Two things I learned from my summer internship

As promised, I'm going to dedicate a post to talk about my internship this past summer at Tribal DDB. I did something a little similar last summer when I wrote about my experience at a start-up company.

I think what really defined my internship this summer were the people. I know it's a little generic to say people, but after being here I've learned that there are two things that make a workplace worth committing to: good people and good work. Actually I can't take credit for this point. When I was speaking to one of people in the senior level at my company he told me that if you have 2 out of 3 things at your future job, it is worth staying at. The last thing was money. (I'm still struggling to find how important money will factor into my career.)

But let me continue about good people and good work. Good work is defined by responsibilities that will challenge me to think and to want to learn. Good work pushes me to be a better professional. I can't imagine working on a project that makes me feel lifeless and boring. So to me, good work is challenging but necessary.

Onto my second point: your co-workers can change the entire environment and your whole experience at a workplace. I never expected to build such strong relationships with my fellow interns -- to the point that I feel like I'll be missing something in my life now that I won't see them every single day. And if given the opportunity, I know I will love working with them in the future (even though we are all going our separate career paths..for now). They reminded me of the ambition and drive necessary on the road to success. And then the empathy and positive attitude that will get me there. It's not about stepping on other people to get to the top, it's about being genuine and personable.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience this summer. I've learned a lot about what I want (or don't want), and I'm excited for next semester to see where life takes me next!

Carol