Embarrassing moments

EEE in the real world 26th April 2018

I am five months in to my placement and I think I’ve got a good grip on this ‘adult work life’ thing. I’ve been working on a deep underground rail station that’s being built in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Super cool, I know! And I’ve had the opportunity to use lots of new software and some software I learnt to use in university too.

But the placement hasn’t been all pristine schematics and well written technical reports. There have been a few bloopers along the way. So in today’s blog I am going to share with you some of the most embarrassing moments I have had at work in the hopes that you won’t make the same rookie mistakes as I did.

Number 1: Music in the work place

It’s a common practice in the office for people to occasionally pop their headphones in to listen to some music to help them get in the zone and concentrate on their work. Some relaxing Bach or soul soothing Mozart is probably most people’s weapon of choice to tackle work. I can’t say the same goes for me; I enjoy loud up-beat hip-hop to keep me feeling fearless as I tackle my work. On one particular occasion I accidentally pressed play on my music player before my earphones were plugged in, you can imagine my panic as I tried to stop my favourite uncensored Kendrick Lamar song from booming out of my phone.

NOTE TO SELF AND TO YOU: Do not press play before you triple check that your earphones are plugged in.

Number 2: Email etiquette

In order to make the most of my time at Arup and my placement year as a whole, I have taken part in many extracurricular activities. My next embarrassing tale developed when I joined a team of people at Arup who were raising money for the Prince’s Trust. Organising these events and activities involved sending emails to the 2500 staff at the Arup London and other UK offices. We did this through an email account that Arup had set up to assure people that this was an official business seed funded by the company. So you can imagine my horror when I accidentally sent a fundraising related email to all 2500 employees of Arup from my personal email account! My name will have popped up on everyone’s computer screen – including the director.

NOT TO SELF AND TO YOU: Triple check your emails!

Number 3: Missing Meetings

Monthly meetings at work are planned far in advance. On this particular day my calendar was clear so I didn’t think it would be a problem to attend an adhoc 1-hour brain storming meeting for fundraising ideas. When I returned to my team absolutely no one was at their desk. I checked my email, and there was an email from 15 minutes prior saying “Group meeting in 5 mins”. I had to walk into my first group meeting ten minutes late. It’s safe to say that I installed my work email on my mobile phone the following day.

NOTE TO SELF AND TO YOU: Have access to your email at all times.

Although these work ‘bloopers’ seem painfully embarrassing, It’s all been part of the learning experience at my placement. Everyone at work is so understanding and are okay with me making the occasional mistake as an opportunity for correction and growth. Besides, if I hadn’t made all these mistakes how would I have warned you?

Roberta

To keep up with Roberta’s blogs click on her name in the tags below.

careerindustrial experienceRobertawork experiencework placement