Wk 10 EOC: My Plans for the Future

Thinking of the future both excites me and gives me anxiety as I believe happens to many people. I want so many good things for myself and my family, my future plans entail a great deal of work on my part and I’m ready to focus on my goals. Completing my goals and achieving my dreams will be big accomplishments for me and I can’t wait to feel the gratification of making my plans and dreams a reality. My current future career goal is to work in the fashion industry as a visual merchandiser working on brand image in stores, creating window displays and store design and layout. I am a very visual person and a hands-on type of worker. I feel I could really excel in this profession being able to share my ideas and work with a group to collaborate and make our ideas bigger and greater than they start as. First I need to gain experience to begin my journey, once I get the experience I need I can take the next steps. In my career I want to help create a brand from the ground up or revamp an existing brand that needs a new look or wants to go in a new direction. I am beginning to feel comfortable and learning how to communicate effectively, I lean more on the introverted side but I love socializing and meeting new people, sometimes my shyness can hold me back but I’m continuously working on breaking out of my shell. I feel continuing to grow and learn in school will help teach me the social lessons I lack. Gaining experience in the world will also benefit me and help build my confidence. I feel once I build up my self-esteem in my work I can make definite plans for my future until then I’m still making plans and building my dreams but they might change as time goes on, hopefully only grow bigger!

Wk 9 EOC: Workplace and Sexual Harassment

The 1960’s film The Apartment is a grand example of harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace. The problem continuously grows all stemming from a man allowing his superiors to take advantage of him and his home in order for him to advance in his job. By using workplace materials and work time to conduct this inappropriate operation the employee is able to work his way to the top. There are many separate examples of harassment in this film. There’s situations with inappropriate or unnecessary touching, male employees spanking and unnecessarily touching female employees. There are many examples of Quid Pro Quo harassment, the superiors exchanging job promotions for using the apartment. The boss using it to keep his girlfriends and to keep the employee with the apartment quiet. A type of harassment occurred when the boss’s assistant told the boss’s love interest about the other women he would see, the assistant was threatened and fired. This film is filled with harassment and sexual harassment examples that though not shed in a serious light are a reality even today.

Wk 8 EOC: Workplace Harassment

The comedic film Nine to Five presents many real life situations of harassment in the workplace. The instances, though placed in a comedic light, are far from funny when actually occurring or experienced in reality. There are many examples in the film that show harassment and sexual harassment, these occurrences are performed by the boss onto his female employees. The first example is the instance where the boss continuously passes his best employee over for promotion. Instead treats her as a personal assistant, when she tries to deny his demands he threatens her job, giving her no option but to follow his requests. When an employee made a mistake or didn’t know how to do something he threatened their job and made them feel like they couldn’t go to him for help. Another instance is where he refers to his employees as ‘his girls’ and doesn’t treat them as equals. He makes continuous sexual advances toward his assistant. He buys her gifts, touches her inappropriately, and speaks to her with inappropriate language. He continues this behavior even after she pleads for him to stop and to leave her alone. The boss would speak to his female employees inappropriately, with sexual comments and unsolicited compliments. Sexual harassment and any kind of harassment is an issue that must be taken seriously it not only affects the employee who is being harassed but also the workplace as a whole. Employees become timid of their boss and have to deal with the stress of continuing to work with them or lose their job. This is a serious subject that still to this day occurs, though we have laws to protect employers and employees alike from harassment and sexual harassment. This issue needs to continue to be taken seriously and consequences need to be greater for individuals who don’t follow the rules, it will make the workplace a safer and comfortable place for everyone.

Wk 8 BOC: 5 soft skills

1.  Creativity – showed this by listing past projects that involved total creative control. 

2.  Self motivation- showed this in my resume by listing how I plan and implement projects and stick to the schedule to complete a presentable result.

3.  Adaptability- showed this in my resume by saying that I am willing and ready to learn more and grow my skills.

4.  Teamwork and collaboration- showed this in my experience listing successful projects that involved collaboration. 

5.  Kind and friendly with others- can express this in objective, by stating how I can effectively interact with people and create an inviting environment.

Wk 7 EOC: 3 Profile Statements

o   An enthusiastic and engaged fashion industry professional, who has developed the skills and talents that contribute to planning and executing projects. Capable of quick on the job learning and enjoy collaborations to create presentable and attractive results. Trained-eye in seeking fashion trends and have a strong aesthetic sense.

 

o   A fashion industry professional with a trained-eye in seeking fashion trends and a strong aesthetic sense. Hopeful for the chance to show the skills and talents acquired to engage in planning and executing projects. Capable of quick on the job learning and enjoy collaborations to create presentable and attractive results.

 

o   As a young enthusiastic fashion industry professional, I’m hopeful to demonstrate my talents and engage my skills to contribute in reaching company objectives. I have a trained-eye in seeking fashion trends and have a strong aesthetic sense. Capable of quick on the job learning and enjoy collaborations to create presentable and attractive results.

