After 11 months at Argos, I was promoted to Responsible Colleague. This new area of work meant I was now in charge of opening the store as well as closing it. It also entailed a pack of new responsibilities which had to be fulfilled to the best possible standard.At the original branch, I would be in charge of opening up the store. Customer orders will need to be put through and morning deliveries and hub will need to be pulled in, checked for discrepancies and finalised. Being alone with another colleague means there needs to be a First Aider in the building at all times, I was provided a First Aid course by the company which I attended and later passed which is not only applicable to work but any life experience! After all this had been completed, the store should be ready for trading!Once we'd relocated to the new Sainsburys branch, I was in charge of closing the store. This meant a checklist (similar to the opening shifts) had to be followed in order for the store to be ready for the manager opening the morning after. Customer orders still had to be fulfilled as well as serving them but this time I'd be completing evening stock checks making sure 'damages' and 'transfers' were finalised. I'd also accurately cash up the two tills before finally shutting down the system and locking the doors behind me.This new role provided me a new level of responsibility where every detail had to be followed in order for the store to function adequately. It developed and improved my skills in management and decision making, I'm now eager for new types of responsibility in all future job opportunities.

I joined Argos once I finished my A-Levels, I was afraid that because I didn't go to university, I would fall behind everyone else, I later found that this wasn't the case. My employment at Argos was one of the best jobs I've had, it allowed me to work in a brand new environment and begin to expand my interpersonal skills.The role entailed a mix of customer service work, as well as stock management on a headset. This included serving an array of customers from a wide demographic ensuring I provide them the best possible experience as well as notifying them on new sales or products. Stockroom work involved organising and tidying the stockroom as well as picking various products for customers who've purchased them.This role also required me to manage any incoming deliveries, morning deliveries must be received and put away to an excellent standard and all errors must be cleared before finalisation. I also managed deliveries from our morning and afternoon 'Hub'. These were customer orders sent from Northampton that we didn't stock, so were promptly sent in. I would check for any errors and report this to a manager at Northampton immediately. The main idea I took from my career at Argos was to be confident in all you do, put your best into something, work hard and results will come.

Over the course of nearly 4 years, I was a part-time Football Referee. My love for football and desire to begin working meant the role as a Referee was a perfect start to my world of work. During this time, I acquired some crucial skills which I can now apply to my current position in customer service.My officiating would usually take part on weekends at relatively early hours, I'd work with a range of age group varying from 8-9 year olds all the way to 16 year olds. I'd also introduce myself to many football coaches to establish rules and build a mini rapport to ensure their team was in safe hands under my guidance. Of course we have the players parents as well who were just as keen for their safety as their coach was, we are instructed as officials that safety takes rule over anything. All of these people have varying personalities, this meant my approach to officiating would often vary from week to week to ensure I come across as understanding but also authoritative.As fixtures played out, we had to make sure the 'laws of the game' were being upheld as soon as we stepped on the pitch. This would include a pitch inspection before every game, making sure linesman were selected and making sure the length of time we played for was in line with the age group playing that day. During the fixture, I'd officiate to the absolute best of my ability showing 0 bias towards any team or player. I'd learn to block out any distractions and also determine the best approach to any controversial situation.I'm very grateful I was able to become a Referee, it allowed me to work in an environment I was used to and very knowledgeable in while also building up interpersonal skills which I can apply in any area of life.

My short spell as a Recreation Assistant at Desborough Leisure was a part-time job to earn some money while I'd study for my upcoming exams. Despite my time there being so short, it allowed me to build a foundation in my mind of how to approach different customer based scenarios.Being at the front of the building at reception meant I had to deal with any queries the customers had. Any questions I would answer to the best of my ability and aid anyone who needed help, this included change for the coffee machines or simply directing those to the toilets.Additionally, I'd help take down and set up the equipment that was needed for different bookings. For example, I'd set up the football goals for a group of people booked to play an hour of indoor 5 aside, later that evening, I'd take down the goals and prepare the badminton courts for all of those who'd booked a court earlier that day.It wasn't incredibly demanding work but it gave a me a mental framework how to approach different customer queries.