For our final assignment in BCM313, we had to interview an individual who reflects the professional values we’ve been studying this semester, as well as being a person of relevance to our own future of work. The interview process was a large learning curve for me, after learning professional values and skills in this subject, It was extremely interesting see these values in the field and at use. I chose to interview an individual who is a hard worker, passionate about their work and has immense integrity. This individual was my mother, Nicky Johnson. Nicky is a regional sales manager for a large pharmaceuticals company, her job is centred around team work, workplace relations and the need for integrity/positive attitude.

The interview process was a slightly tedious process as the interviewee was my mum, yet, the answers she gave me were largely insightful and I learnt so much from the interview alone. As I live at home with my mum, I see my mum work from home daily (especially in lockdown) but I never really understood her job or what she really knew. From the interview however, I learnt my mother is an extremely intelligent woman with a lot of insight in her field and work in general. Her professional values were in line with what I strive to have and she had great insight into this subject, highlighting topics and practices we learnt throughout the semester.

One of these practices she brought up was the act of ‘re-membering’. “Re-membering practices are based on the post-structuralist understanding that our identities are forged through relationships with other people. Our lives have membership and this membership influences our experience of ourselves” (AOD, 2018). Quoted by YouthAOD, re-membering is essentially the understanding of what relationships in our lives shape our professional and personal lives. This practice coincides with Nicky’s professional life profoundly as found the four categories of people in her life to have shaped the way she works, these four categories being friends, family, parents and colleagues. Nicky also based her interview off emotions in the work place, the most significant quote of hers being “Don’t forget you are human, not a robot”as it resonates with standard boundary of avoiding emotion in the workplace.

Aside from the interview, the lead up to the presentation was nerve racking however the experience ended up being a moment of pride, I was really proud of my mum watching my video back and was happy to show her off. My mum inspires me daily and this interview has really made me respect her even more (if that was possible). It was a great opportunity overall, BCM313 has been one of the most insightful subject I have taken thus far! I can’t wait to take the information I have learnt into my future field of work.

References:

AOD, Y., 2018. E9. Re-membering | YouthAOD Toolbox. [online] Youthaodtoolbox.org.au. Available at: <https://www.youthaodtoolbox.org.au/e9-re-membering&gt; (Accessed 22 October 2021).