Zoë Ashton

Wellington City Council Tip Shop Worker. This was a specialised retail job at a council run second hand store located by the tip and recycle centre in Ōwhiro Bay Wellington. This position involved a collection of four different roles throughout the shop including:

• Till operation - greeting and assisting customers with their shopping needs and requirements
• Receiving - collecting and sorting donated drop offs from customers
• Pricing - sorting and pricing donated items and preparing them for the shop floor
• Floating - distributing, stacking and organising donated & priced items on the shop floor.

Additional roles and responsibilities of this position:

• Loading and unloading furniture
• Customer service responsibilities (managing shop phone calls, etc.)
• Completing work safety site checks and recycling bottle bank checks

Summer Retail Position - Wellington Chocolate Factory Christmas Pop-up Store

Roles and responsibilities of this position included:

• Greeted customers, helped locate merchandise, and suggested suitable options.
• Helped customers complete purchases, locate items, and join reward programs.
• Replenished sales floor merchandise and organized shelves, racks, and bins for optimal appearance.
• Checked pricing, scanned items, applied discounts, and printed receipts to ring up customers.

The WCC Holiday Program consisted of full day supervision of a group of around 30 kids (ages 4 to 12). During the weeks of this program we took the kids to a couple main entertainment activities each day (e.g. movies, mini golf, Zealandia etc.) as well as running interesting indoor and outdoor activities/games back at the centre and supervised down time.

Some skills I displayed in this role included:

• Responsibility and resilience when looking after kids and facing new challenges each day.
• Creating a welcoming, enthusiastic and supportive environment for the young kids to feel comfortable in away from their families.
• Carrying out tasks and duties with optimism and efficiently.

As a Swim Instructor at Swim-well, I assumed responsibility in working with and teaching groups young children water safety, survival and basic swimming skills. The age groups I worked with ranged from pre-school (as young as 3) through to school-age (up to 10-11 years old). Working with kids, adaptability and communication was essential. This position allowed me to mature and become confident in my own capabilities as an authority figure to young children.

Some of the skills I displayed in this role included:

• Demonstrated respect, friendliness and willingness to help wherever needed.
• Responsibility and resilience when adapting to new challenges that arose.
• Confidence and surety in the teachings and examples I set for the kids.
• Implementing techniques and skills I developed in the trainings I attended to a high standard (e.g. following lesson plans and adapting when necessary to fit new scenarios).

Having trained in Rembuden Goju Ryu Karate for over 10 years, I became a volunteer assistant instructor at my dojo, helping to teach at weekly classes as well as a number of other events.

Some skills I displayed in this role included:

• Teaching both core principles and fighting techniques to students of all levels.
• Instructed on proper breathing techniques, stances and forms.
• Assisting in running and organizing important events such as gradings, workshops, gashukus, tournaments and holiday programs.
• Coached new students by breaking down techniques into simple moves.
• Promoted positive and inclusive environment by demonstrating discipline and respect to support students.
• Provided feedback and corrections to improve students' skills and techniques.

This was a volunteer position helping to judge local regional Karate competitions in Wellington using the WKF (World Karate Foundation) rules. In this position I judged both Kata and Kumite for a range of age-groups and skill levels.

Some skills I displayed in this role included:

• Working to ensure fair and unbiased judging to the best of my ability.
• Managing and looking after young competitors, supporters, and coaches.

This role consisted of marking and recording students homework assignments each week, as well as helping outwith tutoring during in class times at the centre. With this job I worked with kids aged from preschool to around 16 years old.

Some of the skills I displayed here included:

• Patience and resilience when approaching new teaching challenges.
• Displaying enthusiasm and a willingness to help out and approach tasks.
• Accuracy and efficiency with marking homework and recording students results for the records.
• Collaborated with students to complete homework assignments, identify lagging skills, and correct weaknesses.
• Provided homework assistance using specific curriculum and materials.
• Motivated students towards learning and studying to build self-confidence and reduce fear of failure.
• Developed student confidence through positive reinforcement strategies.