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Iron your shirts and pants. Don't argue with or be rude to customers. Help co-workers even if they don't ask for it unless you aren't supposed to. No texting or personal phone calls while on duty. Write legibly and clearly; I'd print everything. Double check important information like numbers; if you can't read the doctor's handwriting, always call the doctor's office and confirm.
There is no such thing as being indispensible. A few things to suggest
- Work hard. There are people who spend time goofing off and everyone knows who they are.
- Work efficiently. Prioritizing what get's done
- Be responsive to request from clients/customers and bosses
- Welcome and act on feedback; a lot of people either deny feedback or can't seem to address it. The ones that excel act on the feedback they receive. The least effective people are always blaming things on someone else
- Constantly learn; know your job, leading trends, understand your business - the stuff you do, the bigger picture that you are fitting into
- Communicate well written and verbal
- Take initiative and be known as the person who get stuff done quickly and high quality
Give me a moment to analyze each point you made. I agree they are very good points, and I have applied each of them already to a degree, though I still have a long way to go before I'm as good as the head tech or the traveling district tech. My mother and the travelling head tech have known each other for a few months before I started with the company, so I get to hear both his direct messages to me, as well as some of what's said behind my back. One thing my mother passed on from him is that my supervisors have to really "dumb things down" before I learn to do something on my own, and the same for when I get directions. That concerns me a bit, and it's made me interpret what he tells me directly as being stated in a less critical manner than what reflects reality. So, without further ado:
1) Nobody can tell me I don't try. Between helping patients, answering phones, typing and filling prescriptions, directing people to places, sweeping, fixing insurance problems (which I only know how to fix a few right now), and trying to maintain my status among my colleagues as "good and honorable," it often feels like the room's spinning. I suppose you can never try too hard, though.
2) I especially need help in this area! Sometimes it feels like I'm just walking in circles and I expend a lot of energy just to get a little bit of work done. The district head tech mentioned a few things about efficiency, though about 1 time out of 5, I do something completely different because I make a mistake and have to roll with it. I'm judged by a computer on both time and accuracy, and I usually score between 67.2% and 72.4% efficiency, my goal being at least 90%, since the head tech at the pharmacy makes a 97.5%--and since anything beneath 70% is considered exceptionally poor performance. Prioritizing tasks is also difficult, since I want to do everything and blow my colleagues away with my commitment to perfection. Everything moves so fast.
3) I certainly try my best to please everybody who matters to my job at work. Though, I sometimes forget the details of procedures
and need to ask for help, which is hard sometimes because I am trying to build a reputation for being able to fix anything.
4) I certainly pay close attention to feedback, and I even ask for it sometimes. I try not to overdo it, though, as I don't want to be a pest and my superiors are often busy trying to do their own jobs.
5) I try to learn and remember as much as I can, though I never feel quite prepared or competent in everything. Insurance, and finding the locations of prescriptions is difficult for me.
6) I can communicate very well in written, typed, and other non-verbal mediums. When I speak, however, I tend to babble, stutter, and mix around words. I also have developed a verbal tick of "Yes, Ma'am," which I sometimes even use when speaking to male clients, which embarrasses me to the point I'll profusely apologize and try to get done as quick as possible. I could really use help with developing my verbal communication skills, as that is what I am primarily expected to use at work. You would think somebody as fond of the written word and the English language could command it better, but I think writing allows me to edit out the mistakes and verbal tics I make while speaking.
More responses will come tomorrow afternoon, in the meantime, those are my first 6 responses.
Yay, I am going to try to get more specific on what I said to you before generally! But be forewarned, I am just the phenominal genie at advice so it may just blow your mind.
Give me a moment to analyze each point you made. I agree they are very good points, and I have applied each of them already to a degree, though I still have a long way to go before I'm as good as the head tech or the traveling district tech. My mother and the travelling head tech have known each other for a few months before I started with the company, so I get to hear both his direct messages to me, as well as some of what's said behind my back. One thing my mother passed on from him is that my supervisors have to really "dumb things down" before I learn to do something on my own, and the same for when I get directions. That concerns me a bit, and it's made me interpret what he tells me directly as being stated in a less critical manner than what reflects reality. So, without further ado:
1) Nobody can tell me I don't try. Between helping patients, answering phones, typing and filling prescriptions, directing people to places, sweeping, fixing insurance problems (which I only know how to fix a few right now), and trying to maintain my status among my colleagues as "good and honorable," it often feels like the room's spinning. I suppose you can never try too hard, though
Good. It is never wise to appear the slouch, especially if you are considering sticking with this line of work for a decent while. (ugh stupid necessity for pracitality at this juncture). But while working harder is smart, people forget that working smarter is in fact... smarter. Do the job no one else wants to do, and suck it up and grin and bear it. People will respect you for it, and... its a bit of a cheat, but it keeps you from having to do too much at once, and get spread too thinly. You did the worst job, so now your box for gruelling tortuous labor has been checked off, your share is done so you have more time to focus on improving.
