I’m glad I was a receptionist.

Working as a receptionist was one of the best things I ever did. Now, I’m an engineer with a degree but some of the most high value skills I ever acquired was in a “low skill job”. The quotes are deliberate.

I kind of went through a shy and “socially awkward phase” after high school, despite the fact that for most of my childhood I was highly social.

My receptionist job during university forced me to be anything BUT that. My job was literally to communicate and interact socially. At the beginning it was kind of painful but I stuck with it.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Greeting all of the gym members that came in but also recognising the body language of those members who didn’t want to talk. Sometimes I’d have hour long conversations and some people didn’t want to make eye-contact.

🏋🏽 Communicating with the personal trainers and class teachers, ensuring they had what they needed to help keep the gym functioning.

⚡️ Escalating issues that members had to management when needed and working to improve the functionality of front of house.

The social growth I experienced here as a result of the sheer variety in type of people I met and the types of interactions (mostly positive but sometimes negative as is the case in customer service) was immense.

The skills I developed and also the things I learned by talking to members in all different stages of life was invaluable.

That job accelerated my growth and left me with a skill that continues to prove their importance every day.

Value can be extracted from any job.