Reflecting on my current job or any job I have had, there is always a list of pros and cons. The experiences that I have gained have added to my educational journey. Before working at my current job, I had always questioned if I had it in me to be a leader. I did have some confidence, but it was on the low end.  This job has given me so much knowledge and confidence that I can now be in a leadership role.  Even though, in the long term, I will not stay in any form of retail, this job gave me the foundation to be in a leading role in any company.   It has really driven me home that I have chosen the right path in my educational pursuits.  I have to give credit to my immediate manager for seeing that I could do this job and, as I worked, giving me the support I needed to pursue my degree and work.  It is lovely to speak to her and have a conversation, good or bad, and not worry that I will be spoken down to and have a conversation from person to person, not from a manager to an employee.  We all had those bosses that made us feel tiny, and the conversations were uncomfortable. We hate speaking to them, and they make our working lives miserable. With any job that I had, I always try to have a takeaway from it.  What have I learned?  What were some good ideas, and what were the bad.  With that knowledge, I knew what I was looking for and what I expected of the job and myself.  

 

Being a Head cashier at a retail store has given me skills such as:

1) Leadership skills

2) Confidence in my decisions

3) Enhancing my listening skills, creativity, and decision-making.

 In my current role, I communicate a lot through text messages. The answers and/or questions have always been short, sweet, and to the point. Soon, with a change in my role at work, I will be doing a lot more emailing with people in my administrative offices. Reading these two chapters in Anderson's book helps by giving me ideas and tools on how to construct qualitative and quantitative emails.  

Looking at my classmates' blogs, I am struck by how everyone uses these skills in their respective fields. All the different styles are interesting because our audiences are different. For example, the way I have to write an email is different from that of those who work in a different industry. As professionals, we know our audiences and write accordingly. 

     Professional communication is critical for any workplace to function. I am currently part of a team at work (a local grocery store) that is changing things, and all the departments in the store must communicate efficiently and effectively. On Friday, we were all in a meeting, for all of us in the front end of the store (cashiers, head cashiers, and customer service), discussing what to expect with the holidays coming up, what was going to be expected of us, and what events were coming up within the store.  This was important because we have a new person in charge of customer service.  Communicating with him what works and what is a challenge for us is crucial because it gives him an insight into what goes on daily.  It also allows us to hear his ideas, what he plans to put in place, what he already did, and why he made certain decisions.   Having these meetings is crucial because I now know who my new manager is, and I learned about my readers.  When I have to construct an email, I know what will be helpful and persuasive to him.  Learning who my audience is in any email or digital communication can be crucial.  

    Working in customer service is based on effective communication. While most of my job is helping customers have a great store experience, I also need to communicate with management. Most of my communication with them involves digital communications, primarily by email. I also serve as the point person for organizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc., when they ask for donations for auctions and charity events.  Adding all the information in an email to the appropriate person in my corporate office to get it approved is an email that must be detailed and to the point.  Again, knowing who my audience is and who I am directing the email to is important because, with context, the charity or nonprofit will not get the donation.

     In the first chapter of our book, Anderson points out how vital the "dynamic interaction between your communication and your readers" is. Knowing who your readers are and being valuable and persuasive in your communications can help change minds in your organizations.

    In our reading for this week, the authors Fletchers and Thornton pointed out that soft skills, which include interpersonal skills, collaboration, business etiquette, initiative, and emotional intelligence, help employees engage positively at work.  This can be applied to my communications with my managers because working with different departments and, more importantly, the customers helps me provide a better workplace for the cashiers below me and my colleagues.

     In the end, in any type of communication, it is essential to know who you are speaking to and how to say it to advance your career.

 Corrected Email  from class

To: Arin Agarwal <aagarwal@pioneer.com>

From: Ben Young <byoung@pioneer.com>

Subject: Guidance as Your Work from Home

Dear Arin,

I'm happy you were just granted leave to work from home. I'm writing to offer some support by sharing some tips on being productive while staying in touch with the office while working remotely.

1. Establish a dedicated workspace to communicate with others in your household where you are working.

2. Respond to email. Check your incoming mail at least three times a day. Answer your messages promptly and send copies of relevant messages to the appropriate staff as soon as possible. Otherwise, your email inbox will become very full and challenging to manage.

3. Transmit all your work orders to Rachel. She will analyze each week's activity and update all sales assignments and inventories.

4. Prepare an end-of-week report. Send Yolanda a summary of your week's work showing all the major accounts you managed.

We will hold our weekly staff meetings on Fridays at 9 AM. Can you attend the next one, which is on Friday, June 9th?

You are sure to enjoy working from home, Arin. Following these basic guidelines should help you become efficient and communicate adequately with the office while still allowing you to meet your family's needs, which is what we hope to support!

Thanks. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Ben Young

Director, Personnel

Pioneer Solutions

byoung@pioneer.com

808-900-3947

 

Hi!!! The Link below is for my Heurstic Geography. I enjoyed making it. Until I started doing this project, I didn't realize how much I had going on and the number of people I encountered each day.

 Heuristic Geography.pptx