Hello everyone! This short story is an entry for @svashta's prompt for Constrained Writing Contest #17. The rules for this week's contest are:
Read on and I hope you enjoy this short story! :)
- Write a story about learning (something new) without using a school setting, church setting, or parent/child interactions.
- The story must be at least 250 words long and in English
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Learning the Hardest Things in Life
“Tell me more about your experiences at work. What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far, and what did you do to solve it?”
I remembered a project manager’s question in one of the job interviews I went through when I was still a newbie worker, looking for greener pastures. The interview was going smoothly, I recalled being able to boast and relate my current work experiences, past university projects and passions of interest to them and how I will be an added value to our company should they hire me, when he asked this question. I seem to hit a blank wall for a moment as I thought for a while, what was indeed the hardest thing at work that I’ve ever encountered.
The project manager smiled encouragingly as I stared hardly at the pencil holder on his desk, pondering for an answer. My eyes lit up after I consolidated the hardest thing I’ve come across with.
“There was a hectic time when our team needed to print web-based item order inventory summary reports into a PDF file, and instantly connect that generated file into a printer hardware for printing. We were in race against time for the printing module’s completion, so we were asked to device faster and efficient ways to do it, ” I said.
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The project manager nodded knowingly, looking interested at my adventure. I smiled with relief that he can relate, for his company has the same nature of business as the current company that I’m working for.
“Me and a teammate started working on a script to automate it from scratch, but found out later that it wasn’t applicable for all printing scenarios. Some content would be out of margin, would run on new lines, and some wouldn’t display at all. We were running short on time, so we did individual extra research. I found a very nice library called iReports that has a user-friendly automated reports designer and neat-looking final report that can package rows of data into a stylized PDF. Though it was originally set-up to work with Java, I learned to use and sync it to the Linux and PHP server environment we were using… ”, I excitedly told the project manager the rest of the story, the interesting nooks and crannies of iReports and how we saved the day.
“It is hard learning new things but diligence in research and really putting heart into studying a new subject matter, especially if you loved every tiny bit of what you’re doing really paid off, " I said to the project manager.
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“That was an interesting recap, ” the project manager mused. I felt happy being able to tell him my one of my hardest and exciting achievements as a newbie programmer so far, but was still quite in doubt if I have satisfied his question.
“Thank you, that concludes our interview. We will contact you again in a few days regarding your application.” The project manager stood up and shook hands with me.
Years later, I always smile whenever I thought of that interview. How things looked so hard but simple back then, when I felt answers to everything can be learned and looked up in Google and stackoverflow, read from references or learned from colleagues who have done and succeeded at the same thing.
Now the present me will have different answers, if I were to ever go through another job interview. With a few more years of experience under the belt, I can definitely say there are harder things in work other than learning the technical aspects of a job. There had been a ton of exciting new technical discoveries and learning that followed but having worked with a lot of people of varying interests, personalities and goals in life, I learned that it is more important to be in harmony and in-sync with the people you’re working with, than to be able to successfully solve technical riddles. Because a united team with all members trusting each other can work miracles and wonders together. "No man is an island." At the end of it all, it's the people to whom you connect with that's more important than the skills, because they will be the ones to whom you can run to in times of need and it won't do good if you are not in good terms. I learned on the fly to become humbler, more open and understanding for team mates whose ideas and point of views doesn’t seem to meet with mine.
“I was able to set aside differences and was able to work effectively when a co-worker and I didn’t get along well, ” I would have said.
"I did everything I can to personally resolve misunderstandings, and had always been on the look-out for golden moments when we can re-kindle the camaraderie. Most worked out but when nothing else worked, I let them be and just be chill. I did my best to carry out my tasks and act professionally in spite of misgivings, " I told myself as I sat in the company’s waiting lounge along with other applicants, mentally rehearsing in mind for the interview.
“Next please, ” we heard the information desk assistant call.
I stood up and walked confidently into the project manager’s office, always eager to learn more about the company and how I can relate myself to their goals, visions and mission. Only now I knew, the answer to that specific question should it be asked again will be a lot more different and profound than before.
