Career Prep: Gabrielle's Table

[Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe]

Gabrielle figured she should know better after the duelling tournament, but there was a difference between supervising kids who were trying to cause each other harm and helping young adults sort out a few things in their minds about what they wanted to do with their lives. Gabrielle had been all over the place and hadn't really settled into any sort of fixed career until she was in her late thirties, mostly jumping around in academia, so at the very least she could give some advice on what not to do and maybe work with students to pick out things that they might want to focus on in their future endeavours. Not that there was anything wrong with making mistakes or not having any ideas. That was the other thing Gabrielle wanted to reassure them about. Plus, she couldn't help but admit she was just a bit interested in something of a nosy way about what the older students were up to, since she didn't get to see them in her classes.

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel was pretty nervous as he sat down in front of the professor. He wasn't surprised to see his friend, Monday, at the event. It seemed like the sort of thing right up his alley, someone who seemingly had his whole life figured out. Axel, well, he didn't. He'd written 'Ministry Official' on the parchment the yearbook had sent out about plans, but that was just so he wouldn't have to admit the truth - that he had no clue what he wanted to do. "Uh, hi professor. I'm Axel...Zhefarovich. 7th year" he stated, hand out for a shake.

 

[Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe]

At least Gabrielle vaguely recognized most of the students, even though she hadn't really taught many for long. She was a little surprised by the formality, but humoured him by returning the handshake. "Hello, Axel. Easier said than done, but relax, this certainly isn't an interrogation." She smiled as she looked over the names and notes for each student, before looking back at Axel. "So, possibly considering something in the Ministry?"

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel sat down and listened as she asked him if he had plans to head for the Ministry. The seventh year paused before realizing no one was listening and he probably wouldn't see rhe professor again. "No" he breathed. "I think I'd hate it there. But then I think of other jobs and they...nothing sounds really interesting." He looked down at his feet. There. He'd admitted it. Axel braced himself for her reaction. Surely, she'd tell him to get it together or some other expression of disappointment.

 

[Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe]

Gabrielle's pen paused for a moment, considering the boy's words. Then, surprisingly, she actually smiled. "Thank Merlin, I didn't want to waste both of our times giving you guidance you won't use." Gabrielle leaned back in her chair a little, looking Axel over and carefully considering her next words. "You know, actually having a solid idea of what you want to do isn't that common. And more than likely, even if you did, it might change when you get out into the real world." Teaching hadn't been Gabrielle's goal at eighteen, after all. "Why don't we do a little brainstorming? Are there any subjects you feel more confident in than others? We might not think of your dream job, but maybe we can work out the kinds of work you might be comfortable doing as a starting point."

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel looked up, her words markedly different from what he'd expected from an adult. He'd never considered the possibility of changing his mind and being okay with that. "I guess I like Potions and Charms a bit more than the other classes" he explained with a shrug, curious where she was going with this. "No offense" he added quickly as he knew she didn't teach either of those subjects.

 

[Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe]

Gabrielle waved off the apology with a scoff. "Oh, please, if I got offended by students not having History as a favourite class I would've resigned years ago." She pondered for a moment, thinking over the two classes he mentioned. "Hm, with Potions it sounds like you might enjoy work that's a bit more task oriented and structured. Both require a degree of precision, and both can be directly helpful to other people. Would doing anything further with either of those subjects be something that you might be interested in doing?"

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel had never tried to see if there was a link between the two classes he enjoyed, but what she was saying made sense. He did like things to be in order and he was enjoying working at the bookstore. " That's...interesting" he sat on her words a few moments more. "Do you know of any jobs where I could help people but not have to directly work with them? I work at the bookstore and I like the work but sometimes the customers are annoying. If I could just handle the mail orders all day, it'd be amazing." Axel paused for a moment and then pushed a thought out of his mind. It was too much of a reach.

 

[Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe]

Gabrielle gave a sympathetic look. "I get you. It takes a lot to deal with customers." She had volunteered at the library as a student, but had been taken off the front desk after yelling at a first year who had spilled juice on one of the reference books. Thankfully, she'd mellowed a little with age. "If you were wanting to work more in potions, looking at brewing healing potions for somewhere like St. Mungo's might be something you could look into working towards, though that's just one suggestion. Still, perhaps some administrative work at the hospital could be one option. Please don't feel like I'm pushing you towards that, of course," she added, hastily. "That's just the first thing that comes to mind. Perhaps after graduation you could talk to your employer at the bookstore if you're wanting to continue working there for handling more of the back end side of things? As something for the now, anyway. Since you'll be able to work during the school semester, I imagine there's more of the mail order side then." Gabrielle looked a little sheepish, realizing she'd probably thrown a lot at the poor boy rapidly. "At least, if you have an idea of the sort of work you feel most comfortable doing, you can avoid trying to push yourself into jobs and careers that do you more harm than good."

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel knew he didn't have the grades to be a Healer but he was intrigued at the idea of another job at St. Mungo's. He never really thought about the fact there had to be other work there. The professor had given him a lot to think about in a short span of time. "Thanks, professor" he stated. "This was...helpful" he acknowledged. He began to rise from his seat, knowing it was time for someone else to have a turn.

 

[Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe]

Gabrielle nodded, still somewhat apologetic. "Sorry. It was a lot at once. Just take your time, Axel, and enjoy being in the real world." She leaned back in her chair, twiddling a pen between her fingers as she watched him leave and then looked down at her notes to see who was next.

 

[Felix Carnahan]

After talking to Sky, Felix thought that he should probably have some idea about what he should do once he graduated. So when he heard about a career event he figured he should probably check it out. He only had a few weeks left after all. When it was his turn he sat across from the professor and tried to sit up straight. "Hello, I'm...Felix." he said a little awkwardly. "I have to admit I don't really know what I want to do career wise. So....any tips?" he asked. If this was interview he was sure he'd be failing, hard.