Friday, May 30, 2008

First Internship Lessons

So, my internship and time at LISC is over as of today. It was a 4-month long learning curve to say the least. It was a great experience to see how people are different, how office dynamics play out, and to intimately know the printer's capabilities.

Over lunch with my boss she made a few take-home suggestions:
1. Err on the side of conservative (people don't like it when you bust into their office while they're looking at facebook photos)
2. Say hello to your cubicle neighbors in the morning (I guess that's something most people there are still working on...)
3. Communicate with co-workers: a quick "I'm heading out to lunch" is appreciated (yea, that would be nice huh, if all my coworkers didn't pretend like I were invisible?)
4. Thank your boss when they take you out for lunch (wow, am I bitter)

So the take-home message there was that I apparently lack inter-personal skills (ironic how that was my only gripe with her too...)

On a more positive note, well, there were some positives:
1. "I might actually be able to find files in the office now!"
2. I'm told I organized the filing cabinet over and above the call of duty and the funders database was something I handled very well.
3. I took on challenges (but I'm still unsure if they turned out well or not...)
4. I was able to contribute to the communications department's marketing plan by creating a Company Wikipedia page
5. I created a database of potential funders for a national homelessness initiative

Where do I go from here?
Another internship? More interviews for full-time office jobs? Kick-back with freelance work? Volunteer (yea, I wish I had enough money to do that)?
 I think that a week-long trip to the Bahamas will solve all my problems for now...

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