To celebrate Citi Foundation's Pathways to Progress, Diana Booker
(Service Specialist, Commercial Bank Service Team) shares insights from
her first job.
I began my career at the age of
17 working at a clothing store in Springfield, Virginia. From this job, I
learned to think critically and to embrace change - two lessons that
have been reinforced through my various positions since.
As
an associate, my responsibilities included working the register,
assisting clients in selecting clothing and maintaining the overall
cleanliness and organization of the store. Prior to this role, my
experience consisted of working at my high school bookstore, so while
some of my duties were similar, others were relatively new to me.
Because
of this, I quickly came to understand that making mistakes was a
natural part of the learning process. I realized that the important
thing was to take ownership of errors and to ask for guidance to
properly correct them. Some of the best advice I got was from my father
who said don't make a small mistake worse by trying to cover it up.
Over
time, and with this advice in mind, I was able to become skilled in
crucial areas, such as customer service. I learned to be attentive to
clients who asked for my assistance, and in turn, they often came back
to the store looking for me to help them again. While I eventually
became comfortable with my duties, I was never complacent. Early on, I
realized that each manager had unique expectations. While the store
manager encouraged me to interact with customers, the assistant managers
were more focused on the cleanliness of the store. This was one of my
first lessons in the importance of flexibility and adaptability.
In
my current role as a Service Specialist on the Commercial Bank Service
Team, I can face situations that I have never previously encountered on a
weekly basis. To succeed, I must remain open-minded in my approach and
think critically by leveraging available information and resources. I
have learned that it is important to be able to dissect a situation and
find a solution.
While many of the lessons I
learned during my first job are still relevant to my role today, what I
have found most helpful is my ability to quickly adapt to situations.
When speaking with colleagues I advise them to embrace change because
that is the one thing we can always count on!