whitlo11@msu.edu.
- Express your interests, enthusiasm or involvement in activities that appeal to you.
- Work with Laura King to find desirable career opportunities in the Division and find mentors to assist you.
MY JOB SHADOWING EXPERIENCE
My Kellogg Center job shadow schedule and the discoveries that I made throughout the week.
Monday: Kitchen
Mentor: Thomas Stavischeck, Sous Chef
Today I worked in the kitchen. I worked with salads, preparing all the cold-plated items, and learned the plating techniques necessary for large groups. A total of 600 guests were served at lunch. I really enjoyed working with the salad dryer, a portable machine that dries all the lettuce. In the kitchen, romaine and iceberg lettuce is cut and placed in fresh cold water to preserve freshness. Before service all the lettuce is dried in the lettuce dryer. |
Tuesday: Housekeeping
Mentors: Chris Jensen and
Scott Sparkia, Housekeeping Supervisors
Today I worked in the Housekeeping Department. There is a 105-point cleaning checklist by which every room is examined to ensure the highest standards for guests. There is even a special tuck that is used on the pillows. |
Wednesday: Phone Operators, Gift Shop, Reservations and Front Desk
Mentors: Kristina Baxendale, Hospitality Intern; Rick Melahn, Gift Shop Manager; Debra Haynie, Reservations Manager; Jeremy Romel, Front Desk Supervisor
Every call that comes into KHCC is directed to the phone operators area and every call is answered within three rings. The Gift Shop manager hand-selects every piece of merchandise that is sold in the gift shop. The hottest selling item is a style of shirt that Tom Izzo’s wife Lupe wore at the Final Four this year. The front desk, reservations and conference services areas cannot function without each other. They play an integral behind-the-scenes part in every experience for the guest. |
Thursday: The State Room
Mentors: Cathy Lugibihl, The State Room Lead Server; Julie Warren Food Service Worker
There are more than 100 uniquely selected wines offered at The State Room. Every menu item is prepared freshly and specifically by order. |
Friday: Banquets
Mentor: Bill Burke, Banquet Operations Manager
The Banquet manager meets every meeting group while they prepare for their functions to ensure that the food setups are satisfactory, discuss details of the day and provide an overview of how to operate everything in the room. There is a very organized systematic approach to setting up every booked event. Every person knows their role. The “Daily DOSE (Delivering Outstanding Spartan Experiences)” is the informational session held at the beginning of every shift to inform staff of what’s coming. |
My experiences job shadowing at Kellogg were extremely valuable. If I were to apply for a position there, I would apply to be a banquet manager. I know this because I saw firsthand that the Banquet Department has a fast-paced environment and affords a great deal of customer interaction — both characteristics are highly attractive to me. I know from past job experiences that I enjoy working around others and focusing on meeting customer needs. Job shadowing at Kellogg was a positive, encouraging experience. The employees there demonstrated that they really love what they do and they helped me see why.
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