Bookworld is a store that specializes in selling books and stationary to the general public. It is one of Zambia’s prestigious stores. Last year right after my final school exams, I applied for internship at Bookworld through Kucetekela Foundation.
A week after submitting the application, a few friends and I were called for interviews. This was my first interview ever. I practically had no idea how to interview well. I never knew I had to research about the company itself. It was more of a challenge based on the fact that I could not answer a few of the questions because I thought it would be that easy. To my surprise, a day later I was called to start work on Monday. I was really excited and at the same time had mixed feelings.
I was first taught how to relate to customers in a way that makes them feel comfortable. Second, I was taught more about the products being sold. It is important to have product knowledge. As an intern, my tasks were mainly to issue out books from the store room, conduct customer service, verifying received stock and filing of documents. For the first month I had someone help me out with everything in case I had questions or experienced difficulties. The start was rough based on the fact that I had to ask almost about everything. I kept on improving day by day.
The Bookworld experience has taught me how to turn suspects into prospective buyers. Usually we don’t know how to convince other people why a certain commodities suits them. This does not only apply in business but also in our day to day lives. We reach points when we have to convince other people on what we believe. This is the key factor to success that I have learnt.
Lastly, Bookworld has helped me understand how important it is to be hard working. My full potential was put to test. I had to work hard in order to finance my personal expense such as transport and lunch expenses. This helped me budget efficiently in order to meet these expenses. I believe Bookworld has inserted an identity of entrepreneurship in me.
