How does the Networking and Social committee help our Early Careers?

[Maninder_R]

My name is Molly Stemp, and I am one of the 162 members within HPE Early Careers having started my internship back in July 2021. As the Pointnext intern within Strategy and Planning I have had the opportunity connect with others across the company across UKIMESA. Having seen the importance of Networking within my role I wanted to be able to help others do the same, which is why I became a member of the Networking and Social committee. 

Over the past 7 months myself, Dan Wood, Ana Agapie, Amar Takodra and Vishal Kumar have planned and hosted a variation of social event for all those in HPE Early Careers, bringing everyone together on a Bi-weekly basis. Various socials have been held from Kahoot’s, to Pictionary meets Chinese Whispers to give everyone a half hour break from work to have a laugh and say hello. Including these, we have a networking event every month for everyone in Early Careers to join and meet people they wouldn’t work with on a day to day on more less formal level. It’s a great opportunity for everyone across the whole of the UKIMESA Early Careers to meet where our day-to-day jobs wouldn’t mean we would. 

With Covid, new employees have found it difficult to network and socialise without being able to go in the office and meet people face to face. As interns ourselves only joining last year, we started our roles virtually and saw how hard it was to meet others when we couldn’t go into the office daily, so making socials as accessible and as collaborative as possible. As a committee, we have tried especially hard to do this using virtual platforms, being a base for people to interact and meet others in and outside their main office. They have been a great way to form friendships, and a vital aspect for interns that are only here for a limited amount of time. It’s a community for interns, grads and apprentices alike to share and grow together, and a chance to pass on knowledge. We are happy to be able to create a support group for new starters, provide a communication platform and networking opportunities to help others advance their careers. A major positive we gained from the socials being virtual was the ability to include other early careers outside of our assigned office, which would’ve been harder if they were face-to-face. 

Not only do the committee want to promote healthy working relationships, but we also want everyone to keep fit and healthy which is why we are re-launching the fitness Friday initiative to encourage everyone to take some time a week away from their screens to remain active. The 30-minute session will allow all to relax after a week of work, and relieve any stress before the weekend kicks in.  

Hopefully this year we will be able to bring back face to face socials, but for now we have been able to successfully implement them virtually and we have enjoyed being able to bring everyone within early careers together. On the return of face-to-face socials, we will always maintain a virtual aspect to be able to include the whole of UKIMESA and network even more. 

If you have any questions regarding Early Careers Socials, or even would like to be apart of our committee, I would be happy to help!

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Molly Stemp
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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