THE “JUNIOR” SHORTHAND-

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 89, 6 July 1927, Page 5

THE “JUNIOR” SHORTHAND-

TYPIST She was a little slip of a 16-year-old when she first came to the office; bird-like, with intelligent bright eyes, and an eagerness to please that the head of the department instantly noted. A girlish graciousness of manner distinguished her from the majority of her hard, thin-dipped associates, who were out to get all they could for the least possible amount of work. She took corrections in a spirit that made her employer smile—a nice sort of smile, as if he were making a mental note about it. She was first at her desk in the morning, and when she left at night, all her work-a-day equipment was put neatly away. You could have spotted her typewriter at a glance, so brightly did the metal shine, and so immaculately clean-cut were the typewritten characters on the sheet of paper in her machine. One day the managing director came into the general office with a furrowed line between his brows and a certain agitation of manner that betokened trouble. His secretary was ill. Could the head of the typing department find any sort of a fairly capable substitute. She could and she did. Unhesitatingly, she went up to the little junior. For a moment she looked scared; then quietly took up her notebook and pencil and followed the Chief to his room. Installed in the secretarial chair, she told him, briefly and courteously, what was her speed limit. The Chief smiled reassuringly, and suited his dotation to her undeveloped skill. He dictated so beautifully that the little junior wore a flush of happiness when she brought back the letters, exquisitely typed. Nearly a fortnight later she was appointed his secretary, her predecessor having sent in her resignation by doctor’s orders. This is not a fairy tale. It is just a plain account of what the right spirit and the right working attitude can do for a junior w J ho has made up her mind not to remain a junior longer than she can help. And who proved that it is not neces- j sary to throw your weight about, or to be aggressively “smart” or to pretend to qualifications that you don’t possess, in order to create a favourable impression.

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