Question #2
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?
Laurel Miller
Some of the important things that I had to find out on my own are:
- Figuring out their building/room numbering system since there are 4 buildings connected to each other and the room numbers are something like B3A-123.
- Also, at some point I had to ask one of the project managers where I can get a fork
At MRP I had to figure out how to get to my floor because I was told to get in the elevator, push my floor number and type in the pin code 333. When I got in there was no pin key pad so I had to figure out that you just had to push your floor and then push the third floor button. It was a weird process but that’s was the only way to get to the 19th floor. I also had to ask co-workers things like can we eat at our desk which is surrounded by all the expensive computer equipment. Here they didn’t mind where we ate or when we ate.
At AstraZeneca, I found the convenient store where you can buy small snacks, pens, and t-shirts and even socks all with its logo and name. The company is very proud of its name and the service and products it provides to the healthcare industry. There are also several coffee bars where you can make your own coffee, tea, and even hot chocolate on each floor in each building, which can be a life saver when you get that “2 o’clock” feeling.
They gave me a pretty good tour my first day so I haven’t really had any trouble navigating anywhere in the building or finding any resources. And I was lucky to have a fellow IT intern who lives a few blocks away and knows the surrounding area very well. I did find their cafeteria in the building, and it is extremely good. Kind of like the SAC, except with good ingredients, happy workers and low prices (so maybe not too much like the SAC). I also had to find out how to get my ID card unlocked so I could gain access to the gym.
Some important things I had to find out was where to park closest to my building. The facility is fairly big having several gates to enter and various areas to park. So I had to do a little exploring, and luckily I found a good parking area that’s only a 5 minute walk to my office. Another thing I found out about the company was there cafeteria and other food stands all close at 1:30pm. I found out the hard way when I decided to take a late lunch and couldn’t because nothing was open. So far those are the only things I’ve had to find out on my own.
Well I did have to figure out how to brew coffee the first day. (I wasn’t FAMILIAR with the flavia coffee makers) When I have to go out on the floor to help an employee I always find it difficult to locate where they sit. I have a map of the building but that doesn’t help all that much. ICGC recently added a new addition to the building. They built a shared bathroom with the company next to us so it is not in our building it is in a community area. And unfortunately I don’t have access to all of the doors so when I went to the bathroom I was locked out, so that was a life lesson. I’ve also learned how to use VOIP phones (transferring calls, retrieving VOICEMAiL, etc.)
Luckily most of the people here have been very helpful in acclimating me to the company culture and pointing out things like restrooms, places to get coffee, eat lunch, etc. One thing that I had to learn on my own however, was how to manage the timing of my work schedule. The majority of the people I work with are in Mumbai, India and therefore are 9.5 hours ahead of our time zone. So if I need to collaborate with any of them on a project, they are only available early in the morning. Now that is when I schedule meetings, etc. and spend the rest of the day working on things that I can do individually.
Some things I had to find out at JP Morgan where:
- the difference between the companies(employees consider themselves to be J.P. Morgan employees, Chase employees, and J.P. Morgan Chase employees)
-where to go when you forget your badge
-and who to contact about computer support/ how to work remotely(most of applications aren’t built to run on Windows 7 so there are glitches on some of our laptops)
- I haven’t had any coffee problems, but we do have to buy it… :/
The first week or two, I was a little on the fence on whether I should tell my supervisor I’m going to lunch, or just go. At first I told him every time I was taking my lunch break, then just stopped because it seemed unnecessary. It is fine this way. The company culture is pretty relaxed and nobody will give you trouble about what time you come in or leave so long as you are getting your work done.
Also, I found that my supervisor is a firm believer in always having a subject line for every email. There were a few times when I needed to send him a very informal email, and I used to not put a subject line in for those. Each time that happened He was sure to tell me to always put a subject line in my emails, regardless of what it is for. I’m not sure if that is part of the company culture or not, but now no matter who I’m sending an email to inside the company, I always fill in the subject line.
There were a few things I had to find out on my own when I began at Amerihealth Mercy.
-Which building I worked in. I accidentally showed up for my first day of orientation at the wrong building. oops…
-Where to find the free coffee
-Who to contact for computer updates (It wasn’t the help desk. For some reason, it’s our direct supervisor.)
-Read email thoroughly. I, along with several other employees, showed up for a meeting that was taking place in South Carolina (For some reason, the rooms are named and have the same names at each AmeriHealth facility). We needed to call in (or fly really fast).
-Coupons online for the cafeteria on site.
-My first couple of days, I tried to open doors without my security badge. Luckily, the security team at my jon are very nice.