MY EX-WORK EXPERIENCES
MARIA BLANCHE TIMBANG-AGUSTIN
As we graduate from college, there’s only one thing left on our minds is that to look for a job! A job that will cultivate and enhance our abilities, skills and the things we’ve learned through the years that we spent in school. And of course for us to provide for ourselves and for our families in the future.
My first job was as a branch accountant in a main office of a drugstore company. During my work experience at the said company, I was fortunate enough to have experienced firsthand and learned many different sides of what goes into the daily operations of the different branches of the company. My main responsibilities were preparing financial statements for the five different drugstore branches, ensuring each branch’s daily operations and making sure of the operating mechanism are in accordance with the company’s policies and procedures.
During the first week of work, I was overwhelmed by the work and the responsibilities that were placed on me, but with the help of my co-workers and my supervisors, who have had years of experience in the company, I felt confident and supported as I knew my work would be conformed and any query were explained. By observing and learning from them, I managed to pickup tips and learned different types of skills, from learning to communicate and deal with the employees in the branches, to reading and decoding many different types of transactions. Overall, my work experienced in the drugstore company, was positive. It was a fruitful and wonderful learning experience.
Unfortunately, I quit my job on the drugstore company and joined in a government owned agency as a government employee. I decided to quit for a better opportunity in government services because I was able to pass the Civil Service Exam which was like the passport in entering a career in government. It was totally different job content and working atmosphere. Here, this makes me think about my career development and personal growth carefully.
Many people go into government to get that much-desired balance of bringing home a nice paycheck, getting great benefits, and having the chance to make a difference. There may be no better place to give back than through government service. Every job, in its essence, is intended to help our country and our world in some way. On the other hand, choosing this path can be tough if you are the kind of person who needs to see immediate results in order to be fulfilled. Real, lasting results are sometimes slow in the making. The process of getting things done takes patience, perseverance and a positive attitude. Again, due to the saying “family first”, I have no choice but to quit my job to focus on having my own family. I left the job that I thought I would work for the rest of my life. Working in government was worthwhile considering all the sacrifices and lessons I’ve earned in the agency. But hey, it doesn’t stop here because benefiting from these “ex-work experiences” will surely be applicable in the next job we want to apply in.
Work experience is an important part of becoming “workplace-ready”, building useful skills that cannot be target in the classroom as well as contacts that student otherwise would not exposed to. It can be in a very wide range of places, including offices, shops, factories, local authorities, manufacturing, engineering and IT companies, farms and garden centres - so you should be able to find a placement in an area that interests you.
In fact, the only downside is that you won’t get paid!