I hope everyone is learning a lot in your internship. Here is question #2. Please comment on this and feel free to respond to other’s comments as well.
What are some of the important things that you had to find out on your own–having to do with the company culture and/or things you wouldn’t normally think you have to ask for…finding the bathroom, finding where to get coffee in the morning, etc?
Matthew Thomas says
An important thing that I had to find out was how to talk to upper level management comfortably. Starting my internship, I was not used to talking to executives. Throughout my internship I realized that the company took an emphasis on their people and ensuring that everyone felt comfortable talking to anyone. This was a bit of a shock to me as I would assume these people wouldn’t bother talking to interns. However, throughout my internship I was able to talk to numerous directors and even our CEO and NYC office lead. These all turned out to be great conversations and I am glad that I got out of my comfort zone to talk to them.
Preston Hinds says
Hi Matthew,
I had a similar experience this summer with my internship. Talking to individuals who have been at the firm you’re working at, as only an intern, can be super intimidating. Luckily for you and me, we’ve had positive conversations!
Preston Hinds says
Although the time during my internship flew by, I took many lessons and advice from my peers in upper management and myself. This summer, my biggest goal was to advocate for myself, speak up, and challenge myself regarding the complexity of my work. To help with this, I kept a notebook with me throughout the internship, where I took notes. Out of all I learned this summer by myself, it would have to be speaking up and asking the right questions I benefitted from the most. I’m soft-spoken and naturally quiet, so this was a challenge. However, by asking leading questions, I learned much more and got in touch with people in the firm’s cybersecurity and data analytics practice, which are the areas I’d like to explore more. By speaking up more, I was given more assignments to test my knowledge and meet industry leaders I would have only met with advocating for myself.
Tyler Allen says
Over the course of my internship, I learned so much, but this only happened because I just asked so many questions, especially in our twice a week morning and afternoon meetings. My first week there I remember asking lots of new employee type questions: Where was the bathroom, when should I take my lunch break/how long, if I put food in the breakroom fridge will other people eat it. After being there for a couple weeks, I only had more questions. My biggest wonder was always when my managers and fellow Associates got their work done. I would see their calendar in Outlook, and it was always full. If you are always in meetings all day, when do you have time to get your other tasks done? The biggest thing I learned (not work related) at my internship over the summer was how to have a proper work life balance and how to effectively spend your time.