Hallo zusammen!
This week was uneventful as well, and as any adult my age should be, I am thrilled. I love ending a week and appreciating mundanity. In a recent development, however, my hammock has disappeared. To my devoted fans, this must be tragic news. Whereas in weeks past, I would detail the tremendous joy and whimsy found in everyday moments at work, I am unreservedly upset about this loss.
No one knows where it is…
Despite this loss, I remain optimistic about this week’s efforts at work. At KIEZconnect, we are diligently working, as all NGOs do, to arrange the highly anticipated first workshop. This workshop, I hope, will serve as a model for a more efficient and non-normative democracy. To avoid repeating myself, I will not elaborate further, though I will update this blog as the project progresses.
As it is Week 5, I am tasked with recognizing my own progression in soft/transferable skills at work! I truly believe this program is foundational to my future success in professional settings. It has presented a wide assortment of challenges, many of which I have already turned into interview answers. My mother and I bond over discussions about corporate culture, and she is the source of most of my business knowledge. Together, we brainstorm interview answers to refine LinkedIn material and prepare for future interviews.
Though I may never have the pleasure of earning an MBA, I believe this stage of my life is best spent developing the most common executive communication strategies. These strategies include, but are not limited to: doublespeak/doublethink, artful passive-aggressiveness, corporate posturing, and general mission-organization skills.
In the liberal arts field, we are often criticized for producing abstract products. Many fields in my areas of interest rely on abstract and malleable variables. In fact, my forensic science teacher once expressed his distaste for “relative facts,” a concept championed by my legal idols, which asserts that certain facts are true in one context and false in others. This troubles many in STEM—understandably so. Both of my gym friends, for example, are engineers and openly express dissatisfaction with the legal industry based on this concept alone.
Lately, I’ve noticed that the internet has devalued much of the artistry in practicing law. This is evident in a few ways. Recently, people have assigned a negative connotation to the act of arguing. While this reflects a broader shift away from confrontation, I believe it’s a call to revisit these lost arts.
Some of you may view these skills negatively, and I naturally share some of that sentiment. However, it must be acknowledged that much of the negativity stems from a decline in skill rather than the skills themselves.
These skills can clearly be used for social good, and it disappoints me to see them gradually disappear from the public eye. At work, I practice them constantly. Whether I need someone to share a document, collaborate on a paper, or send a confirmation, people often need a nudge to get things done. Though I may sound like Hobbes, these nudges usually must be given rather than expected. There’s an art to it, as there is to everything. This internship has given me the opportunity to use my entry-level communication strategies to streamline democracy, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
I find most hard skills are transferable if you work hard enough to make them so. That said, my legal analysis improves week after week. It’s becoming much easier to construct arguments and presentations on tax, zoning, or labor laws for my colleagues. Considering my goals at the start of the internship, I’m thrilled to practice these skills in a relatively low-stakes environment.
Regarding global competencies, I can confidently say I am especially lucky to have the parents I do. From as early as two years old, they took me from horizon to horizon to broaden my worldview. Beyond traveling frequently, I also had the fortune of living in the UK for two years. As a result, Europe doesn’t shock me. That competency fosters a sandbox mentality in me rather than fear or uncertainty. This past month has been exploratory and foundational for me as both a person and a professional—a growth I believe was bolstered by my global experiences.
As we near the end, I find it essential to address the tone of my earlier paragraphs. Soft skills are my bread and butter (which are both soft! [depending on temperature.]). The last six years of my life have centered on communication and argumentation, skills I believe are highly undervalued as peripheral. Though it’s a matter of opinion, it’s worth noting that this is especially true in a personal context. That said, it might seem like I consider them a necessity for everyone, which would paint me in a rather judgmental light.
Whereas in other posts I’ve ended with a random quote or comment from a colleague, I’d like to conclude this one with a lesson I’ve learned:
Am I encouraging bad behavior through my fascination with these strategies, or am I pushing forward a more confrontational vision for my future? If so, I may need to reflect on that further—I would never want to be a net negative in anyone’s life.
Who really knows? As any law professor will tell you,
It depends
See yall next time 🙂
Alistair N
