I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO WORK A COPYING MACHINE!
Anita Adefuye, MPA
Author | Career Coach| Speaker | PhD Candidate, Public Policy | Leadership & Strategic Planning | Policy Development | Public Administration
An administrative assistant should know how to use a photocopying machine, right?! It is a no brainer. So imagine my frustration when I found myself standing over the photocopier wondering what buttons to push. OMG! It was embarrassing to say the least.
While I was still beating myself up, a colleague came up behind me, watched me struggle, scoffed and walked away muttering something about "an admin assistant that did not know how to work a photocopying machine". I reached out to someone else more willing to help, figured it out, seized the opportunity to ask questions on the scanner, fax etc. Tried a couple things, figured out more stuff on my own and moved on with my professional life.
Okay, I lied, I did not 'move on', I thought about it, very deeply. How did I not know how to use a photocopier? And why did it feel like it was the first time I had to work one? The answer- it was the first time I had to use one! Shocked, I thought deeper and wondered how I managed to acquire s many skills through the years but did not know how to use a basic office equipment. Then it hit me- all through my university days, we went to shops where they did the scanning and photocopying for a price.
When I started working (back in Nigeria, that is), I had administrative assistants who dealt with all that part of my work. I wasn't sure whether to be happy for them in my life at this realization or be sad. But I realized something else- I am not a failed administrative assistant because I did not know how to work a photocopying machine (which by the way, is very intuitive and needs no formal training), I just never needed to use it until now and I was willing to learn.
Over the course of dealing with and talking to lots of new immigrants, I have heard similar incidents. For some it is things like not inputting data or typing themselves because they have typists or data entry personnel. For others, it may be owning a construction company but having never really laid bricks themselves.
The photocopying experience was an eye opener to the fact that the Canadian work culture and system as as a whole is quite DIY (Do it yourself) based- so I was coming from a culture where labour is cheap enough you can pay your way through almost anything. For instance, I had two domestic helps when I had one child while in Nigeria. Now I and my husband are all the domestic help I have, with two kids and a much larger home to clean. Little things I took for granted and some of us saw as privileges were normalized here. Unfortunately, if not handled right, it could also become our undoing.
Think of this example, imagine being a Manager who had a typist as a result you never thought about your typing skills. Now you are trying to get a job where maybe you have to do a lot of writing and are constantly behind because you cannot type (or type fast) enough. This could impact your work, and affect your confidence. But on a deeper look, the problem is not really your competence, it is a skill tied to that competence that may be impacting your overall performance.
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The issue oftentimes is how we phrase the 'problem'. So here are you can do if you are like me who found yourself lacking in skills embedded within a competency you have due to whatever reason:
The first five points applies to EVERYONE at any level in your career. I will like to speak to new Canadians getting into the workplace, as I have found this to be a culture shock for most folks, it was to me initially too. So in addition to the 5 items above here are some additional tips:
Finally, to employers and non-racialized Canadians, you ALWAYS play a role in these conversations. That is investing in your self-education, acknowledging and addressing your own unconscious biases, being willing to help and getting to know a person, their story and journey.
I have of course since moved on to adding new skills to my skills pool (the seeming ordinary and the extraordinary). Today in my role as a Senior Policy Analyst, I still use the photocopying machine, in fact I remember helping tons of other people (Directors included) figure it out, it is actually 'cute' watching a super smart person struggle with a basic office equipment. I look back now and I laugh, but imagine for a moment what would have happened if I wrote myself off or let someone else write me off all because of a copying machine? You carry value, believe it!