Interviewing

This week’s blog involved interviewing Jessica, who I was able to shadow last week and experience her position first hand. By interviewing her, I was able to ask questions about what I saw while shadowing her and get more information about her position at the zoo. The following are some of the questions I asked her and her responses to each:
1. What are some aspects of your job that you really like? What are some that you dislike?
Jessica: I really love working with people and educating them about the animals at the zoo, as well as the environments in which they live. My favorite days involve talking to children, especially when I am able to answer their questions and get them excited at Monkey Village. I dislike very busy days because I am not able to educate people and answer their questions, rather I am more focused on crowd control and supervision. I don’t like having to ask people to leave or disciplining children, if its necessary.
2. What are some challenges you face at work?
Jessica: The biggest challenge I face at work is dealing with unruly guests and people who seem to have a hard time understanding the rules. Protecting the safety of our animals is my biggest concern, which can be difficult while trying to provide the guest with appropriate customer service. Another challenge I face is dealing with volunteers that don’t show up to work. It is difficult when they decide to not show up or call and then I have to spend a large part of my day coordinating people who can cover their areas. This takes away from time I wish I could spend with guests and out in the park.
3. How has your education and experience helped you with your job?
Jessica: Earning a degree in biology has helped tremendously in my job because I am equipped with a great deal of knowledge that I would not have learned otherwise. Of course the training at the zoo is great, but there are many guest questions that I am able to answer really effectively that I could not answer without my educational background. Experience in customer service prior to this position also helped me deal with problems and complaints from our guests.
4. Did you have a mentor during your first months at the zoo and if so, how did the experience help you?
Jessica: I actually did not have a mentor when I first came to the zoo. Instead, I made sure to carefully observe the paid staff. I asked a lot of questions and often asked my seniors how I could improve my performance or what made them successful in their job. I think this approach worked well for me because I was able to borrow aspects of various people’s personalities and work ethics to create my own work approach. Rather than getting feedback from just one person, I was able to follow the guidance of many.
5. What do you feel can be done to make work go smoother?
Jessica: Unfortunately, the economy has affected us negatively as it has the rest of the country. Budget cuts have resulted in a hiring freeze which makes the jobs of the paid staff much more difficult. Relying on the help of volunteers is great for our zoo and it could not run without them. However, problems exist when volunteers don’t show up or do not really do their job. For things to go smoother, it would help to have a more reliable volunteer foundation or volunteer coordinators who are able to focus entirely on their volunteers. Right now, that is not possible because everyone is stretched a little bit thin.