Kafka, Businessrun, formulas and a cactus: A look at my first year of training
You know those little capuchin monkeys that cling to their mother’s belly? That could have been me – at least on my first day at work. I had to leave my mother’s save zone but nevertheless, full of expectations and nervous excitement, I stood at the front door; all the faces were foreign to me and I knew that from now on, I was on my own. Now it’s a year later, and I can say that it was an informative and eventful first year of training. And that nervousness I felt at the beginning? It definitely wasn’t necessary.
Experience: From an unfit couch potato to a “well-conditioned” runner
“Even unfit people can participate – and besides, it’s super funny!” This is what I was being told when I signed up for the Businessrun. But don’t forget: When someone tries to persuade you to do something, they’re always going to use convincing arguments. When I heard that I’d be running almost five kilometers, my enthusiasm started to wane, considering that I’m a couch potato and not a sports-loving athlete. Nevertheless, since my team took it as an opportunity to make a competition to see who would be first across the finish line, I gradually became more and more incentivized and began to train for it. But luckily on the day of the Businessrun, everyone’s initial motivation was gone again and our motto became: “The main thing is that we get over the finish line!” Even though I slowed down a few times and cyclists almost took me out, we managed to get it done. Ultimately, it was fun and had a positive impact on me because it’s what got me to take up sports again.
Learned: Writing like Kafka
When it came to doing writing assignments in school, my texts weren’t very imaginative; I tried to expand 500 words of text to 800 by using all kinds of filler words. “It was a beautiful day” would be turned into “It was undoubtedly a truly beautiful day.” How many of you can identify with this approach? In my first year of training, I learned how to improve my texts. The saying “quality over quantity” is often used in relation to products, but it also applies to texts. A short, entertaining piece is much more likely to stick with the reader than a boring, miserable essay. To be able to write a good text, you have to ask yourself a few questions before you start: What type of text should it be? Who is the target audience, and what’s the objective that I want to reach? What is my message? I’ve already learned that, and I also almost got rid of my biggest weakness: comma usage. Over the last 12 months, I, was able to improve on this, and, I’m, sure, that, in my blog post, you will now pay close attention to comma usage, and, for sure, you won’t find any errors.
Experience: Cactuses don’t hurt as much as expected
In June I was invited to come along to a trade fair for the first time: the Fifteen Seconds Festival in Graz. My job was to coordinate appointments with the visitors for our DDoS Defence Room. That’s why, equipped with a tablet, I found myself standing in front of our booth. Apparently, I looked like an info assistant, because some visitors asked me questions like where they could find tissues or where the toilet is. This was really challenging for the capuchin monkey inside of me. But I stayed strong and didn’t search for mommy’s safe zone. And you know what: it actually was great fun to talk to all these to me foreign people. I’ve learned much about them, about their interests and I’ve experienced that cactuses don’t hurt as much as expected. Because yes: as I looked like an info assistant, there was actually one peron asking me if I can pet his cactus, while he’s playing the game. I can tell you, crazy stuff happens at these fairs …
Learned: How can my parcel withstand a fall from a height of 80 centimeters?
There are packaging guidelines that a package must comply with. One of them is that it’s supposed to withstand a fall from a height of 80 centimeters. In order for fragile porcelain plates to also be able to survive, here’s the solution: Calculate the fall velocity with the help of a mathematical formula (V = g*t). (Or you can simply calculate it here.) Okay, so I’m joking of course – math isn’t necessarily one of my strengths. The answer is to use plenty of bubble wrap! You can use it to separate fragile objects from each other. It’s also important to pack the package so that nothing can fly around. To finish things off, it’s sealed up with some blue Anexia packaging tape. Voilá! Now your package should be able to survive an 80-centimeter fall. And here’s a small hint to everyone who tends to use too much tape: Even if the packaging tape looks cool, you don’t have to cover the whole box with it. It saves the environment.
I learned a lot in first my year of training – it wasn’t just about writing good texts and preparing packages. I also got a taste of data analysis and recently took on responsibility for our social media channels. I’ve been very involved in communications, but I’ve also become more independently and self-confident, I’ve learned to schedule my work, organize things, and more.
When I ask other trainees why they chose to take their profession, they usually tell me that they didn’t find anything else. I think that’s too bad. I can say that I couldn’t imagine a better apprenticeship. I have the best colleagues who sing me a song for my birthday, help me when I need assistance, and wait for me at the Businessrun because I’m not the fastest of the bunch. During this year of training, I experienced the funniest car and train rides on my way to work. I learned a lot, laughed, and met many new people – not only work colleagues, but also train buddies and vocational school colleagues. Now I’m looking forward to my second year of training. See ya! Stay tuned!