ACG Professional Culture
Hello again everyone,
Now that I’ve spent a little over a month at my internship at ACG New York, I see a considerable trend of communication that focuses more on intrapersonal relationship building, social capital, and personal selling. The corporate culture of my internship is business professional. A lot of very high level professionals are a part of this association, which requires me to exude confidence, aspiration and elegance. On a regular basis, I go to lunch and meetings with my boss and am expected to be presentable in the way I speak, what I talk about and my appearance. For this culture, I feel that Babson has prepared me well enough; though, there is a difference between the conversations I have with my boss and my college-level peers. Over the past month, my boss has become my mentor and he is willing to aid in advancing in my career; thus, I am smoothly preparing myself for corporate America with every anecdote and every introduction he offers.
On a different note, as a woman in a male dominated field, it is especially important to show vigor and aptitude when expressing myself. It is easy to be overlooked as the inexperienced intern, but once one has enough practice perfecting one’s “elevator pitch,” conversations with high-level professionals become more comfortable and enjoyable. Thankfully, I have a lot of autonomy in the women’s project that I am completing, which is allowing me to reach out to others who would be willing to help me in my efforts to increase female membership. Most of the people that I have spoken to about my project have been very welcoming and supportive, reflecting that professionals will always make time for someone who is ambitious and exemplifying other leadership qualities. There’s no harm in asking someone for help, more likely than not, people will want to lend a helping hand and impart some of their experiential knowledge.
It is also refreshing to know that Babson College is a very renowned institution in this field, starting me off in a respected position for these interactions.
Until next time,
Atiya