First Week of Internship
The first day of any new field you enter, whether it is your school or workplace, is always filled with mixed emotions. On my first day of interning at BeachMint, I nervously entered through the elevator doors without a clue as to what to expect. I had been to BeachMint once before during my winter externship program, but everything was still so unfamiliar and new to me. Even though I had finished my first year of business school, I suddenly felt my mind turning blank and I was scared that I wouldn’t meet up to their standards. There were hundreds of images racing inside my mind about all of the mistakes that I could possibly make.
The first task that I was given was to read sixty pages of the company’s competitive analysis and to summarize it in on page. At first, sixty pages seemed extremely overwhelming but as I started to read the analysis, I found myself becoming more and more interested in the content that was written. Gathering information about the different competitors helped me draw a wholesome image of the company that I was working for. It helped me understand the specific online retail industry that BeachMint was under and how BeachMint was different from all of their competitors.
After completing several tasks and projects during my first week, there were a couple of things that I learned. The first thing I learned was that not knowing what to do is completely normal. In fact, it will help you during your internship career. If you don’t know something, don’t ever hesitate to ask your supervisor for help. You’ll learn and grow so much faster as an intern if you are not afraid to admit you don’t know something and ask for help. Not only does this become a great learning opportunity for you, but it also shows initiative that you want to grow as an intern. The next important lesson I learned was that you should not be afraid to try new things. One of the tasks that I had to complete was to become more familiar with different social media outlets such as Instagram, Polyvore, and Pinterest. I had never used any of those sites before and it was so confusing to find ways to utilize those tools for BeachMint’s purposes. But by not being afraid to dive in and research these unfamiliar sites, I discovered so many useful tools that I can use in the future. Lastly, I learned to take every single task as an opportunity for growth. Even in the smallest tasks that you’re given, put in your best and honest efforts because you’ll most likely discover and learn new skills that will set you apart from the rest of your field.
Being an intern is the time when you shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes, to try new things, and to learn. This is the time where you discover what your strengths and weaknesses are and you develop more interest in your career. So continue to be curious and expect the unexpected. You’re slowly on your way to discovering your full potential!