How to Wing It by Not Winging It | by Jagjeet Mander
I feel like I’ve been winging my way through. There was no rhyme or reason to what I’ve done and it felt like I was quite lucky falling into things. I landed a job to open letters but somehow I’ve ended up working with data.
In a similar vein, I wanted to find a way to gain new skills that would help me to do more things at work. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to justify going on courses when so many systems and tools were locked away. After talking to my manager and trying to think of ways to overcome that, a Multiverse apprenticeship pops along and says “Hi, let me help unlock that path for you!”
The headliner for me was the chance to learn Python! I now had a reason to request access to Python. They wouldn’t be able to refuse if I said I needed access to the lessons. Once I’d gone through the lessons imagine all the cool new things I was going to be able to do with Python!
The Community Hub
The reality is different. Oddly, these thoughts seem unimportant to me now which has surprised me. Let me explain that a bit more. I’m still really excited by the apprenticeship but I’m getting an appreciation of something that I overlooked. It’s something that didn’t even register before joining: it’s all the other content offered and showcased on the Community Hub!
Having been on the apprenticeship for a couple of months now, I’ve been attending as many events as time allows. Through a few events, I’ve come to better understand that I’ve had various degrees of feeling like I somehow don’t belong. That I’ve suffered from imposter syndrome. Through the same and other events, I’ve been able to work through confirming that I do belong. Listening to experts in their fields saying they’ve had similar thoughts and feelings is really eye-opening but affirming.
I’ve been reading through the blogs and signed up for a few additional activities, like joining the Blogging Team. So here I am, writing a blog which I didn’t think I would feel comfortable doing, just rambling away! I’m enjoying the process of trying to understand my thoughts, develop my writing skills, and get my ideas out into the world. It’s all helped me take on new responsibilities at work and feel more comfortable stepping up.
Results Are Just By-Products of Daily Habits
Alongside all this extra learning and experiences, I was going over my notes from what was a full-on onboarding session. I spent more time reading through the growth mindset. This is all about understanding that you aren’t fixed in place, that you must keep learning new things and keep working on building yourself. Everything started to fall into place and what I’m beginning to realise is that I wasn’t winging it all along. I was taking steps along a path to getting better and growing.
It might sound cliche but the journey does matter more than the destination. Putting in the effort is the important thing. I may not have known exactly what I was working towards or where I was going but my hard work and curiosity to ask questions, even “stupid” questions, demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and behaviours that allowed me to end up where I am.
Jagjeet Mander is a Data Fellowship apprentice at Multiverse based in London, UK. He’s writing for the Apprentice Lens as part of the Blogging Team. Here’s more about him:
‘Reading the blogs here on the Community Hub was the way I eased into my apprenticeship journey. After reading so many great articles, I jumped at the chance to try my hand at blogging. It’s outside of my comfort zone but it feels like such an exciting challenge and I’m hoping I can get better at writing and being able to articulate my thoughts!’