Work Experience in London

I have been getting along well with my coworkers; I was able to have a lengthy conversation with my coworker, Sam, when I arrived to work fifteen minutes early one day, and he even provided some recommendations of places to explore in England and told me about “football games” here! However, I was under the impression that small talk, such as “How are you liking London?” or “How was the rest of your day yesterday?” were uncommon in this culture, so when I was greeted with these questions upon asking for help, I was at a loss for words. I fear that responding with a short answer may have seemed rude. Nevertheless, I have been given a variety of tasks, such as researching activities to add to our curriculum, designing fliers, writing test questions and attending meetings. Additionally, we accepted an award from Pearson for Promoting a Learning Culture at an event called Learning at Work Week. I was allowed to be in the photographs with the rest of the employees, even though I did not attend Learning at Work Week. I have also been attending Head to Head workshops, where I showed volunteers mainly from Barclays and Lloyds how to lead mock interviews with sixth form students, and even interviewed two students myself at my second Head to Head event. I was extremely nervous at first, but when I saw how nervous the students were, I relaxed and tried to make the students feel as comfortable as possible by asking about their interests prior to more serious interview-style questions. I noticed that some students overshare details that don’t necessarily make them look good. I offered as much helpful feedback as possible, but I think I will continue shadowing more experienced volunteers to acquire more advice. I look forward to the upcoming mathematics competition called Number Partners, where I will be able to work with primary school children, as I have only worked with adults and adolescents so far.