T aylor Wilder, ’15, has always been fascinated with the human brain and how humans continue to evolve, which is why she majored in psychology. Her curiosity landed her a feature on the American Psychological Association’s (APA) webpage and a career at ADP, LLC (Automatic Data Processing, Inc.). ADP is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management solutions, which unites human resources, payroll, talent, time, tax and benefits administration. It’s also a leader in business outsourcing services, analytics and compliance expertise. 

“I love learning about why we are the way we are, how our environment can affect us and how we respond to situations,” said Wilder.

Dr. Lee Gillis, chair of the Department of Psychological Science, answered a call from APA to feature undergraduates on their webpage. The organization wanted to know about alumni who had gone directly into the workplace with their psychology degree. 

“I gave them Taylor's name since she pursued a career at ADP to use the skillset she acquired as a psychology major at Georgia College,” he said. “They reached out, and she responded.” 

According to Gillis, Taylor was an early adopter of using social media to seek out employment by marketing herself as possessing a wide variety of skills. These skills include understanding the use and interpretation of data, evaluating the legitimacy of claims about behavior, demonstrating the capacity to adapt to change, starting and executing projects with limited information or experience and exhibiting persistence in challenging circumstances. 

“These attributes have been helpful to her in obtaining and maintaining her employment with ADP,” he said. “From my knowledge, Taylor embodies each of these skills.”

Wilder applies these concepts to her position as a resource coordinator II for ADP.

“Learning the basics of how the brain works helped me understand why each personality is different,” she said. “This also applies to knowing how to best interact with people in the workplace.”

Gillis, as well as other Georgia College psychology professors, taught Wilder how versatile psychology is and how she could apply it to work and everyday life. 

“I admired Dr. Gillis’ adaptability for any situation, and how he has positive interactions with anyone he meets,” Wilder said. “I strive to strengthen my personal adaptability at work by challenging myself to get to know people I don’t always ‘jive’ with and learn from them.”

She believes that any personality can successfully relate to others.  

“I’ve learned how to highlight the strengths of different types of people,” Wilder said. “This has helped me become a better, more adaptable employee in any situation.”

Gillis also taught her about different personalities and their strengths, weaknesses and how to best interact with one another.

“Working in a corporate environment breeds different personalities that have to find a way to work together to achieve the same goals,” she said. “I work with people of all personality types, and I’ve learned how to best approach and be successful with each one. I also learned how to be more adaptable in any situation—the most important trait to exercise in the work environment in my opinion.”

For Wilder, every workday is different and brings forth new learning opportunities. Her day begins with the sales department submitting prospective client accounts to her team. She reviews them for proper legal documentation, accuracy and compliance with federal and state governments. Then, Wilder submits these accounts to the next team for set up for Payroll and Human Resources’ needs. 

“I love the variety this position offers,” she said. “The challenging days impact me the most, because I always learn something I didn’t know before to use in the future.”

Having a career with variety is the key to her success, as she always considered herself as “artsy.” 

“Georgia College amplified that part of me through my major and minor—art/visual arts,” Wilder said. “Being able to dive deep with both subjects furthered my creativity.”

She also learned how to think critically and independently by effectively questioning concepts and then drawing her own conclusions based on personal experience and research.

At Georgia College, Wilder belonged to Art Tank and the Psychology Club. She especially enjoyed Art Tank, because it was a creative outlet for her to share with others who were also passionate about art and art history. 

“I always left the meetings feeling inspired to create a new piece or expand on a piece in progress,” she said. “At ADP I have been involved in some creative digital projects like flyers for team meetings and promotional campaigns, so I have visibility in my office and region that way.”

She also applies the knowledge she gained from the Psychology Club at work. 

“I’ve learned so much about how many different types of people there are in an office environment, and what I can learn from someone different from me,” she said.

After working at ADP for six years, Wilder has learned to say “yes” to opportunities, allowing herself to grow.

“You never know what can happen in one or five years after graduation,” she said. “Trust me, you’ll learn a lot about yourself in your young adult years while you are trying to find your way.”

Wilder is inspired by the sunrise, which represents a fresh start, reminding her to try again if she fails.

“Every morning I wake up is a reminder it’s a new day, and I can choose how I want to spend it and how I can be a better person than I was yesterday,” she said. “We all have the power to start fresh every day and it’s never too late.”