Improving my skills during lockdown

Posted on: 29 April 2020 in Student experiences

Stephanie is a BA Marketing with a year in Industry final year student, who decided to use the time of lockdown to improve upon her skills and help out the community by taking a part-time job at Tesco. Read her story:

"About 4 weeks ago I took on a job at my local Tesco. I had move home from University with my final year disrupted and was feeling upset, bored and finding it hard to motivate myself to do all my university work!

Starting work at Tesco instantly gave me a routine where I could then plan my week around my shifts and plan when I could do my assignments. Some weeks I have been doing around 30-40 hours so it has been very busy and at times stressful but I am so glad I decided to take on the challenge. By working at Tesco I have been able to help my community in this scary time, and help the most vulnerable stay at home by covering hours of people that are isolating. I have been part of making the supermarket a safe place where social distancing is performed and customers feel calm and comfortable. This job has massively improved my communication skills, whilst managing queues, helping vulnerable customers and even just having conversations with people to give their day a little bit of normality. I have learnt how to work in a stressful environment, and also deal with the small amount of customers that can be negative.

By giving me a fixed routine, the job has allowed me to motivate myself to do university work on my days off as well as workout or go for a run so I can get in my daily exercise, all of which I probably wouldn't be motivated to do if I was sat in the house everyday. This has meant I am more organised and have better time management skills than ever, things employers will look for! I have learnt to stay positive even in the worst of times, and have realised how lucky we are to be safe and healthy. I receive so many nice comments on a daily basis of how safe and happy the customers when in our store, and many people thanking us for even just chatting to them as they are feeling so lonely.

Although, working at Tesco wasn't the graduate job I had expected, it makes me feel really proud to be doing what I am during this difficult time and I would urge anyone to try and do volunteer work or take up a key role. I am looking forward to using all the skills and experiences I have learnt whilst working at Tesco for my graduate role in September post lockdown!"