Here at Drexel we start Internship (or co-op) season a little early. My internship is built into my program, but it is still stressful. Internships are great networking opportunities and ways to get experience. I knew that one day I would want to use the connections I make there as references in the future after graduation, so going into the first week (where first impressions are so important) I wanted to be as flawless as possible.
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Monday
One of the most nerve-racking days of my life. My company dresses business casual, which is great until you realize how vague it is. I spent all of Sunday night trying to pick out the perfect outfit because first impressions are important. I only started at 10, since it was my first day, so I had time to sleep in. Overall, things went smoothly, and I was semi-busy the whole day. There were numerous calls to the service desk to get login information, setting up accounts, and downloading things on the computer. The day went by pretty quickly, I had a bunch of meetings the entire day to get an ID badge, meet the team, and learn more about my role.
Tuesday
To me, Tuesday was my first “real” day. I started the 9-5 hours and did some basic work with Excel. I actually had a ton of free time. The entire team was really busy this entire week, so getting me introduced to the work, programs, and procedures took some time. I used this free time to get acclimated with the programs I did have access to and learn more about the company. I reread the brand guide and new employee welcome guide.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a big day for me. My company has multiple offices across the country, the main two being in Philadelphia and Princeton (NJ). I traveled with the team to Princeton for the day and met more individuals within the marketing department. For me, this was a great bonding experience because of the ride there and the opportunity to meet with so many different people in person instead of over the phone or email. I did some minimal work in Excel and learned more about some of the programs I would be using. The biggest part for me was a meeting at the end of the day where we covered the area where I am mainly interested in. It was basically a general goal setting meeting moving forward for the team, but it was fun to be a part of.
Thursday
I honestly thought I would be more tired. Especially because Wednesday was a long day. I think the idea of having somewhere to go every day and being awake the entire time made it easier. Today was pretty light on the workload side. I did some email testing and kept track of the information I was observing. But it was a great day to keep in contact with the new people I was meeting.
Friday
Friday was really slow for me. There were some events going on that pulled some people out of the office, so I had a light workload. But it gave me the opportunity to learn more about the company. The information I learned then, although it didn’t seem useful at the time, helped me understand the brand going forward. Now, I have the ability to plan and set goals better.
I had no idea what to expect going into the first week of my internship. I was afraid to ask a ton of questions during my interview, which was a mistake, so I was uncertain about a lot of things. For me, everyone was really nice and it made the week go by quicker and less stressful.