Ray Lyman Wilbur, a renowned American medical doctor once said “In a world full of uncertainties, the record of what has gone before as human experience is as sure and reliable as anything that we are born with” (UOFLIFE, pp.71). Experience makes up a vital fragment of our personality since it influences our tastes, preferences, inclinations as well as the dictates of our passion. My working experience is an apt manifestation of this phenomenon. My aspiration to delve into the world of business, particularly economics, has been greatly influenced by my seven years working experience in vastly interactive and social environment.
My first job as a sales person exposed me to a fast moving economic world that demanded a highly critical character. Sales work is all about an individual’s personality and the difference between an effective and poor sales person is generally rooted in the person’s nature. This experience helped me develop interpersonal as well as communicative skills that enabled me get on well with people. In addition, the fact that my employment was on a commission based salary helped me develop a hardworking culture under minimal or no supervision. To be successful in sales, one has to be extremely social so as to be able to engage customers positively and convincingly.
My second job as a waiter in a busy restaurant brought me in contact with people from different walks of life. The transient face to face interactions with the customers enabled me develop the ability to rapidly adapt to people’s varied demands and expectations, characteristics of the dynamic business world. Moreover, the instantaneous feedback from the customers helped me evaluate and improve my analytical skills based on needs, wants and demands. It is my belief that this acquired skill will serve as a boon in my financial career which requires apt analytical skills in order to satisfy the divergent human needs. What is more, it was through my diligence and hard work that I was elevated to the position of supervisor in the same restaurant. My main areas of duty were to co-ordinate other workers as well as organize and keep records from different departments in the restaurant. Serving at this capacity, I developed interpersonal skills, teamwork and managerial dexterity.
Lastly, through my quest for professional grounding I was able to get a job as a high school teacher. In this regard, I was able to interact with students from different walks of life in a mixed-race school. The direct contact I had with the students provided me with an opportunity to relate with them, not only at an academic level but also at a social and personal level. In the line of business, diversity is very critical. This I discovered while pursuing business studies, and where I aced “As” in Calculus, Business and Economics. Teaching a mixed-race school enabled me realize that culture, race and other demographic differences played an important role in determining an individual’s inclination (in this case needs and wants). It is through understanding such diversity that one is able to satisfy the needs of his/her customers.
In conclusion, I believe that my past work experience has equipped me with necessary, but not all, needed qualities and pre-requisites for a good economist. In this regard, a degree in economics from the University of Southern California will not only develop my professional expertise but will also develop me into a specialized economist through which I will better serve people and contribute to the development of the business world.
Work Cited
UOFLIFE. How about a fourth or fifth helping? Retrieved 30th Jan 2012 from
http://www.uoflife.com/wc/concepts/thoughts3.htm
