IxD302 – Week 3 – Office Etiquette and professionalism
Today’s lecture was all about preparing us for the professional work life… something I haven’t had very much experience. However I’m pretty confident that I will be able to learn quickly and adjust from the casual shop assistant role in my local shop, where I deal with my friends, family and local people who I know and respect so much, to a completely larger environment, learning to work with new people everyday! Daniel broke it down quite well for us. There will be four main areas we need to learn different mannerisms and professional styles towards working in. They include…
- The Studio
- The Phone
- Meetings
To make it easier for myself to reflect back on all of the tips and ‘rules’, I summarised them all into bubble maps for each area…
I found out some really useful tips and discussing it has actually made me excited to surround myself with people who have similar interests with me, in a professional manner. One thing Daniel said to me that really stuck, is that we have to start becoming comfortable, with being uncomfortable. At first, it will be hard to introduce myself to new colleagues, in meetings and even on the phone. I don’t have very much experience in the field, however this will be the best way for me to learn.
Group Task
In Breakout Groups we had to Conduct a meeting about the topics discussed today. In my group of 4, we each assumed a role listed below:
Notetaker
Meeting leader (raises points for discussion)
Dumb question asker (asks dumb questions)
Contributors (field questions / discuss points)
What we discussed…
In our group, we spoke a lot about our own experiences in the different environments we had all worked in. We spoke about different scenarios we might find ourselves in and also struggles with doubting ourselves when getting a new job. I think this was a really useful exercise to complete.
Task of the week…
Week 3 – Minor Task of the week…
Write a mock email in any of these subject areas…
I decided to go for the topic…
“Asking for clarification on something you didn’t understand from a team member.”
Here is my approach…
“
Subject – Clarifying Approach to Research
Dear Thomas,
Hope you had a great weekend. Friday mornings meeting was a great success and I’m really excited to begin the researching the history of AIB and I’m excited to see what new branding designs we can come up with.
However before I begin, I just wanted to clarify something with you. Am I required to research the entire history of AIB or just the origin of the business?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Regards,
Emma McGurren
UX Researcher
”
Self Reflection…
Overall, I think I did a good job of writing up this email. I began with a friendly tone of voice as I know this person, they’re a member of my team. I kept it short and to the point, ensuring that what I require is clear and concise. I also included the subject, which will leave it easier for the recipient to find the email in the future, or draws their attention to the email initially. With practice I am sure that I will grow in confidence and emails will become a familiar task, which I will become accustomed too and better at.