When you work with a very specific population of people you may begin to notice a common personality trait, which is probably what drew these individuals to pursue the same profession.
It's no secret that I work at a university, and if I haven't already, I wont divulge what department I advise for to avoid giving out too much about my whereabouts.
I have noticed, though, in the nearly two years I've worked in this department, this common personality trait: no social skills, to the point of rudeness on occasion. These students that I work with either don't understand that they speak so bluntly, or just don't care. I think it's usually a mixture of both. They just don't have the practice conversing with human beings to know that demanding something be taken care of or handled will get them nowhere fast, and will probably even hurt feelings!
I really have to work at myself to distance my feelings about being spoken to this way to avoid breaking down in tears. This happens (at best) once a week. My own personality lends itself to why I joined the profession I did, counseling, but counseling and advising these students needs a much tougher skin than I could have imagined.
I'm sure that if anyone reading this has ever encountered anyone from this particular field they would be able to pinpoint who I'm describing with an eerie accuracy. Please feel free to take guesses! Keep in mind that I work with 5 different majors, and this personality trait tends to only show itself in one. Everyone else I work with is (for the most part) very workable and even appreciative of any help they receive.
It doesn't make me dislike my job, but it does make some days much harder to handle than others!
No comments:
Post a Comment