Taking the training wheels off.

Assalamualaikum,

This is a surprise. I don’t usually update the blog more than once a week, but now, I’m writing my third post for this week itself. Huh, I’m surprising even myself. Is this what high-level procrastination does? I have a 2-page draft of my 6,000 words assignment due on Friday, and another 3,000 words assignment due on December 14th. But instead, here I am.

Good job Nazu, good job.

Anyhow. This is just going to be a short update (I hope), because I need to go and get ready for work. But I thought I could just jot this thought that I’m having down, before I forget about it and ended up discarding this thought away (like I’ve done oh so many times before).

This weekend is my fourth weekend at work. Yesterday was also the first day that I get to be ‘in charge’ for part of the day. You see, the position that I was employed in is a Grade 4 Customer Services Assistant. I report directly to my line manager, who actually manages two libraries under her portfolio. Under me, we have two Grade 3 staffs, and two Grade 3 staffs. Usually, my manager would alternate between the two libraries during our weekend shifts, moving between my library and the other library. But since I’m a new staff, she’s been staying around in my library every since I started working, just so that I don’t get too overwhelmed with how things are.

But yesterday, she spent half the day at my library, before heading over to the other library after lunch. Now, it’s not that big of a deal. My manager even have the Grade 4 staff from the other library to come and join me at my library, just so I get to see how we would do things in the absence of a manager. The Grades 2&3 staffs are also good at what they do, in fact, they’re brilliant. So I have nothing to worry about – I joined a great team and they’re amazing.

I guess it’s just more of the realization that – oh, shit, if anything happens, I’m the first point of contact in the library. I actually did not realize that when I applied for this position that it was a supervisory position – that I was supposed to supervise the team and make sure that everything goes okay. Okay, it’s not like I’ve never led a team or anything. I’ve directed Projek Inspirasi and all that stuff.

But I guess it’s a little different when it’s in a work environment?

A month ago, as I was going through the initial training and going over the probation process and the trainings that I needed to do, my manager and I talked about the application and interview process. I recalled going to the interview with 4 other people, all of whom were older than me. She mentioned that during recruitment, they were actually trying to fill two vacancies, one in my library, and one in a different library. But they were only able to fill one of it – which is my position. The other position is still vacant at the moment, because I was the only successful candidate during the recruitment process.

Now – that gave me a feeling of accomplishment, in the sense that holy shit, I made it. But it also makes me realized that they took a leap of faith to hire me. My manager told me that my library background (I worked 3.5 years in College Library in my undergraduate university) was beneficial to them, since it would take me a shorter time to learn the processes and procedures. Plus, I’ve worked in a university and am a university student myself, so I understand how a university works and operates. So even without that supervisory skills or experiences, which they were willing to train me on, I was cut out for the job.

That leads to me thinking – this is not just a job. It is a responsibility. When I came here to the UK, I knew I wanted a job because I wanted to fill my time and ensure that I’m not staying at home most of the time. Getting this job gives me a reason to leave the house, to meet people, and to hone my skills. But now that I think of it – it’s so much more than just what the job brings to me. It’s also about what I give to people – to the students that come to the library, to my team at the library, and to the university.

It gives me a new perspective to think about now, doesn’t it?

When work is not just work, but a responsibility. And what’s more fun about it is – I actually enjoy it. Nothing beats looking forward to go to work, even if it means leaving the house 1.5 hours before my shift starts, taking the train 20-30 minutes and walking for another 20-30 minutes to the library.

Alright, I better go off now. Until next time, stay awesome people.