Learning the ropes, from A-Z
Week one of the new job is under my belt. I can honestly say I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of information to learn, a lot of processes to become accustomed to, and a lot of job-related lingo to pick up on, but I am quite confident that I will get a handle on all of it, in time.
One of the things I struggled with this week was the down time. I have been assured that when I am fully up to speed, that down time will be a thing of the past. However, I was held to only a few processes this week so as to assure that I wouldn’t become overwhelmed. That resulted in some periods where I was sitting and watching my new colleagues working.
I don’t do that very well.
I looked for jobs to do that would lighten the load of the others that I could also set down at a moment’s notice if they said it was time for me to do something else. One of the jobs I took on was a massive stack of invoices that needed to be alphabetized and filed.
I’m an English nerd, after all, so that sounded awesome to me. (Someone is paying me to alphabetize? Yeah, I’m that girl.)
I leaned over masses of invoices and sorted them into different piles. These heaps – with no order whatsoever – became stacks labeled A-D, E-H, and so on through the alphabet. Initially, any folder beginning with a certain letter went into a general pile.
Then I broke each pile down further. For example, all of the files beginning with E were alphabetized. It began as tons of fun. Three days in, it didn’t sound so awesome anymore, but my stubbornness had kicked in, so I knew I would see it through.
When I began to stuff the invoices into the files and then the files into their boxes, I got reinvigorated. I knew I was getting close to being done. Well, a few hours from completion.
After a few hours of stuffing papers in a box, my fingers were shredded with paper cuts. I didn’t have a single finger that had been spared. One pinky almost escaped unscathed, until I hooked it on a partially bent staple and it left a mark. Rookie mistake.
Who knew it could be such a challenge to do filing? That is why a person gets paid to do it!
I know it’s still new, but I have discovered a few things already in my short tenure as an office team member. I like working in this fast-paced environment. I am enjoying learning the ropes of a completely different line of work. I have some nice co-workers who are invested in their jobs and the collaboration they display makes me excited to be a member of the team.
Oh, and it also may be a good idea for me to have Neosporin on hand at all times.