Rise To The Challenge
Greetings and Salutations,
My name is T'Edra Jackson, I am currently a graduate student at Pepperdine University pursuing a Master's of Science: Human Resources. I am one who is always willing to challenge myself, for a class assignment last semester, I was asked to contact mentors, peers and family members for advice. One of my mentors gave me a piece of advice that has really resonated with me, that advice was to "always do something that makes you have a pit at the bottom of your stomach." After reading that statement, I was hesitant but I started to do things that would give me that feeling. I recently started my internship as a Talent Acquisition Intern and I absolutely love my team, the company, and its culture. So I decided to challenge myself by writing this article which is my first time writing an article publicly and lessons learned from my internship:
Get To Know Your Team: My team is awesome, they are knowledgeable about the business and the industry. Ask your team members out to lunch to seek their advice about the industry, their likes, dislikes, their experiences before coming to work for the company. Understanding your team members "why" helps you gain a holistic perspective of the individual.
Speak & Smile: I am naturally a morning person and I am also always smiling or greeting others (or try to smile 99.9% of the time). During my first week, I made it a point to speak and smile to everyone who passed my cubicle (speaking and smiling is free) but it helped me to understand that there is power in acknowledging someone's presence and it helped the individual walking past take their mind off the one to do list item that was demanding their attention and reminded them to breathe, speak and smile. Our job roles and responsibilities can be very demanding and a little can go a long way. I made it a point to speak and smile to everyone, whom I came into contact with when I first started, now co-workers approach me speak, smile or introduce themselves to me. (Whatever you do is reciprocated back to you-good and bad)
Do Not Be Afraid To Ask Questions: Ask, Ask, Ask, Ask questions. Asking questions helps one gain an understanding of the "why." The "why" is the root of the reason why we do things we way we do them, you are to build a foundation on the root if you don't have a great understanding of the root, it is a possibility that you may not have a great foundation. I took the time to ask certain employees what do they do, to understand how their jobs impact the business. Do not be afraid to ask leaders within the company questions as well. (Closed mouths do not get fed)
Don't Just Take The Project-OWN It: My team has given me great projects and I take those projects with great pride and joy because they have enough confidence in me to know that I am capable of completing the projects. It is not enough for me to take the projects, I own the projects, communicate where I am on the project(there can never be enough communication). Do not be afraid to ask questions if you are unsure, humble yourself to know that you do not know everything. Make the project yours, hold yourself accountable for the project. Projects are fun, embrace them, gain the experience, and make a lasting impact while doing so.
These are just a few of the lessons I learned. I hope this helps you as you start your career or advance your career.
I took the challenge to write this article: What challenge would you take?
Stay Crowned Kings and Queens,
-T'Edra