Career Pilot - Work Experience Reflections

1.   Using the SBL gun- scanning items and printing the price tag out and putting it back with the item. Using the markdown gun- a little red sticker to put on the clothing. Unpacking the delivery – toys, clothing, shoes, towels, beauty and putting them on the trolley’s. stacking the shelves – putting items from the storage room and put them on the trolley and take them and stack them on the shelves. Electronics -  putting magnets on all the electronical appliances on display so people do not steal them.
2.   The most interesting thing I learnt on work placement is when we were in the meeting I found out that target was in debt last year over 1billion and this year they are still in 600 million in debt this year. I also found interesting was actually doing something hands-on that I enjoyed but cleaning for 3 days was boring.
3.    A description of Target (Work placement) when you first walk into target on the right when you walk in the registers are there and on the left is the toys and clothes and lollies and then when you walk straight that’s the baby clothes and kids clothing and then when you go straight its layby and then left is bikes and toys and on the right is linen, bathroom, hardware and dressing rooms.

1 The most interesting thing I learned while working at the Reject Shop was their terminology, for example, Deep See Recovery  was the act of searching behind products on the shelf to retrieve missing products, rubbish, or products fallen behind the shelving units.
2 Small, but full, it was a small shop but it was manageable, I was able to cope in this environment.
3 Recovery which was pulling stock forwards, folding boxes and throwing them in the bin, stocking shelves, helping customers.

1.   The employability skills I was developing was Customer Service, Team Work, Communication, Problem Solving, Planning & Organising, Self-Management, Learning, Technology, Data Collection and sorting.
2.   Customer service- talking to customers and helping find what they need. Communication- communicating with other staff members and customers. Self-management- being able to work on your own without anyone helping you.
3.   Yes, I think that some of the skills can be taught in the work place and can be learned by yourself and with other staff members. It can also be taught and learnt outside of work and at home/with friend and use your skills.

My work experiences was pretty interesting and I've never done anything like it before. I also didn't have that much to do other then socializing with event attendees and other volunteers. Out of the 32 hours that I was volunteering I only actively worked for about 6 hours, the rest of the time I was just drifting around asking the senior volunteers if they needed help with anything, or attending the presentations. I did enjoy my time there though. The presentations at the event were really cool and some of the topics like PC building and games development related to my interest. I was a little stressed on the first day because I felt lazy and though that I wasn't pulling my weight because I was pretty much sitting down doing nothing for the whole day. But on the second and last day I calmed down and didn't have those feelings.

I really liked working at the event and I got along really well with the other volunteers. I also really enjoyed talking to the events attendees and had a couple of really good conversations with some of them. In my previous jobs I always had trouble communicating with others, and I could never really hold a conversation. So I guess something that I learned about myself while doing this placement is that my communications skills have really improved since I last worked.

The work space was pretty large. The event took place at the Chisholm Frankston campus in building D and building W. The main events and presentations took place in building D, while work shops, e-sports, VR and smaller presentations took place in building W. Going back and forth between these buildings took about 2 and half minutes each way. The week of the event was also really cold so walking back and forth between the two buildings got annoying very quickly. Building D was also very cold because it didn't have heating and the rooms were so large. The main stage area in building D was also a warehouse all of its windows were open, making the place even more cold.

My duties at the event were registering and signing in event attendees, handing out and collecting raffle tickets, telling attendees where to go and what the schedule for the day is if they needed help, cleaning, and moving objects.

1.   The employability skills I was developing was Customer Service, Team Work, Communication, Problem Solving, Planning & Organising, Self-Management, Learning, Technology, Data Collection and sorting.
2.   Customer service- talking to customers and helping find what they need. Communication- communicating with other staff members and customers. Self-management- being able to work on your own without anyone helping you.
3.   Yes, I think that some of the skills can be taught in the work place and can be learned by yourself and with other staff members. It can also be taught and learnt outside of work and at home/with friend and use your skills.

It seems like you got a very good understanding of what it takes to work in retail and with other people. Good work Tara