서울 우먼업C.S.Lewis
Thoughts from working as an employment support officer
This week, I went to meet companies and participants in the ‘Seoul City Women’s Up Internship’. The ‘Seoul City Woman Up Internship’ program is a project promoted by the Seoul Women and Family Foundation. This is a support project that supports the work experience of female job seekers and connects competent female job seekers with companies to help women living in Seoul find employment and return to their careers. The ‘Employment Connection Support Officer’, which will be attempted for the first time in the 2023 Women Up Internship Program, coaches both participating companies and interns and provides consulting as needed. When I heard that they were recruiting ‘Employment Support Officers’, I thought it was a good cause and I thought I could do well, so I applied and have been working since July.
We conduct two interviews over three months, and the first one has a strong rapport nature. The focus is on greeting each other and helping the intern participant adapt well. The second interview will be held in about a month and a half, and since I will have worked at the company for a while, I think I will be able to have a more in-depth conversation about my experiences. The participating companies seemed to welcome the opportunity as it was a good opportunity, and since they had entered the workforce through a job interview, they seemed to have high expectations.
Most of the participating interns were half anxious and half excited as they were returning to work after a long time due to marriage, childbirth, and raising children. One participant returned to the workplace after 10 years, and was amazed at how different the atmosphere these days was from the company he worked at before. She took honorary retirement and there is also someone who is taking on a challenge to work in a truly new field. Some people said that they were feeling physically limited after working for the first time in a long time. Nevertheless, it was great to see everyone happily adapting to the new workplace with an open and proactive attitude. The employment support officer showed up on his first week of work, and as we listened to and shared various stories, he seemed to be reassuring in itself. I hope I can be of help to everyone who has the courage to take on the challenge.
To date, I have visited 11 companies and had many amazing experiences. There were small businesses with about 10 employees and others with close to 100 employees, and being able to indirectly experience companies in various industries was a great experience outside of my normal job. Although they are working hard to create economic value, I also got the feeling that the future of Korea is bright when they see people working hard in their respective positions and contributing to society by creating jobs. I sincerely hope that the company can go from a good company to a great company through sustainable growth in the future.
In our lives, trying new things or doing things that others do not do is sometimes accompanied by fear and anxiety. Nevertheless, I believe that the attitude and actions of breaking through fear and anxiety and taking on the challenge with courage can make a difference in the outcome. It will not be easy for participating companies and interns to muster up the courage to take on the challenge. Even people who like challenges and are good at them probably don’t do it because it’s easy. Maybe that’s not a challenge. I like the saying, ‘If there’s a spot on the rocket, get on it’ and I try to do that. Reflecting may be helpful, but my experience tells me that you just have to do it and go with the flow. I ask myself this as I look at the people I met last week. What challenge do I want to take on now? What are the thoughts that are holding me back? Instead of worrying too much, I say just give it a try.
Next month, I will have to organize the programs that will be included in the coaching introduction!
I am a ‘life design artist’ and a ‘creative coach’ who dreams of infinite growth through creativity and action. I hope to become a space where I can design my life in a cool and confident way and give and receive inspiration.
