I have learned a lot in my time in London so far. Speaking skill wise, I believe I have made a lot of progress professionally just by being in the environment of “real” work in the business world. 

When speaking of soft skills, I believe I have become a better listener and a more patient worker. The community centre I work for has very little staff, so a lot of things get spread around and less organized in the way of communication. Learning to listen intently (and not just listening for content but also listening closely because everyone in this place speaks so low in volume) has become integral to understanding what my role is in what needs to get done. I have learned to be flexible as well because when there are less employees, as I said before, work gets spread around. By this I mean that there are a lot of tasks to be taken on in short amounts of time, and that means everyone helps out everyone, even if it is not fully in your “area”. For example, I was tasked to help leaflet around a neighborhood to spread awareness for an upcoming event. I also was tasked to decorate/write on a sign for the said upcoming event, which I really enjoyed. This just goes to cement the fact of fluidity in a job where there are less rigid distinctions of roles. I enjoy it, and I think that it is more common among smaller businesses – not so much found in giant corporations where operations are more rigid and defined. 

Looking at hard skills that I have gained, I have become an expert in using Canva. It is such a useful and efficient tool that I will definitely use for a lot of time to come. I also have started to be able to edit our company’s website through WordPress which I had very little experience with before. I also now know how to laminate posters, how to leaflet, how to hold a team meeting, and how to order papers to be printed. 

All of these skills will not be wasted in my future professional, academic, and personal life moving forward. Personally, listening is one of the greatest attributes to possess and become skilled at – it keeps relationships alive and thriving. Professionally and academically, knowing how to edit websites, design using Canva, and listen to a superior give you feedback about designs/creative projects is great practice for my continuing roles in the big wide workforce of the future.