Miscommunication in the Workplace

I've worked in restaurants for the past four years. And for those of you who share similar experience know that communication is crucial in that environment. The Waitstaff needs to communicate with the customers, the cooking staff, the busers, bartenders, and management. Though management is responsible for large decisions and how the restaurant is run, the waitstaff is responsible for a large margin of the actual communication that goes on. Directly, everything depends on them. Cooks communicate with each other and the same goes for every other group of employees but the waitstaff brings all of these groups together to get drinks and food out correctly, clean the tables, make sure the guests have a pleasurable experience all together. With modern computers, this process occurs much faster than it did twenty years ago even. If something is entered into the computer incorrectly, the cooks will make it wrong or the bartender won't make the drink you intended. But the entire process begins with listening to the customer which proves difficult many times given crowd noice or in house music. SOFT TALKERS! AH! Many times people also want to change their meals after it's been ordered which requires the waiter to go back to kitchen directly and manually fix the problem. Any number of things can go wrong at any time: The ticket printer runs out of paper so the order you typed in doesn't print out and therefore doesn't get made (sometimes you don't realize this for a good ten to fifteen minutes which will delay the order that much longer, the cooks can mess up, the bartender may need more booze to make your drink and needs you to get more out of the liquor closet, dropping food or drinks is always a possibility, you may have put an order in wrong or to the wrong table, or the worst thing....The computer system shuts down. This requires one to manually write up the ticket and look up the price as well as the tax calcuation to go along with it. (In South Carolina, along with sales tax, there is Federal liquor tax and State liquor tax, two seperate calculations.) This happened to me once. It's amazing to see how much chaos occurs when technology fails like that. Everything takes so much longer and is more likely to not come out right. Plus the stress level increases because you section of five large tables was meant to be run with a quick computer system, not a note pad and a calculator. Then one has to explain to each and every table why their food will take longer to come out. Without the modern computer communication tools we have, working as a waiter would have been more agrevating and less precise.

Mock Interview

Going in, I wasn't really nervous. I usually don't get very nervous in situations where I have to talk to a couple people or just one person. I actually enjoy it and find myself very comfortable in those situations. Usually I tell myself that it's not the end of the world and that I should just be cool and collected. That's how I will impress them. One question that threw me was the question about how my parents feel about me working oversees. I answered it well but I did not expect questions about family members. The worst question was, "Tell me about yourself", cause honestly, how do I answer that. I could say anything but I just thought of what applied to my position the most and eliminated what to say based on that.
I think I did a really good job so I don't think I actually change anything I did. I don't know if that sounds conceited, but I was happy with my performance. I learned how it felt to walk into a room knowing you need to remain calm and keep words from spilling out of your mouth. It also got me acquainted with talking to someone older than myself because I usually talk to peers my own age, and obviously language can be different.

Presentations

I enjoyed all the presentations given in class by my peers, but there were a few that stood out to me. Margaret did a great job with the Balsam Woolly Adelgid. It astonished me that she took something that was happening around her, researched it, and came up with something. We've all seen those dead trees, but she actually took another step in actually finding out what was going on and I respect that.
The presentation by Ashleigh on how to make a Spanish friend was entertaining and helpful. I already know Spanish but I could really tell she was authentic in her feelings. She had probably used her recommendations before and knew they worked. Ashleigh also helped to break the taboo of why we don't become friends with or talk to people of different ethnic backgrounds. I enjoyed that because I have many Spanish speaking friends back home, and I have had to stick up for them on more than one account just because of their ethnicity.
Traveling is my favorite thing to do. So I took interest to Morgan's travel checklist. I've traveled to many places, so I understood the basics of traveling, but it was really cool to hear where she had been and her destinations for the future. I was also very jealous of her ski trips as I am an avid snowboarder.

