John Alvin Iting, Project Administrator
When I was younger, I would rush through everything. I ate quickly, I washed quickly, I tried to finish everything as quickly as possible so I could get on to the next thing. I was very impatient, always looking for something more than I had and moving too fast to really master anything.
This changed after I joined the Sharesource team and entered the Graduate Program. All of a sudden, I was putting my electronics knowledge to the test and finding that creating fibre optics networks is not something that can be rushed. Networks are complicated, and there are a lot of elements that need to be right for everything to work as it should. All of a sudden, rushing through things was no longer an option.
I will admit that needing to be patient was probably the hardest of all the things I learned during the 3-month training program. I was training in my first job after college, learning all about the technical elements of fibre optics that were barely covered in college, but I couldn’t learn properly if I rushed through a book like I could when I was studying. My limited English at the time forced me to slow down a bit as well. While some of the specifics of fibre optics initially were like a different language, in a sense, it was all in a new language for me.
I saw people who had started before me, who took their time and did things properly, getting promotions and moving their careers ahead. I want to be good at what I do, and I want to progress to a project manager role in the near future. The team and mentors through Sharesource continue to share knowledge and skills to help me achieve that goal, even 2 years after I started the job and went through the program.
Working with the Sharesource team has been fantastic, I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive working environment. My confidence has increased, both in my ability to communicate with stronger English skills and my ability to deliver tasks at work. Taking time to slow down and do things properly extends outside of work – I find I can enjoy simple things like food and sleep more by not rushing to the next thing or thinking I am wasting my time doing these things. I’m not a new person, but I definitely feel like a better person.
I know there are lots of graduates like me who are in a hurry to get working, who want to have their dream job and be really good at what they do already. The best advice I could give them is just to be patient. Real-world experience takes time, and getting things right is always more important than just getting things done. Don’t hesitate to look for opportunities to learn and grow, and know that if you take the right steps, everything will fall into place.
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