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?
One of the important things I had to figure out on my own was understanding how the team actually worked day to day, beyond just the technical projects. My team used the agile method, so every morning we had stand-up calls to debrief on what we worked on and the challenges we were facing. That rhythm wasn’t something I fully grasped until I started participating and observing how others structured their updates.
Another part was learning the small but important things that weren’t explained up front, like how communication flowed. When I first started, I didn’t have access to the Slack channel or GitHub, so I had to take the initiative to reach out, ask around, and ensure I was added to the right places so I could work on the Claims Calculator. That taught me the importance of not being afraid to ask for access or clarification, even if it feels like a minor thing, because those tools are essential for staying up to speed with the team. Even though there were a lot of issues with me fully getting onboarded and having access to the right things, I initially felt like a bit of a nuisance asking for those basics. Later, I realized I shouldn’t feel that way if I don’t have access, I can’t do my work, and it’s better to ask right away than to wait.
There were several things that I had to find out on my own. First was the room booking system. My company had a hybrid system which means there were many virtual meetings that would need to happen throughout the day. However, the in-person office setting is hotel style. All the desks are open and if you have a meeting at your seat, others are going to be able to hear you. As an intern, I learned on my own that there was an option to add a conference room when creating google calendar meetings or time slots in general. So I taught myself how to book rooms way ahead of time so that I can account for those meetings. The second was how lunch worked. On my first day with my team, everyone was busy so I explored the office with my intern friends. I learned that people on my team don’t eat lunch together, so I did my own thing moving forward. But from what I noticed based on people’s unavailability which was during lunch time, typically around 11:30am-1pm depending on people’s schedules. I asked other associates what their favorite place to eat was in the office, and that’s how I landed at my go-to spot which is a “pay for what you want to eat” stall called Passport. They rotate menu options daily, mimicking traveling to different parts of the world.
One thing I needed to accomplish on my own is strategies for recalling how to do certain things after being trained on them. I will often get into a situation where I am asked to do a task that I shadowed once or twice before, and it’s a tall task to recall every step of the way perfectly. Many of the tasks involve sequential steps that cannot be done out of order. I quickly realized that it is unrealistic of me to expect myself to remember every detail after going through it once, so my solution was to take notes while I am being trained and then using those notes when I go through the task.
As far as company culture, Mainfactor is largely ran by remote workers. That is something to get used to in itself- there aren’t many ‘water-cooler’ conversations, and the people that I don’t immediately work with havent had a chance to meet me yet. There was a company Phillies game that I atteneded, and it was cool to meet people that I met in various zoom calls in real life.
My internship is a remote one, but Mainfactor does have an in-person office that operates out of Philadelphia. My hope is that as I continue work at the company, I can transition into an in-person role to immerse myself in the company culture.
One of the first questions I asked my manager was what the typical dress code was. Should I wear a suit or something casual, like jeans, on my first day? I found out that at the corporate office, we are allowed to wear jeans, but if we go out to the hospitals, then we are required to wear something more business-professional. Usually, people at the office do not have a reserved desk, as many only come to the office only 2-3 times a week. I had to figure out the desk-booking system, and I would always book 2 weeks in advance as desks got taken up quickly. My mentor advised me that if I wanted a private conversation, then I should book a “huddle” room or small room for a time slot so then no one else around me in the cubicles could listen to what I was talking about. We have a regular parking lot and parking garage at the office, and I came to realize a couple of weeks-in that it was a smarter idea to park under the garage due to the hot weather. Parking spaces under the garage would be taken up quickly as well if I did not come to the office early enough, since it was only two floors.
When I arrived on the first day of my internship, I had no idea which building I was going to be working in. Automated Financial Systems has two buildings, both right next to each other, so I was a little confused at first about where to go. Once I figured out which building I was working in, I was very curious about where my workstation was going to be located. After a few hours of training, they brought us around to where we will be working. I had a lot of questions when I started, and I was wondering how the remote days will work. AFS has a hybrid schedule, 3 days in person and 2 days remote. Tuesday and Wednesday are mandatory, and then the third day was up to us, so I was curious about what the majority of my team did every week. I learned in week 2 that the Security department worked Thursday and Friday from home, so I adjusted my schedule to match with them, since they are the ones who were going to train me for the first few weeks.. We later got a tour of the building, which answered all of my questions, such as where the bathrooms and break rooms were..