I’ve always considered myself to be a pretty well-rounded individual. I’ve always earned decent to good grades, become involved in many diverse activities, finessed my leadership skills and never said no to anything that I thought might help me forward in the walks of life (and finding a job after graduation).
No club, no activity, no leadership experience taught me as much as my internship did in three short months. Though I did learn a few specialized skills, here are the three biggest lessons that I will carry with me for the remainder of my time at school and into the workforce:
The team’s success is greater than your individual success.
As students, we’re always looking out for me, myself, and I. Will I get a good grade on this? Can I put this on my résumé? Will this make me happy? What will joining your group do for me?
Group projects are an attempt to mitigate that way of thinking, but they tend to fall flat: no one really cares what the outcome of the project is, as long as each individual walks away with a decent grade--and maybe a lower grade for the team member who sat around and twiddled his or her thumbs.
But in the real world, there are times when you have to swallow your pride and allow others to step in and help, even if you think you can do it on your own. I struggled with this a lot at first--I wanted to be the sole creator so that I could feel that I was successful. But honestly, some of my work was sub-par, and it needed some love from others. Though it was difficult, I had to remind myself that some things are more important than immediate personal success: in this case, it was client satisfaction.
If I fail individually, I say, “My bad,” and everyone moves on with their lives. If we fail as a team, we lose clients, and the business collapses. It doesn’t take long to see which one takes precedence.
It’s never okay to give less than your best.
There were days when I walked into the office and thought to myself, “I really don’t want to work today.” (90% of those days were either Mondays or Fridays before my coffee kicked in.) And on every one of those days, I sat down and worked anyway. Not only did that teach me to push through my fatigue, but it also taught me how to psych myself up to get in the zone. When I looked back on the work I did during those periods of, “I’d rather not,” I could see a huge difference in my work. It wasn’t motivated, inspired, or really worth reading at all. It resulted in quite a few extra hours of editing to bring it back up to the level that it needed to be.
In an effort to pull myself out of those funks, I began to remind myself that I was hired for a reason. My team was counting on me to do the work, and they needed me to do it to the best of my ability. It was imperative that I did the work correctly the first time.
A good team atmosphere can make all the difference.
I used to think that I could work anywhere and make anything work. After this internship, I’m more inclined to look for a job where I can be surrounded by people that I enjoy and that enjoy each other. It has been such a joy to walk into an office where everyone is moderately happy to be there (until the coffee kicks in--then they’re good to go). It’s wonderful to hear laughter from the other room while you work. It’s great to know that if you’re bogged down, then your team will cheer you up while helping out the best they can. It’s marvelous to know that a workplace can also be a community. Even if I didn’t enjoy my work all the time, I never dreaded heading to the office because I knew that no matter what I had to do that day, I would be surrounded by supportive and enjoyable people who would make the time pass quickly.
After this internship, I feel confident in moving forward with my life. Though the job market still intimidates me (who isn’t intimidated?), I know that my time this summer has prepared me to take the leap into the real world of work. I am positive that I will be able to not only find the job of my dreams, but excel at it--or at least take the necessary steps to be the greatest asset I can be.
