Some life skills to think about

After meeting with one of my journalism professors I started thinking about how many times I referenced this job and how it related to what he was talking about in regards to his teaching career. And then really how it can be applicable to any career.
We talked about what turns people’s listening off and what keeps it cranked up on high. He is quite a long –winded professor and realizes that after a while, his students just stop listening. There are things he is working to make his lectures and explanations more enjoyable and make students want to listen to him. I know, as a manager, I have these tendencies as well. I can totally tell when the CP! staff has stopped listening to me.

This is a life skill to work on: keeping a captive audience.

A different but very important subject was that of common customer service courtesies. I mentioned I have applied for a job via e-mail (like they asked) and haven’t even heard back with a simple “thanks for applying” response. I think it is a nice gesture, to put the applicant a slight ease, to acknowledge the recipient has received this important and official e-mail. My professor however, has a differing opinion. He said that takes time. I argued they could do an automated response. He had the same argument. There are just some things that don’t really need a response. He told me just doesn’t respond to e-mails containing questions and inquiries he has already answered. This relates back to the issue of maintaining a captive audience. He isn’t being avoidant; he is just using trying to use his time wisely as well as those who are asking the questions. I then started to think about how much time I spend responding to e-mails. And then responding to e-mails on things I have already talked about.

Another life skill to work on is: know how to use your time.
Learn what to spend your time on and what to let slide.

When conducting interviews, I used to call every single person who applied to Centertainment positions. Either to tell them they got an interview or not, and then if they got the job or not. I have realized what kind of time this takes up, trying to get a hold of people you may never come in contact with again. You can do just the same e-mailing everyone who did not get the job or interview and still encourage them to apply again. I have come to the conclusion it really is all in how you look at the situation. There are ways to be efficient and still be personable. Does that make sense or am I just rambling here?


As you can see this is just the beginning of what working on campus can do for you. Working on campus allows you to learn skills that are not only applicable at your job, but are applicable to your classes, outside jobs and internships, your future careers and hopefully your life in general. I am reminded of this every single day. EVERY SINGLE DAY!