RadioShack Work Experience...

For the past four years I have worked at RadioShack as a retail associate, where my responsibilities consisted of interacting with customers while recommending products, merchandising, along with selling mobile phones.  The best part of my job was learning about the latest technologies before it is on the market. The downside was the constant pressure to sell, while being threatened to get fired if expectations were not met. Although, it can be interesting to meet people from different walks of life in a retail environment, it could difficult dealing with incorrigible personalities who are under the impression that “customers are always right.” When I first started working at RadioShack I had very little knowledge about the products they sold, but I forced myself to learn quickly on the spot with the resources that were given to me (internet). It is vital to listen to what people are communicating to you because one simple mistake can lead to the loss of hundreds of dollars. My team members and I made sure to keep a positive disposition when it came to wacky customers or a computer error.  I believe my persona has allowed me to stay calm and think fast when an unexpected problem occurs. These are just some of the skills that I have acquired in sales that I believe will be useful in my internship. 

Freakonomics Review

The non-fiction book Freakonomics by, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner covers social issues globally and nation wide. The topics they talk about are economics, class, gender, ethnic groups, parenting, crime and education. I believe the authors wrote their book with the purpose of trying to get readers to understand the way the world works. They want to point out how one factor can have a huge influence on others, their personal lives, and society.

In Chapter 3: “Why do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms,” The Chicago gang comparison to McDonalds was a bit shocking because they were both capitalistic “institutes,” whose leaders main concern was to make money not help. Suburban neighborhood have the tendency to speak about how suppress they feel, and how they are limited to low-income jobs like McDonalds that pay minimum wage. It was disturbing to find out street soldiers conforming to $3.30 an hour in comparison to $8.00 at fast food restaurant. I will be purchasing a copy of their Supper Freakonimcs books, due to topics such as abortion, cheating, incentives, violence, and parenting. I have already looked into the history of abortion and the reasons why women decide to abort, or keep their baby.  

The first three chapters of the book were very intriguing, because started comparing issues you never thought had any connection, but as one kept reading the structure added a non-linear style. When we covered the reasons why crime has decreased they gave us a list of reasons they convinced you on how it was the reason for reducing crime, then all of a sudden told it wasn’t. It was an annoying guessing game that kept having me change my annotations summaries. I felt that the authors did a great job with their choice of diction and explanation in concepts.

I would only recommend the first three chapters of the book to a person who is concerned about the way the world works, and feeds off of learning. The book had the tendency to be very one sides, they belittled African Americans a great deal. Some of the topics like abortion became very redundant, which at times make the book boring.

Owning YOUR Reading

In order to process the Freakonomic’s reading I annotate the text by underlining the key points, and placing numbers on ideas that are connected to one another. I try to make it a habit to summarize parts of the reading. It’s important to interact with the reading, so it helps to jot down my thoughts on what I agree, disagree, or have questions on. When I continue to read my questions tend to get answered. I circle the words I don’t understand, look them up, write them in the book, and make sure to understand what the author is trying to express. Since I enjoy the topics they bring up, I can read through the book in 2-3 sittings with 45 minutes each or less. Since I’m always on the go, I tend to do it on Bart or a car ride.

            My recommendations to people who don’t enjoy reading would be, take notes, and don’t forget to look up words or expressions you don’t understand because without it you can lose the authors main points. I strongly suggest not racing through the text; if you cannot focus take small breaks. One last note, don’t believe everything you read; challenge the reading by pointing out their contradictions or bring out your own facts. This will help you keep an ardent attitude.