Technology and the Imminent Future

We are living in exponential times. Globalization and the growth of technology are setting our generation up as the guinea pigs to a new set of rules, a new set of boundaries, and the most information ever available in human history. Did you know, a week's worth of New York Times contains more information than a person living in the 18th Century was likely to have come across? There are five times as many words in the English language than existed in Shakespeare's time. 1.5 exabytes of unique information will be created this year! That's more than in the last 5,000 years. The top 10 jobs in 2010, did not exist in 2004. The United States ranks 20th in broadband penetration (just behind Luxemburg). We spent less than 70 million dollars on research and development in education last year as a country, while Nintendo spent over 140 million in product research and development alone. One eighth of couples married last year.....met online. If myspace were a country, it would be the eleventh largest country in the world. Anywhere from 2.7 to 6 billion searches are performed on Google every month. 3,000 books are published everyday in the world. Fiber optics now exist that can transmit 10 trillion bits per second down one strand (1,900 CD's or 150 million phone calls per second). All of these facts are leaning towards the demise of the "American Rule" as leader of the world. China's time is approaching as our's was in the early 20th century. The top 25% of China with the highest IQ, is greater than the total population of North America. In 2010, 90% of all science and technology graduates will be asian. These signs are obvious and with our own failing current economy, our attributes will be tested. I am a huge patriot, but our time as head honcho is coming to an end and if you can't except that, you may think of pleading ignorance.

The Dreaded Cover Letter

All the advice given in the articles seems helpful to know. Everything from what your prospective employer will actually read or read first to using a postscript technique. The first article proved to be the most useful. The article claims that the resume is read before the cover letter and only when an employer shows some interest in you may he/she flip back to the cover letter. It also reveals that the cover letter should not be about me but about the company I'm hoping to work for. Most importantly, this article emphasis the tool of personal cover letters. Do not send out mass resumes attached to cover letters in an attempt to sew as many seeds as possible. Take the time to identify with each individual company on their level and in a manner that fits that company best. This will prove more effective in catching the employer's attention. One main tool I was unaware of was the use of postscript. Postscript, especially when hand-written, can be used a display case for your most admirable characteristics and achievements and will definitely help them stand out. All of this information was helpful and will assist me in my process of writing my cover letter.

Interview Articles

From the first article, I've become acquainted with the top six interview questions asked by prospective employers. When it comes to your describing your strengths, be sure that particular characteristic pertains to the job at hand. When you must explain your own weaknesses, be sure to include improvements you've made in this area or how you plan on improving. Employers will usually want to know why you left your last job, just be simple and short about it and make sure not to speak negatively about past employment. If asked to describe a previous work situation, be very specific with your behavior and you used required work skills in the situation. When describing your ideal work environment, be non-specific and include items like work schedule, management style, and daily routines. If asked how you handle mistakes, be sure to give examples of past problems and resolutions that give the employer an image of maturity and responsibility.  When asked about great accomplishments, it would be best to include quantitative results of your actions but be sure to include a couple of examples.

The second article focused on unanswerable questions employers may throw at you while at an interview. A question like "Where do you see yourself in five years?", may throw you off. Just be sure to not be too specific about your goals. Instead, discuss your positive attributes and professional goals that may lead you in a great direction as an employee. A question on salary should be answered possibly, with an inquiry on the salary of the desired position. But if questioned farther, give a salary range that you may desire and avoid providing specific numbers. If questioned about why the employer should hire you, be sure to stay confident and honest but avoid being conceited. When thrown a question like, "If you were a tree, what tree would you be?", don't panic. They're not testing the answer, they're testing how you answer under pressure and under the unexpected. 

All of these questions should be answered before you even walk into the interview room. I'll be prepared knowing what questions will most likely be asked and what might be asked of me. This information will be very useful in the future when I take a step into the interview room. 

In Ten Years

In ten years, I will be 30 years old. I might be living in this country, I'm not sure yet. Living abroad is something I would like to do, at least for a considerable amount of time in my life. This goes back to my belief in the importance of perspective (America is not the only country in the world with an opinion). I will hopefully have traveled many different and exotic places and traveling on a small budget is more exciting and generally makes it easier to find the interesting "holes in the wall." Kids might happen and if they do, I'd like to have two of them probably. A wife or at least a partner would be great to have because I think going through life with someone else is so much more fun. I hope I won't have the need for a car. My house will hopefully be located near water or near snow, so I can surf or snowboard often and teach my kids how to do it. I hope to have left Clemson better than when I got here and have a degree in business to show for my efforts. My occupation does not have to be "big time" or flashy, but i just want to be happy doing whatever it is i do. I would like to be involved in the music industry or at least have a paying musician job on the side because I love it so much. I would love to teach my kids music and get them involved in the "right" music and not waste their time like many people do. I want to have dreams to follow still and memories to look back on.

And if I have a boy, he will have a mohawk.