But you seem like an all around good person, one who seems consistant in his desire to please at least, so if hard work is the best way for you to show any of your feelings of inner dedication, if it works best for you, keep at it. Just remember to put your overhead mask on before anyone elses, selfish maybe, but at the end of the day ends up being more practically selfless.
2) I especially need help in this area! Sometimes it feels like I'm just walking in circles and I expend a lot of energy just to get a little bit of work done. The district head tech mentioned a few things about efficiency, though about 1 time out of 5, I do something completely different because I make a mistake and have to roll with it. I'm judged by a computer on both time and accuracy, and I usually score between 67.2% and 72.4% efficiency, my goal being at least 90%, since the head tech at the pharmacy makes a 97.5%--and since anything beneath 70% is considered exceptionally poor performance. Prioritizing tasks is also difficult, since I want to do everything and blow my colleagues away with my commitment to perfection. Everything moves so fast.
Oh. Yeah. That is a very hard one. But I guess try to realize that everyone has limitations-sorry I know a bit depressing-but that you can work with what is there to eventually achieve what you are looking for. Rome wasn't built in a day, and while someone was able to invaluably forward think far enough to brainstorm the idea for it, much work and time was put into it to gradually build it into something beautiful. But yeah, this is a tough one because it can disorienting and frusterating(fucking awful are better words), but just try when you feel as if the world is falling apart around you and you don't think that you have the resources to deal, to take a step back. Recollect yourself, go slowly, and try to figure out what is clearly and actually going on around you. Grab onto something, then grab onto something else, swing and swing and just forget about being tangled.
3) I certainly try my best to please everybody who matters to my job at work. Though, I sometimes forget the details of procedures
and need to ask for help, which is hard sometimes
There is nothing wrong with asking for help. That isn't really what you are saying, but it is important none the less. Just know who to ask and when, many people are usually more than willing to spread their share of understanding, because like I am assuming you... They like to feel important. There are some total jerkwads who will give you shit because they get some sort of demented cowardly ego trip out of building themselves up by putting you down, but they are usually easy enough to stay away from. It is hard to figure out where exactly it is most opportune to think of moving farther away from what you are explicitly taught and implicitly developing your own opinions and ways of living-working, but you don't have to completely cut the cord. You can continue to feed off of what you gather, move foreward, gather, gather and move forward, they are not mutually exlusive. It is easier for a flower to grow if it is given the right resources, and if not given-well you are not a flower so you can seek them out yourself. Whoop! Most people, IMO (just learned what that meant...) if they are smart, or are trying to be, continue to learn their entire lives. Use and develop your own insights for sure, but sometimes you can walk instead of run.
Ok last one I am going to comment on for now is the m'am comment, as that is funny and trust me... common. I've worked at several jobs that require CONSTANT customer interation, and after a while people just all start to blur together into some sort of undefinable, soul sucking, blobby monster. The entity. The entity that starts becoming in my mind, 'Ew, why do you want to come here any ways, leave me alone, get out you hell spawn, let me enjoy my misery in peace', but verbally ends up being, "What do you want/how can I help you(off a cliff?) sir or mam?" And that is literal, I actually say 'sir or mam', not 'sir' or 'mam', but 'sir or mam' in conjunction to everyone from body builders to girl scouts. Generally very bluntly, listlessly, rudely, and oftentimes sarcastically in always the most disinterested(although naural for me), voice. It is always some variation of both the sentance and the sentiment. But yeah, don't worry about the customers and how they view you, (at least not to the point where it causes you to actually tear yourself up as you seem to be doing), not saying you have to be absolutely awful (yeah probably don't be), but add a dahs of selfish humor if you need to-you can be just as happy as you seem to try to be making everyone else. You probably get much better results from being courteous than I do with my... whatever that attitude is, so don't get too down about a few bumps on the road.
Yes, I did feel this tension when I chose my career. I let myself be led into economics, while interested in psychology. I now have a masters degree in economics, and have been working as a consultant, managing projects and operations, but I wish I had chosen psychology instead. I am bored with my unchallenging work, while very interested in human behaviour and cognitive capacities.
I work in an office job as a paper pusher. The only thing I can imagine that I'd enjoy doing for money would be playing music. Not a lot of money in that career for someone raising a young kid, so yes, that tension will always be there.
There is no such thing as being indispensible. A few things to suggest
- Work hard. There are people who spend time goofing off and everyone knows who they are.
