Chaya rethinks her assessment of what an ideal workplace looks like

As told to Leah Greenburg

I’m really glad that I didn’t jump into a college program “just because” I should. It’s been almost six months at my current job, and I’ve learned things that no college could have taught me. I just needed to experience real work for myself to come to these conclusions. That’s the kind of person I am; I prefer to take things slowly and thoughtfully, and make a decision that makes sense to me. After all, I’m the one that will have to live with the decision, and I prefer to have no one to blame (or thank) but myself!

So, what is the great conclusion that I’ve come to?

First, there are a few realizations that working in a home salon have taught me. For one, at this point in my life, I do not want to work at home or for someone who works out of their own home. I like the office environment, and I really appreciate professional standards. Also, now that I’m working in an administrative job, I’m starting to see the benefits of getting professional training. Yes, I’m great at figuring out software myself and can watch tutorials when I get stuck, but I’d love to feel like I have a real understanding of what I’m doing and learn it properly. I’m thinking of getting the kind of training I’d need to get the professional job I’d really enjoy.

At our final session this week, we went through all of this, and now I finally feel like I’m ready to make a plan. I’ve gained clarity on things that I didn’t think mattered so much, like my values of open communication and honesty. I’ve learned about the kind of work environment that works for me (not the kind I’m currently in). Putting all of that together with my strengths as a driven, organized, people person, I’m starting to form a picture of what my ideal work will look like. It reminded me of a time we were trying to decipher an old recipe card from my grandmother. We had to slowly, carefully figure out what each of the ingredients were, and try to guess at what some of the rubbed out letters should have been… because there was only a recipe, but it didn’t say what it was for! Here, discovering all these interesting parts about myself was like figuring out what the ingredients are, and finally, at the end, concluding what I was given all these great skills for, and what recipe I was born to create in my work life!