Month: May 2024

The Office of Human Resources is excited to announce the return of the Employee Resource Fair – an event to connect faculty and staff with resources and organizations across the community.

The event will be held at Fike Recreation Center on May 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free for all Clemson faculty and staff. 

More than 50 vendors representing banks, retirement vendors, doctors, campus resources and more will set up in the Main Gym with fun activities, raffles and giveaways for attendees. Some things to get excited about: drawings for a free 6-month gym membership and a drawing for free designer sunglasses!

Vendors include, but are not limited to,:

• SC Future Scholar (529 Plan)
• Clemson Eye
• Parking and Transportation Services
• The Abernathy Hotel
• Campus Bookstore
• …and more!

The Division of Marketing and Communications will also host their monthly Faculty and Staff Headshot Day at the event from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Colleges, departments and community partners are still welcome to register as a vendor for the event. To register, please complete the Employee Resource Fair registration form on the Office of Human Resources website.

Thank you to our event sponsors:

• Corebridge Financial
• Newry Mills Apartments
• Voya
• Brookdale Senior Living
• Hubbard Young Pharmacy
• Clemson Dental
• Copperleaf Townhomes
• Mountain Lakes Family Dentistry
• SC State Credit Union
• United Community Bank
• Founders Federal Credit Union

Getting your MBA has never been so easy– live where you want, learn how you want, and let Clemson help cover the cost with Employee Tuition Assistance! Learn more during our upcoming virtual info session on June 5, 2024, from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm.

Can’t make it? No problem! Please email us to set up a call with our team: mbaprogram@clemson.edu

Register here: Interactive Online Info Session | Clemson MBA Tickets, Wed, Jun 5, 2024 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite

In August 2023, I wrote in the newsletter about what to do when you don’t like someone in your life.  I think that is an important conversation because people come to me all the time seemingly conflicted over how to “force” themselves to like someone when they just don’t.  It’s okay not to like someone.  You can still treat them with respect and courtesy and can move forward doing what is important to you.  Some of the comments I received after that newsletter asked me about the reverse:  what to do when someone doesn’t like you.

I recently was uninvited to a series of meetings that I had attended without incident for some time.  After my initial surprise and even indignation, I stepped back to evaluate.  Had I done something wrong?  Did I overstep my role?  Did I unintentionally harm those around me?  Not that I knew of.  I asked for feedback and more information about why I was no longer welcome at these meetings; that conversation didn’t give me any additional information.  My next thought is what if these individuals just don’t like me?

With all the people in the world and even all the people here at Clemson, it makes sense that this is going to be the result every once in a while, right?  We can’t possible please and win over every faculty, staff, student, and administrator here.  So why was this personal slight impacting me so much?  Here are a few tips to help you process when someone doesn’t seem to like you.

1. This might not have as much to do with you as you think.  My initial reaction to not being invited to the ongoing meeting anymore was that they specifically didn’t want me there.  While that might be part of it, I doubt I am on this person’s mind so much as to require them to take drastic action only for me.
2. It’s okay to feel hurt, offended, and disappointed.  I struggled to process my hurt when this first happened, and I realized I was avoiding it.  Hurt is not something I am used to feeling at work, but that is very much what was going on.  Acknowledging these feelings to ourselves makes it easier to move forward.
3. You can still do what you need and want to do even when someone doesn’t like you.  When this first happened, I felt like it was closing the door for me in a lot of ways at work.  But when I stepped back and got some perspective, I realized that there was so much else to focus on and other work to be done.
4. You can still have a productive working relationship with someone who doesn’t like you.  You can resolve to treat them well and to keep your focus on the work, and I think you would be surprised by how willing someone is have a working relationship when neither of you are trying to force something that is not there.
5. When I say these people don’t like me, I am making assumptions here.  I assume because I have no other information, that these individuals don’t like me.  I’ve asked and not received any further information.  But if they were to come to me for assistance or wanted to work with me in another area or wanted to go out to lunch, I may have to reassess my assumption.  In other words, I have to remember that I am just making an assumption.  At this point, I don’t have all the facts. 

The bottom line is that when someone doesn’t like you, it can be really hard.  But it doesn’t have to be the end.  It doesn’t have to dictate your mood or your motivation or your next steps.  It can be a disappointing development that you are not going to let stand in your way of doing important work and adhering to your values of kindness and respect.