- Work efficiently. Prioritizing what get's done
- Be responsive to request from clients/customers and bosses
- Welcome and act on feedback; a lot of people either deny feedback or can't seem to address it. The ones that excel act on the feedback they receive. The least effective people are always blaming things on someone else
- Constantly learn; know your job, leading trends, understand your business - the stuff you do, the bigger picture that you are fitting into
- Communicate well written and verbal
- Take initiative and be known as the person who get stuff done quickly and high quality
Agree, and one other thing. Be proactive to fix your mistakes and provide long term solutions to keep them from happening again. When you screw up and the boss hears about it, if you already have a solution and working towards it or implemented it they will see you as competent and not in need of someone to step in and fix your issues.
Yes, I did feel this tension when I chose my career. I let myself be led into economics, while interested in psychology. I now have a masters degree in economics, and have been working as a consultant, managing projects and operations, but I wish I had chosen psychology instead. I am bored with my unchallenging work, while very interested in human behaviour and cognitive capacities.
Yay, I am going to try to get more specific on what I said to you before generally! But be forewarned, I am just the phenominal genie at advice so it may just blow your mind.
.
Good. It is never wise to appear the slouch, especially if you are considering sticking with this line of work for a decent while. (ugh stupid necessity for pracitality at this juncture). But while working harder is smart, people forget that working smarter is in fact... smarter. Do the job no one else wants to do, and suck it up and grin and bear it. People will respect you for it, and... its a bit of a cheat, but it keeps you from having to do too much at once, and get spread too thinly. You did the worst job, so now your box for gruelling tortuous labor has been checked off, your share is done so you have more time to focus on improving.
But you seem like an all around good person, one who seems consistant in his desire to please at least, so if hard work is the best way for you to show any of your feelings of inner dedication, if it works best for you, keep at it. Just remember to put your overhead mask on before anyone elses, selfish maybe, but at the end of the day ends up being more practically selfless.
Oh. Yeah. That is a very hard one. But I guess try to realize that everyone has limitations-sorry I know a bit depressing-but that you can work with what is there to eventually achieve what you are looking for. Rome wasn't built in a day, and while someone was able to invaluably forward think far enough to brainstorm the idea for it, much work and time was put into it to gradually build it into something beautiful. But yeah, this is a tough one because it can disorienting and frusterating(fucking awful are better words), but just try when you feel as if the world is falling apart around you and you don't think that you have the resources to deal, to take a step back. Recollect yourself, go slowly, and try to figure out what is clearly and actually going on around you. Grab onto something, then grab onto something else, swing and swing and just forget about being tangled.
There is nothing wrong with asking for help. That isn't really what you are saying, but it is important none the less. Just know who to ask and when, many people are usually more than willing to spread their share of understanding, because like I am assuming you... They like to feel important. There are some total jerkwads who will give you shit because they get some sort of demented cowardly ego trip out of building themselves up by putting you down, but they are usually easy enough to stay away from. It is hard to figure out where exactly it is most opportune to think of moving farther away from what you are explicitly taught and implicitly developing your own opinions and ways of living-working, but you don't have to completely cut the cord. You can continue to feed off of what you gather, move foreward, gather, gather and move forward, they are not mutually exlusive. It is easier for a flower to grow if it is given the right resources, and if not given-well you are not a flower so you can seek them out yourself. Whoop! Most people, IMO (just learned what that meant...) if they are smart, or are trying to be, continue to learn their entire lives. Use and develop your own insights for sure, but sometimes you can walk instead of run.
Ok last one I am going to comment on for now is the m'am comment, as that is funny and trust me... common. I've worked at several jobs that require CONSTANT customer interation, and after a while people just all start to blur together into some sort of undefinable, soul sucking, blobby monster. The entity. The entity that starts becoming in my mind, 'Ew, why do you want to come here any ways, leave me alone, get out you hell spawn, let me enjoy my misery in peace', but verbally ends up being, "What do you want/how can I help you(off a cliff?) sir or mam?" And that is literal, I actually say 'sir or mam', not 'sir' or 'mam', but 'sir or mam' in conjunction to everyone from body builders to girl scouts. Generally very bluntly, listlessly, rudely, and oftentimes sarcastically in always the most disinterested(although naural for me), voice. It is always some variation of both the sentance and the sentiment. But yeah, don't worry about the customers and how they view you, (at least not to the point where it causes you to actually tear yourself up as you seem to be doing), not saying you have to be absolutely awful (yeah probably don't be), but add a dahs of selfish humor if you need to-you can be just as happy as you seem to try to be making everyone else. You probably get much better results from being courteous than I do with my... whatever that attitude is, so don't get too down about a few bumps on the road.
It sounds to me like the prevailing trend here is that you need to be more focused and present. That is what people usually mean when they say you need to get your act together when they already know you have potential.
The problem with not being focused and present is that it can be hard to realize that you aren't. Heck, it can even be hard to know what it means if you don't know already. Unfortunately, focus isn't something that can really be explained or taught. And that is a problem because everything you describe has "lack of focus" written all over it, and what I'm afraid of is the general propensity for unfocused people to try and fix what they see as their problems, but what they see as the problem is actually a symptom - they're scatterbrained.
