Final KindWork Learning Journal
Customer Experience and Support Bootcamp
Week 6
This is my final week attending Kindwork’s Customer Experience and Support Bootcamp. I am graduating tomorrow and will officially be seeking a job as a customer support professional at a tech startup company.
I’ve gained a lot of new skills over the past six weeks that have prepared me for a new Customer Experience and Support role. I’m excited to share a recap of the many new digital, professional, and CX skills we’ve covered throughout this 250+ hour course. My top five highlights include:
- Tech Office Visits- Visiting the Zola and Facebook’s offices was a wonderful experience. I was able to experience first hand what it would be like to work for these companies and to work in a tech setting. I loved how each company took their office space and made it unique. I also loved hearing from the employees about their start in tech and what type of employment they had previously to entering their roles. Most of them started out working in foodservice and retail environments just as I had, and that reassured me that I could also transition to a tech career given my employment background.
- Guest Speakers- We’ve had many guest speakers over the past six weeks, and each of them gave us amazing advice on entering the tech world. I think the most important advice they all gave was to be ourselves and that we all deserve to be considered for a customer support role at tech companies — even if we do not possess any prior tech experience. They told us about the skills they used to progress to new roles in their careers. They also stressed that we should focus more on our strengths to propel our careers instead of just focusing on improving our weaknesses.
3. Career Readiness- For the last two weeks we have been preparing for obtaining a job. We learned how to tailor our resumes and cover letters to fit the job description so we would be placed in front of job recruiters faster. We also did a lot of interview practice. We practiced answering in-person and phone screening questions. I am always nervous during interviews but the more I practiced the more comfortable I became while interviewing. I will continue to practice until I become a perfect interviewee.
4. Customer Support Writing- Customer support writing is a great skill to have because many tech companies use email support as their main point of contact between customers. I learned how to properly provide a written response in Zendesk and Intercom. I also learned a lot about tone within my writing. I learned to apply an empathetic opening to my emails to seem more friendly and less direct. In the past, I would get emails from co-workers or my supervisors and never understood why their tone would change after I replied to their emails, after some feedback from my career coach I learned that it was because I was not using the correct tone in my writing.
5. Kate and Jeanine- I had amazing instructors during the past six weeks. Kate and Jeanine were super helpful and supportive during the training process. They encouraged my classmates and me to push ourselves and believe we have what it takes to pursue a career in tech. They educated us on what tech life would be like and what to expect in our upcoming roles and the endless possibilities of advancement within a tech company.
This experience has taught me a lot and proved to be extremely helpful in introducing me to the tech world. I’ve gained a new set of professional skills and I’m ready to apply them to a fast-paced customer support role.
I hope my story can serve as an inspiration for others thinking about launching their careers in tech.
Thanks for following along on my journey through the Customer Experience & Support Bootcamp.
