Gaining Experience

It has been two and a half weeks since I have stepped into the working world. Even though two weeks sounds minimal, the experienced I have gained so far is priceless.

I have been given some tasks to do around different divisions of RMB. Even though these tasks are straightforward, it is a great feeling to be trusted in doing something without someone looking over my shoulder to see whether I’m doing it right. The supervisors indicate what tasks we should do in such a clear manner that it leaves no space for vagueness.

The tasks that Mpho and I have been doing so far is fun, it is educational, and most of all it is a means of helping us understand more about Rand Merchant Bank. In the past two weeks we have had three different tasks to tackle. Firstly we started working in the Project Support Office where they have been working on change management and how this process effects RMB and its workers (www.change-management.com). Here we did the part that I know best: researching. Our main topic was change management. It was great to have Mpho by my side because she had quite a thorough background in this area and she helped me understand certain aspects of this topic. It was a great opportunity for me to learn new concepts in the business/corporate world. We still have to give our supervisor feedback on our research which I’m quite nervous and excited about at the same time.

Our second task was working in the Human Resources division of RMB. We have had a great time there so far. The whole division consists out of ladies, so it can only be fun. This was an entirely different experience from the previous week. We dealt with the recruitment side of HR where we had to help organise the incoming applications for RMB. It was quite interesting to see how the whole process works. We handled the entering of applicants’ data into the system, we had to decline applications or set up interviews for successful ones, and I even had to set up a video conference call. That was quite nerve wrecking seeing that there were some technical problems, but in the end it turned out very well.

It was great learning how to use new computer programs such as Lotus Notes and also learning how to use the technology for the video conference. And its good to know I’m walking out of the office every day having learnt new things…what a great feeling.