Jihye Her

Hong Seong, South Korea

Accounting

Leadership Project

 

Working Experience in the Cafe

 

My Edge project was done during summer break in 2018. I was a manager of the Paik's Coffee which is a franchise coffee shop in South Korea. I managed workers, inventories, and overall store things. Also, I did normal cafe works. Because my major is accounting, I also had accounting experience through this job. Not only did I manage the money, but I also paid money to the dealers and managed the store's income.

 

To explain in detail what I had done, I managed my staff's salaries and also took charge of teaching when a new employee came in. And after checking the store's inventory, I ordered what was lacking. Not only did I manage the cleanliness of the store but also managed the customers. Also, it was one of the managers' tasks to prepare for the unexpected visit to our headquarters to inspect our store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the reason why I became the manager of the cafe was because I met people well in the past. This cafe was where I worked as a part-time worker for salary last summer. Last year my boss took a close look at my hard work and contacted me if I could do it again this summer. I told my boss that I wanted to work in accounting, which is my major this time, and he said he was willing to help me manage the store myself. As the boss was too busy to stay in the store, he gave me almost every right of the store. So I think I could meet a good person and have this opportunity. As I worked there last year, I could point out the lack better and had no direct relationship with my major, but I think I learned a lot for my future career.

 

I had a lot of worries both before I worked as a manager. I felt like I was assigned a mission by the boss before I started working as a manager. I think the “manger” is I have to do the whole thing with the same mindset as the boss when the boss is away. So I tried to take on the job with such a heavy responsibility. Inventory management, money management and facility management at the store had the exact answers, so it was just things that would be solved if I worked hard, but managing people was different from those. People worked in the same space, and there were conflicts and things I had to point out directly. Whenever it happened, I worried about how to solve these problems. I talked with my boss, got advice from my parents, and asked my friends to solve the problems. Because I think one of the most important factors in social life is human relations, I think these solving processes I did were an opportunity to grow me even further.

 

Before I quit my job and came back to the United States, I had dinner with the staff and the boss. While drinking, we talked about each other straight stories, and the boss told me that he was willing to leave the manager's job to me because he knew I was a good and responsible kid from the beginning, and that he would do it again. And the other staff asked me to see you outside not the working space, not to mention that I was strong and funny. When I heard this, I was very worried and unsure, but I was proud to think that I did my best.

 

The benefits of doing this project are huge. I was so happy to find many new good people. And as I worked as a manager and worked like my store, I could understand how the business works that I had not known well before. I learned that a business that I thought was just as simple is more complex and harder than I thought. Of course, I worked without salaries, but it was a project that left me with a lot of valuable things. Later, when I graduated from university and found my job, I think this experience will help a lot.