The First Work Experience - Essay Example

This was my first employment opportunity because I had never applied for employment of any sort before. Because of this, I was not sure what was required of me because it was a new environment for me. I had not understood issues of professionalism practically because I had never worked in any office. This was an opportunity for me to learn new things and understand how employment works.

I applied for this work when I had completed my first semester as a first-year student at the university. I was excited when my application was accepted. I was tasked with working as an office assistant in a business law firm. The first day at work was excellent because all that I was required to do was to learn from another office assistant who was instructed to show me the responsibilities that were required of me at the firm.

I learned to do different things in my three months working at the firm. Some of the professional responsibilities that I learned by doing them include receiving and distributing communications, checking stock to determine inventory, maintaining office schedules, serving customers, resolving simple administrative problems, such as reconciling reports, coordinating messenger services, fax, and email documents, retrieve information when requested, maintain office supplies and equipment and answer phones and transfer to appropriate staff members among other responsibilities. This was a valuable experience for me because it improved my knowledge, especially by practicing different things daily.

At work, I interacted with different types of people establishing new relationships and also learning how office relationships work. The office had people who worked as colleagues at the same level while others were managers to other employees. I was able to see how managers relate with junior employees and vice-versa and also how colleagues relate to each other. This aspect helped me learn the importance of teamwork and harmony in the work environment.

Another important aspect that I learned in the office was the importance of conflict resolution. In offices, people have misunderstandings because of different issues where people may have different ideologies. However, to ensure that the workplace is an environment where people can be productive, there must be conflict resolution mechanisms that help people solve their misunderstandings as quickly as possible and get back to work.

I did not understand other issues at the office because of my level of education and lack of experience and this limited what I could do. This emphasized the importance of my university education because the completion of my studies will ensure that I get the required skills and knowledge to perform highly at such institutions. The work experience motivated me to work harder in my studies because I could see the importance it had firsthand.

In my first work experience, I not only gained knowledge and experience in the workplace but I also had the chance to see aspects such as teamwork, trust, motivation, leadership, intellect, and experience at work. There were times that I had difficulty coping because it was my first job experience. However, through hard work and perseverance, I completed the period that I had signed up for and came out a better person.