Laboring Days
This long weekend marks the unofficial end of summer with the daily grind starting this week with school days, extended commuting hours and the diminishing daylight as it gets closer to winter. It's bittersweet for me- this summer was one of movement and learning in my career, but I'm eager to move forward into the next few months. It's been quite a transition for me, and I've been reflecting recently on the importance of every role in our workforce. Bigwig to pion, we are all cogs to the wheel that generates the everyday working world.
When I started my position, the work projects had already begun, and the outreach portion was already completed (or skipped over entirely). Only a few small projects will begin before the cold weather sets in which leaves me with little to oversee. I'm in that introductory period when there is no real urgency to complete work, but there is an expectation to study the craft and shadow the various players. I felt stunted when I found out that my career isn't taking off from 0 to 100 mph. However, I'm beginning the realize the importance of this time.
These past two months have been a mixture of not only learning the role, but seeing a new side of the company. Previously, as clerical support, I was responsible for ensuring payment of work and workers after it's completed for the day. There were only a few chances to preview upcoming work, but even that was perhaps a week or a few days in advance. There are no decisions made, and there is no oversight other than a personal workflow. It's viewed as "excellent" if one can complete the work in a timely manner, and not for creativity, strategy or effectiveness. This is why it's low on the totem pole- it supports everyone but not a position of power.
Now, in this position, I'm seeing how decisions can impact an entire project. There are various ways to strategize the execution of work, and my role completes the community outreach portion. The relationships that I form are vital since I will be relying on the other team members to provide me the scope of work; from that, I can determine how to provide relevant and important information to the public. It's not just a few people I need to worry about; I have multiple locations and various people that I need to interact with on a daily basis. In addition to team members, my relationships with outside constituents are also extremely important. In essence, I can't let the ball drop once, and everything needs to be planned in a way that's effective (otherwise, seriously, why bother). In future blog posts, I will address the interpersonal communication challenges I've been facing with this job factor, but for now, I will leave it at that. At the moment, my motto is "patience patience PATIENCE."
On this Labor Day, I am truly thankful for my career thus far. While I can't say that being a clerk was intellectually stimulating for me, it was a bridge that I needed to cross to further my goals. With that said, remember that every working individual has bridges, valleys, canyons, mountains and rivers to cross in order to make ends meet. It's easy to dismiss those in these roles as insignificant; I've personally experienced in various jobs I've had. I'm not saying that every worker is a gem (there's some doozies out there), but don't judge. Let the work speak for itself.
When I started my position, the work projects had already begun, and the outreach portion was already completed (or skipped over entirely). Only a few small projects will begin before the cold weather sets in which leaves me with little to oversee. I'm in that introductory period when there is no real urgency to complete work, but there is an expectation to study the craft and shadow the various players. I felt stunted when I found out that my career isn't taking off from 0 to 100 mph. However, I'm beginning the realize the importance of this time.
These past two months have been a mixture of not only learning the role, but seeing a new side of the company. Previously, as clerical support, I was responsible for ensuring payment of work and workers after it's completed for the day. There were only a few chances to preview upcoming work, but even that was perhaps a week or a few days in advance. There are no decisions made, and there is no oversight other than a personal workflow. It's viewed as "excellent" if one can complete the work in a timely manner, and not for creativity, strategy or effectiveness. This is why it's low on the totem pole- it supports everyone but not a position of power.
Now, in this position, I'm seeing how decisions can impact an entire project. There are various ways to strategize the execution of work, and my role completes the community outreach portion. The relationships that I form are vital since I will be relying on the other team members to provide me the scope of work; from that, I can determine how to provide relevant and important information to the public. It's not just a few people I need to worry about; I have multiple locations and various people that I need to interact with on a daily basis. In addition to team members, my relationships with outside constituents are also extremely important. In essence, I can't let the ball drop once, and everything needs to be planned in a way that's effective (otherwise, seriously, why bother). In future blog posts, I will address the interpersonal communication challenges I've been facing with this job factor, but for now, I will leave it at that. At the moment, my motto is "patience patience PATIENCE."
On this Labor Day, I am truly thankful for my career thus far. While I can't say that being a clerk was intellectually stimulating for me, it was a bridge that I needed to cross to further my goals. With that said, remember that every working individual has bridges, valleys, canyons, mountains and rivers to cross in order to make ends meet. It's easy to dismiss those in these roles as insignificant; I've personally experienced in various jobs I've had. I'm not saying that every worker is a gem (there's some doozies out there), but don't judge. Let the work speak for itself.
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