Not Your Everyday Internship

In any business, regardless of industry, the team you hire is the face of your company and controls the customer experience. Therefore, it’s important to hire and develop great employees. However, everyone has to start somewhere, right? I guess this is where I come in.

Nowadays, internships are not only a necessity for an undergraduate desiring a job upon graduation, but they are also difficult to solidify because of the high demand. And, if you’re lucky enough to get one, a lot of times you’ll partake in the proverbial “intern duties” such as copying papers, going on coffee runs, and following around the boss waiting for his or her every move.

To be honest, my experience thus far as a product marketing intern for WorkWave® has been anything but orthodox. As a rising senior in college, I’ve spent the last 16+ years of my life sitting in various classrooms and lecture halls being instructed on the ever-so-daunting, “real-world.” Going on five weeks of interning, I can tell you firsthand that I’ve learned more over the course of these past few weeks than I have during my time in the classroom with professors prepping myself and fellow classmates. Now look, that’s not to say what I’ve learned isn’t important, but personally I prefer to get hands on experience and learn better that way.

Since my first day, I’ve gotten to take part and even participate in various meetings in multiple departments. Aside from that, I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet and connect with people of various educational backgrounds and professions, allowing me to gain a better grasp of what career path I’d like to follow post-graduation. Working on various research projects, sitting in on customer calls, and contributing to the success of full-time employees has helped assimilate me into the whole 9-5 culture.

One thing that has certainly resonated with me besides the invaluable knowledge I’ve already gained, are the many perks WorkWave has to offer to not only myself but also their employees. Strong HR practices ensure employee growth, retention, and communication amongst themselves and leadership positions. It’s not just the comfortable atmosphere that surrounds the office every day of the week, but that employees’ voices are heard and action is taken when necessary. Other perks include:

• Free lunch
• Casual dress code
• Paid holidays and generous vacation time
• Competitive salary and benefits
• Training and continuing education reimbursements

What’s especially interesting is that each day since I’ve started, I’ve gained something new. For instance, I discovered the casual dress code on the first day after showing up in a jacket and tie. And if we’re going to be on the subject of the first day, the first thing I learned was the incredible perk of free lunch. While heading to my desk, the first task I was instructed to do was order lunch. Immediately, I was planning on swallowing my pride because, for the rest of the summer, I’d be participating in the stereotypical role of your average, run-of-the-mill intern. However, I quickly found out the only person I’d be ordering lunch for was myself! Five weeks later, I’ve worked on projects researching and learning all about customers, the last mile business, and fleet management in general.

With all summer to go, I’m quite anxious and excited to see all the vast amount of knowledge I’ll be bringing back to school with me for one last year. I’ve been fortunate enough to be steered in the right direction by tons of great coworkers who enjoy nothing more than being a helping hand and always open to any and all questions.