Coming Back To The World of Extension, Perspectives On Surviving As An Experienced "New" Agent
Leadership and Administrative Skills
Robbie Jones
County Extension Director
UF/IFAS Extension
Quincy
Abstract
For varying reasons, Extension Agents sometimes find themselves leaving Extension for careers in other private or public sectors. However, every year positions are being filled with former agents who have chosen to come back to work in Extension. While these hires may seem adventageous to Extension Programs, these hires are not new hires, but also not fully seasoned agents to operate in new extension environmets they are not familar with, as Extension progrms change year to year. Setting these "retreaded" agents up for success takes a different approach to help them be successful and persist in their enployement the second time around. This could be agents coming to work in Extension in the state they were in or in another state altogether. Surviving coming back to work in Extension can be a difficult time. An agent may find things have drastically changed since they left or may be in another state with a whole new set of policies and procedures. Many times, the agent is looked at as experienced, meaning they may not get the full support a “new agent” would get. Setting up for success as an experienced agent being hired on is not the same as setting up a first time Extension agent for success. This session is intended to be a discussion of perspectives and thoughts from two UF/IFAS Extension agents who came back to serve Extension in Florida. These agents have been able to navigate the on boarding and norming time to UF/IFAS Extension, however, they had to do a lot of work on their own. Understanding the pitfalls and hurdles for these types of agents, can afford NACAA members the chance to learn to better mentor and assist these agents as they are reintroduced to the world of Extension. Through experiences and lessons learned, these agents will share important ideas for returning agents to help them survive their first year(s) back working in Extension. The session will also give thoughts and perspectives for directors, mentors, and other agents in how to support returning Extension agents.
Authors: Robbie Jones, Paulette Thomlinson
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Robbie Jones County Extension Director, UF/IFAS Extension, Florida, 32351
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Paulette Thomlinson County Extension Agent, UF/IFAS Extension, Florida, 32055