Time to Step-Up

Hi Everyone

In my last blog I spoke about my supervisors making exciting comments about me and my future with the department. I was on such a high from that and must admit I still am. However, when comes praise, also comes responsibility. I realised after Caroline and Rebecca said those things to me to the other day that I needed to step up and prove that I can handle responsibility.

Caroline gave me an important task to work on. It was given only to me. She offered me the chance to come and speak with her if I needed help, which was great but yes, it was for me to organise on my own. It was a media release that had to be sent ASAP. So I needed to write it (in DCA style). I also needed to get it approved from two different places and call journalists to promote and walk them through the story.

I must admit though it was a little bit daunting, to be given a task that was so important to an event that was happening in a week. However, it was also very exciting. I had realised this was probably also somewhat of a test and although scary, it felt fantastic that Caroline believed in me to organise it. I really wanted to do my best and not let her down.

I wrote the media release and sent it off to approval from the first place necessary. It turned out the seminar was already booked up. However, Ilsa, who I was liaising with about this said she loved the release and could we try to get it published after the fact with the angle of what a success the day was. I agreed and it felt great to start a relationship with someone from another department and being a point person on a specific project.

When I relayed all of this to Caroline later in the day, she was happy for me to take the reigns of this project and continue working with Ilsa.

I guess what I am saying is although when we, as soon to be graduates get given important projects, which we surely will when we get jobs, we need to just believe in ourselves and jump in. We all carry some fear that perhaps there may be a problem somewhere along the way but that can happen to anyone in business. We need to remember that we do have skills and the only way to expand and improve them is to put them into practice. This is how we learn. Yesterday was a great day for me. I left feeling as though I had done my best, started a new relationship, that my supervisor was happy with me and that I was really learning.

Jem