Job Presentations

I really enjoyed Gretchen’s presentation. I’ve never met anyone who truly enjoys their job and loves talking about it with other people. Gretchen’s occupation is one I was not familiar with so it was refreshing to hear the stories of her group and what they encounter on the job. It was great to hear how her team evolved within the company and how she came to lead it. It was interesting to hear about her educational and professional background as well as the educational and professional background of her colleagues. They all have different college degrees and areas of interest and specialty. This shows that workers do not have to be pigeon holed into one job type based on their educational background. For example, having a computer science degree could lead to other jobs that are not strictly computer science related. An unrelated field could be successfully pursued. This is especially important if one is not happy with their job or field or feels they want to expand their knowledge into other areas. Gretchen and her two colleagues are all different ages, but they still seem to work well together. Unlike in some workplaces, age does not cause issues with leadership and work style. They are able to successfully combine their knowledge, expertise, and other strengths to be successful as team. Her presentation taught me that great experiences can turn up in unexpected places and at unexpected times. I should be able and willing to embrace these opportunities.



Jeff’s presentation provided some great professional guidelines. One suggestion was to be able to speak to business people about technical matters. This is especially important to those in an IT-related field who have to interact with business folks who may not be technologically inclined. I find that this happens at my job with both other teams and their managers. Sometimes it’s hard to know how much technical knowledge a person has and how much you have to tailor your explanation to them. I have found that most appreciate a more thorough explanation that they can understand. Jeff also discussed the need to utilize emotional intelligence, or using people’s emotions to better manage and understand them. This helps with getting along with all types of workers. This is a skill I hope to develop further as I advance in my career. It will help me getting along with peers and managers. Jeff’s job and those that work for him represent another job function that is available and that has come about in recent years. Technology is changing so fast, and this leads to a fast changing job market.