Wk 6 EOC: Job Analysis

Job Analysis

Position: Apparel Buyer

Company: Nasty Gal

http://www.ventureloop.com/ventureloop/jobdetail.php?r=f_in&jobid=513380&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed

     This job listing I found seeking an apparel buyer for the fashion company Nasty Gal is an informative and attractive posting. After reading through it a couple times, I felt everything stated on it was necessary for the potential applicant to know and understand. Apparel Buyers are an essential part for any fashion company and they need to be highly knowledgeable and experienced in many areas of fashion. They have the job description set up by category one titled “in this role you will” and then another titled “you”.

     Under the “in this role you will” category is the job duties and responsibilities. Every point is a mandatory job, task, or responsibility that the employee must know how to do or learn fairly quickly on the job. Assisting in developing and driving key departmental merchandising strategies across all development types that are both conceptually & financially sound, is a job duty they need to have much experience with. The employee must be able to be a leader because they are in charge of a group of people who help develop the marketing and merchandising for the company to positively activate sales. Also falling under able to be a leader is because they will be acting as a Mentor and training associate & assistant buyers and also overseeing development and workload of Assistant and MA.  

     I do believe more emphasis should be put on the travel aspect of the job as there will be a lot for the employee who needs to seek out apparel from many places in the US and even out of the country. Though this can be elaborated on in the interview I feel more information could potentially save the employee and employer time by only interviewing people who are serious and fully informed. Under the “you” category is the skills and requirements of the employee. I feel this is a good list to start with and it will definitely help sort the potentials and the ones who need more experience or education first.

Wk 5 EOC: 3 Twitter Posts

An article posted in July of 2016 by a woman named Linda Nguyen, caught my attention, with its headline Starbucks relaxes dress code to include patterns, piercings. After reading this article I chose to tweet it because I felt this is an example of workplace change and adaptability to the times. This article explained the change to the employee dress code at the Starbucks locations in Canada, allowing them to express themselves, and dress and style themselves as they wish, as long as they stay appropriate. As a fashion student I’m all for expressing individuality and expressing yourself through clothing, accessories, and hair and makeup. I feel this little inch towards change will hopefully one day trickle through our country through all professions to promote individuality and make it okay for us all to be ourselves.

 
This article posted on Greenpeace International website the headline read Fast fashion is “drowning” the world. We need a Fashion Revolution! The article covers how fast fashion is affecting the planet and how consumers are contributing every time they purchase from fast fashion companies. As a fashion major I can see how fast fashion has helped the industry grow and profit billions of dollars, but on the other end as a person of this planet I’m concerned about the effects that these manufacturing processes that involve chemical waste and excessive water consumption. I believe fast fashion can still exists with a move towards a healthier planet by using smart textiles, natural materials, and recycled materials that easily and naturally decompose.

 

This headline caught my attention, Why You Should Interview People Who Turn Down a Job with Your Company, because it was something I had never thought about and after reading the article I can see why this idea could be a smart one. As industry professionals working to improve everyday decline offers can give important insight from outsiders about your company and even your competitors. It also shares how these decline interviews could be used to improve certain areas of the hiring process and the company as a whole. Sometimes the reasons people decline have nothing to do with the company but you can only find out if you conduct these interviews.

Wk 4 EOC: Physical Attractiveness

As a professional in training I can understand the unspoken factor of physical attractiveness or a clean fresh look being a quality that employers look for when hiring for positions where the person will be directly or indirectly acting as a face that represents the business, whether it’s a hostess at a restaurant, a front desk agent, or the face of a company. Employers want their business to be profitable and to do that you need to attract as many customers as you can. Nice looking, clean and professional workers can help with this. Certain businesses hold this factor at a higher standard than others and while I feel companies should be able to keep to their brands and hire who they feel fits the standards they hold, I also believe a more qualified person should be hired over a less qualified person regardless of what the physical appearance is of the person compared to the other or the brand. Uncontrollable factors should be overlooked, for example scars depending on the location and size the employee could possible cover this feature and if not able to it should be okay because this is something they could not control and discriminating against them for it is wrong. Today at certain places of business they give potential employees the option of being able to cover controllable factors, for instance tattoos, and still get the job. This option being shared in the beginning of the hiring process can help the potential employee decide if they are willing to hide their body art and it helps the employee decide if they really want the person they will have to let the tattoo situation go or just not hire the person. And this works vice versa a company might only want employees with tattoos. Another factor that can be either controllable or uncontrollable is personal hygiene. Someone can have full control over this and not notice there is a problem, so it might need to be brought up to them privately, you should have the option to not hire someone who you feel will cause a problem in the workplace but giving them a chance to change could end up working out for both sides. This factor can also be uncontrollable and these matters need to be handled with care or your company can be tarnished or lose business.

