Communication in the Work Force

A recent job that I have held was for the duration of the summer. I was a part-time employee working as summer help for Wegmans grocery store. The job included many tasks at hand where I worked in various departments throughout the store. This work experience has many similar attributes as that of the student "job."

My first week of employment for summer help was very informational. The start out position is front end cashier. This is the typical last sales rep you will encounter before exiting the store after your purchase. We practiced our log in hours procedure, how to scan items, accept food stamps along with coupons and finally how to cash out a customer using a credit card, debit card or a personal check. When the first day of live action came, our trainer supervised over us we tendered the customers. At the end of the five and a half hour shift, I had cleaned out my register and handed it in to the accounting office. The following day at work my supervisor had told me that I had my till accounted for exactly. That sense of completion was motivation from there on out.

I had eventually moved up in duties outside of the register. I began taking on responsibilities such as maintenance and working in the dairy department. These jobs would entitle me to stock various dairy products along with serving customers on a more personal level such as where to find an item. Also, I began sweeping the store along with removing the returned cans to the back of the store for storage and removal. These simple tasks allowed me to work at my own pace rather then take the next customer in line so it was a great confidence booster to work harder.

The preparation for these tasks in the short three months I had worked at Wegmans felt very similar to the responsibilities for having the student "job." My growth as a student has come from many learning lessons through grade school. Yet being a twenty year old young adult attending college and balancing the social life, sports activities, family and schooling is a very difficult task. The key to success in all these aspects is in freshmen seminar class. This class was a teaching tool that allowed me to allocate time for various homework tasks along with balancing a fun social life and carrying a great grade point average. I was taught from the start that nothing was going to come easy with freedom being away from my parents. I had learned that I had to take charge of my "job" as a student first and an athlete second. I had realized that the party will always be there where on the other hand, my student "job" will not if I am not prepared.

From the summer experience, I was an independent worker. I had to work at my own pace along with a positive attitude and finish tasks on schedule before taking my lunch break or retiring for the night. This is very similar to the student "job." My leisure time comes at the cost of the amount of effort I put into my work. When all my tasks are completed, then I can go out and have fun with my friends. The two, career job and student "job", are very intertwined. On one hand the lessons taught and work needed to be done in a work environment are similar to that of the lessons learned and work turned in being a student. Where as the student job in the long run works to gain a job in the real workforce. Both of these jobs must be done well on an independent perspective.