It really sounds to me like you have the abilities to do things right but you need to find a way to calm your brain down and be present, and I think if you could manage that, the other problems would solve themselves. I'm not sure if your mind is too hyper or not hyper enough but I think it is one of those two, and that is hard when you don't even realize it, or even what it means to not be that way.
It sounds to me like the prevailing trend here is that you need to be more focused and present. That is what people usually mean when they say you need to get your act together when they already know you have potential.
The problem with not being focused and present is that it can be hard to realize that you aren't. Heck, it can even be hard to know what it means if you don't know already. Unfortunately, focus isn't something that can really be explained or taught. And that is a problem because everything you describe has "lack of focus" written all over it, and what I'm afraid of is the general propensity for unfocused people to try and fix what they see as their problems, but what they see as the problem is actually a symptom - they're scatterbrained.
It really sounds to me like you have the abilities to do things right but you need to find a way to calm your brain down and be present, and I think if you could manage that, the other problems would solve themselves. I'm not sure if your mind is too hyper or not hyper enough but I think it is one of those two, and that is hard when you don't even realize it, or even what it means to not be that way.
Absolutely that is the underlying cause for the particular issues above, IMO. A lack of focus, no not even a lack, but a disconnect between what you want to achieve, what you know you can do, and what results you continually obtain because of not being, as you said, fully present, probably would contribute to a decrease in self esteem and continual frusteration. And then the frusteration leads to even more disorder, more inattention, and inevitably more frusteration. But it is a hard mindset to break- continual frusteration, because it is very present, and oftentimes trying to 'fix' it or having others 'assist' you by calling it out just aggrevates it even further. That is what I am assuming is happening to Magic Qwan. And all other issues stem from it. Sounds depressing, but it doesn't always have to be devestating. You just have to find a way to try to empty out a bit of your brain- be present by just slowing down and walking away from everything twisted inside, look at it and think about what is going on. Just take a step back. Look from the outside in, then look from the inside out.
Along with being scatterbrained (I have this problem, too...the blessing/curse of Ne-dom!), it can become worse when there are several people coming to you with "Can you...?" and drawing you off-task. It's important to learn to balance your own tasks and responding to requests and interruptions.
It sounds to me like the prevailing trend here is that you need to be more focused and present. That is what people usually mean when they say you need to get your act together when they already know you have potential.
The problem with not being focused and present is that it can be hard to realize that you aren't. Heck, it can even be hard to know what it means if you don't know already. Unfortunately, focus isn't something that can really be explained or taught. And that is a problem because everything you describe has "lack of focus" written all over it, and what I'm afraid of is the general propensity for unfocused people to try and fix what they see as their problems, but what they see as the problem is actually a symptom - they're scatterbrained.
It really sounds to me like you have the abilities to do things right but you need to find a way to calm your brain down and be present, and I think if you could manage that, the other problems would solve themselves. I'm not sure if your mind is too hyper or not hyper enough but I think it is one of those two, and that is hard when you don't even realize it, or even what it means to not be that way.
It's easy to feel that way with so much going on, so many new things to learn, so many balls to juggle and new one getting tossed at you all the time! And here you are surrounded by people that already know what they are doing, too.
It's okay and normal to feel disoriented coming into a job and it can take a while to find your way.
I know [MENTION=10082]Starry[/MENTION] does this, and I am training to do fast track in this career. Is it all one-on-one counseling? I might be able to do well at that...better than dealing with the angry public.
It's good if you can get a cushy job as a school counsellor or something, but most of the other positions in the field are less than ideal and quite undervalued and underpaid, and it's also more competitive than you might think. Heeding Starry's advice in the other thread is more of what is "truly" good for you IMO. I would also urge you to not overlook how much a physical labor job in a more masculine setting would enable you with your self-concept and abilities rather than the more female-dominated fields, as it looks like you're seeking out more of what you already get at home subconsciously.
I see you thriving in an environment with few regulations and lots of flexibility. I'm not sure how much paperwork or regulations social work entails, but I'm thinking there are lots and lots of rules. I think you'd do better as a fund raiser for a charity of some sort.
It's good if you can get a cushy job as a school counsellor or something, but most of the other positions in the field are less than ideal and quite undervalued and underpaid, and it's also more competitive than you might think. Heeding Starry's advice in the other thread is more of what is "truly" good for you IMO. I would also urge you to not overlook how much a physical labor job in a more masculine setting would enable you with your self-concept and abilities rather than the more female-dominated fields, as it looks like you're seeking out more of what you already get at home subconsciously.
Maybe, but I prefer to do physical things alone, if possible. I work better alone, though I don't mind a little interaction here and there so long as it's not a conflict or uncomfortable interaction.
. 