Wk 3 EOC: Workplace Fairness site

Employers getting away with taking advantage of their employees is a thing of the past thanks to the internet and organizations that are around today to assist and save employees in unfair and discriminatory situations. Workplace Fairness is a nonprofit organization that was created to help preserve and promote employee rights. A sponsor for the site is the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace. A reason NELA sponsors the site is because this is where they get business for the type of law they practice. NELA is a large organization that is comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees in discrimination and other employment-related matters. They believe “Workers will be paid at least a living wage in an environment free of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and capricious employment decisions; employers will fulfill their promises to provide retirement, health, and other benefits; workers' safety and livelihood will not be compromised for the sake of corporate profit and interests; and individuals will have effective legal representation to enforce their rights to a fair and just workplace, adequate remedies, and a right to trial by jury.” (www.nela.org/) Three resources that are available on this site are the “Your Rights” page, where employee rights are found, and a page with links to helpful resources for you when learning to protect your rights and looking to take legal action. Lastly they have section for career services you might need. Some specific work related issues an employee would look to this website for is to help them in workplace situations that involve racism, sexism, discrimination towards age, unfair pay, sexual harassment, unpaid wages, health and safety, and many more. There are certain laws that are administered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that protect employees from types of discrimination in the workplace, lawyers can help you fight these illegal issues. Hospitality managers can best address these issues by paying closer attention to the system they run, staying true to how they represent their business and keeping their obligations to their employees.

Wk 2 EOC: Sweet Charity, things she did right and things she did wrong

The scenes from Sweet Charity that we examined in class showed the life of taxi dancers and their discontent for their job. They all want to get out of that life and move on to something better for themselves, but can’t seem to leave. Charity goes to an employment agency looking for a job, any job. She has an interview with a man named Mr. Nicholsby, and during that interview there were many things she did correct and things she should have thought twice about before doing. First off things that she did correct, some helped her and some hindered her in the interview. Being polite was good, she made Mr. Nicholsby comfortable to speak with her and take the time to sit down with her. One thing she did right was being honest about her education and skills, though this hindered her in the interview. Unfortunately she did more wrong than right and led her to having to leave without a job opportunity. She primarily came unprepared, no resume and not knowing what she was considering to do for work, and she obviously didn’t practice for the interview. Other things she did wrong were things she probably could have helped if she prepared better. She didn’t wear correct attire for the interview, this is forgivable but she could have come by the agency days before her interview to see what employees were wearing. She wore too much makeup and too much jewelry, these are things she felt were appropriate because that what she did in her everyday life but she need to keep things relaxed for the first meeting/interview so she could find out what was acceptable and not. Next thing she did wrong was when talking about skills she basically told him she doesn’t have any. She wasn’t aware of skills she might have so when asked if she knew how to do something she just answered no, knocking herself down. Lastly she begged for a job which you should never do, and most notably she didn’t ask questions when she wasn’t sure of something or wanted to maybe know more.

Wk 1 EOC: Best and Worst Jobs

At this time in my life I have yet to delve deep into the professional workforce so my job history is a short list of one employer. I worked for a short time, before starting college classes, at a small science store in the bay area of California. This job beyond exceeded my expectations, as my first and only job I have nothing to compare it to, though I feel like this company was in the best hands possible. My boss was an exceptional woman who cared for her employees and she always made herself available to us if help was needed. She was understanding and created a positive environment for her employees. I worked under two fellow employees who had much more experience and they were great teachers and helpers, eventually giving me responsibilities to handle on my own like small inventory tasks and packaging products to put on the sales floor. I wasn’t expecting much from working in a little shop that had very little customers visiting the store, but it was not a boring job. There was always something to learn and tasks that needed to be done, team work was a big part of our dynamic. We benefited from the effective teamwork creating a Positive Work Environment, where “Team members feel a closer connection to their coworkers, managers, the operation, and its goals. Teamwork also reinforces the contributions each member makes to the establishment”( Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing, 327). It took three of us to complete tasks that needed to be done fast, like filling the online orders that needed to be done before a certain time to be picked up by the mailing service, without a positive work environment and open communication we wouldn’t have been so successful and going to work would have been a negative experience.

WK 1: My Voice

The creative, fast moving, and risky world of fashion has always called to me from a young age. Playing dress up and styling my Barbie dolls were activities that kept me preoccupied for hours, I truly enjoyed the process and from there recognizing my attention to detail pertaining to fashion. When I discovered that my passion and curiosity for the fashion industry was too strong to deny, I chose to pursue it. I’m fascinated by many parts of the industry and could see myself being a professional in various areas of the industry; from fashion show production and fashion styling to retail store and window display design. I want to find where I fit best, studying Fashion and Retail Management is helping me to discover my strengths and weaknesses bringing me closer to the goal of being happy and loving where I'm working within the fashion industry.