Hakeem shares what he learnt about managing your own work while trying out different jobs for the Nine to Five with Stacey Dooley.
Hakeem talks about what it means to manage your own work.
My name's Hakeem. I'm sixteen and I'm from London.
"Yeah, it smells good."
I have just finished back to back work experience in a range of different industries, as part of Stacey Dooley's new series Nine to Five.
"I got faith on you."
"You should be proud of what you achieved today." "Thank you."
The key skill I learn is optimising my own work.
"I'll definitely give it my best shot."
"To be honest I'm very optimistic."
Manage me own work and then harness your skills and your time wisely in the workplace.
"Like, with this, she has to touch it, she has to fold it. If anything, I'm making it a little bit easier."
Managing all work would include things like prioritising, meeting deadlines and actually showing up for work, cause that's an important one. And, being on time.
"Nice and quick!"
"Oh, the alarms didn't quite go off this morning."
"I don't believe that between five of you, you couldn't get an alarm to work between you. We shouldn't be late."
Nobody else is going to do that for you. It's 100% your job, so you should be the one doing it.
"We are genuinely really sorry, Gary."
"The proof's in the pudding. And we'll see what it's like at the end of the day."
So, in a work place you're there to work. But, you're also there to learn.
"You inspect some pods."
So, look around you, take things from others.
"So, that releases the brake." "Okay."
"Then you just want to push that slowly, gently forward." "O oh."
When there is a problem you should always try and find a solution before you go to your boss.
"I'm not feeling too nervous, because it seems quite straight forward."
Keep your head down. Don't worry about what other people are doing. Try to impress your boss, because at the end of the day he's only going to see you.
"Very happy."
"It's nice to hear some positivity."
"Like, I'm busting out four or five shoes in like ten minutes, bro."
But when you are at work, like, always watch the professionals, because they have always got something that you don't, so just take it in and…
"So, it's actually right, in that colour."
At least then you showed your boss that you tried. He's going to sit there, like, what? That's an A star student right there.
"Over the two days, just knuckle down, just gets on with it. He's been a credit."
What Hakeem has learnt:
- First things first: show up for work! Be there, be on time and be reliable
- Learn to prioritise according to your deadlines. Write a to-do list and work your way through it in order of importance
- Optimise your work: refine your skills and use your time wisely
- Do seek advice, but try to be independent too. Before going to your boss with a problem, ask yourself: is there a solution I can suggest?
- Bonus tip: ask yourself whether it's quality over quantity, or vice-versa. Is it more important that you get through a lot of work quickly, or to spend extra time on certain tasks to make sure they're near perfect? When in doubt, talk to your boss!
What does it mean to have a plan B?
How to keep developing while you chase your dreams.
Watch The Nine to Five with Stacey Dooley on iPlayer
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