Learn + Be Curious / Earn Trust / Dive Deep
When I first started working in letterpress, I had just gotten hired full time by the shop owner who had given me an apprenticeship. The company was tiny, the two of us ran the entire production: retail, design, estimates, print, collaboration and event planning for our gallery shows.
My employer hired me as a full time employee because I was passionate and eager to learn. My roles were whatever I wanted them to be or what I had interest in. I was there to learn to be a printer, but he also afforded me the opportunity to round other professional skills. I displayed good work ethic, and it built up his trust and friendship in me. I had the opportunity to dive deep into a task and learn more.
I believe this is the reason why I would walk in the door and get questions like “Have you ever written a patent? No? Well I know you’re capable of it so give it a go!” My employer knew my worth and trusted in me to give tasks that might be out of my wheelhouse, but knew I could execute because I was determined and adaptable.
Hire and Develop the Best
This is an area I don’t have much interest in, so it automatically makes me think it would be a weak area. Managing groups of people isn’t something I enjoy a whole bunch, and often have a hard time finding effective ways to go “cat wrangling”. If a job would eventually expect me to have these skills refined, I believe organization, adaptability and good communication skills would be the skills to refine.