Adventures of a Summer Intern: When In Doubt, Let It Out

This week in the wonderful and wild world of interning, my boss and I had “the talk.” No, not the talk where we had to awkwardly assign a label to our relationship and live out that title as cookie cut perfections but rather the talk most interns will undoubtedly have with their boss…. Or at least should.

We talked about my role within the company and what to expect for the rest of the summer. Frankly spoken, I have been a little unsure of my role. I adore my position as the finance support for the Indirect Spend Team but find the umbrella to that team, Sourcing, as persistent as a hoover trying to suck me into their world of plastics, metals, and the occasional nut. This all started on the alliteratively fated Friday this week past…..

Following my presentation on the Indirect Spend initiative, the head of Global Sourcing waved his wand and had his new “wonder-boy” placed on his sourcing-intern pet project (to which there is absolutely no finance component). As I watched that fated golden straw fall and snap my camel clear in two I knew I had to do something. That afternoon, seeking asylum in my Indirect Spend Team Leaders office, the therapy began. She helped me formulate and organize the conversation I would be having with my boss and how to figure out what world I lived in: Finance or Sourcing. At the end of the day, the whole Hannah Montana thing was getting a bit tiresome.

With the goal of resolution tattooed on my heart, I sent my boss a most loaded message, “We need to talk, it’s important.” The initial gravity of my message caused him to panic. It took him 4 business days to muster up the courage to sit down and have the conversation I knew he was dreading. It started awkwardly enough “Sooooo…….. How have you been?” And the flood gates opened. For the next 25 minutes I wove a titillating tale of intern caught between two worlds. Post climax and nearing resolution, with his voice trapped in his throat, caged and silent, a small tear trickled down as his face contorted and evolved into a look that said, “Child, we gonna get through this.”

After pensive thought, he freed his voice charged with a tone of commitment and electric with possibility. Over the remaining half hour of our relieving rendezvous we outlined several key projects to release some of my pent up finance frustration. We worked on a plan that will allow me to exist in both worlds like an alternate reality that is aware of itself…… like in Jet Li’s The One (mediocre film to go with a mediocre simile).

While I did find my exultations cathartic in many ways I was surprised to find out that my boss was blissfully unaware of my agonized-over frustrations. Intern Tip: When in doubt, let it out.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: It's Already Week 4?

Welcome to week four, where my life just got a lot busier, and I realized that I am almost halfway through my internship! It is crazy how fast the time has already gone by, how much I have learned, and how great the whole experience has been so far. I have taken on more responsibilities, met some great other interns, and learned a lot about the business.

This week I am a little busier than I have been in the past weeks. I am currently juggling about three projects, with one being a group project. Last week, I received great feedback on my presentation, and I have to say that Kelley really did prepare me for giving presentations in a corporate environment. I have to give two more in the following week, and while each one will be a little tougher than my first one, I am ready to face the challenge. And as much as we all hate group projects, I am constantly working with every member of my ten-person team, and now I am working with other interns on a project too. It is still difficult to get everyone together for team meetings; instead of balancing club events and homework, I am now balancing meetings and projects. You have to know how to work with a team in corporate, and even though I sometimes hated all those group projects for my classes, they really did help me understand the dynamics of a team.



Check out this picture
of us jumping at the beach!

 While my life at work is picking up, I have started to learn more about Milwaukee outside of work. Last weekend, twenty of us went to Buca Di Beppo for a fellow interns birthday, and it was so fun for all of us to get together outside of work. On Thursday we all went to the beach, where they were having a beach bonfire. One of my friends has a nice, almost professional camera, and he took pictures of us jumping on the beach. It was such a great way to spend Thursday night, because it was night out (finally!), there was a band playing, and it was something different and unique for us to do.

This week, I really had to learn how to balance all my projects, meetings, and my life outside of work and not get stressed about it. As my mom says, I am one of those people who can’t rest till I finish what I need to finish, but I am learning that I will always be stressed if I don’t learn to let things go. This is something that I was not expecting to have to do, and it has been a bit of a learning experience for me. This week we are going to a Brewer’s game with all the interns, which is pretty exciting for me since I have only been to a Major League baseball game once in my life. Come back next week to hear about the game and updates on my projects!

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Managing Work/Life Balance

Week 2
Last week was a whirlwind, it seemed to just fly by. The work week started in the normal routine, except that I finally had a chance to dig my hands into some real work. I had my first opportunity to truly struggle with the work. I have to be vague, but I was working on making processes more efficient.

I found that the biggest problem with getting my job done came from a lack of context. A lot of necessary information was locked in employees minds instead of their user manuals. I could not correctly fix a process without knowing why it was the way it was in the first place.

This brought me to a snails pace as I had to wait hours for answers. To compensate, I went through and mapped the entire process using visio. I was then able to break it up into actionable pieces allowing me to keep working, even while missing data. This proved that being effective at your work comes down to both talent and organization.

After a solid week of automation, a few interns and I headed to Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island. We enjoyed rich sea food, a beautiful beach, and of course the sun. My shoulders are unfortunately red as a lobster, but it was well worth it.

Weeks 3-6
I wanted to get my blogs up to date to my current week, so I am choosing to smush together about a month into this one post. I have just completed my 6th out of 14 weeks here at CIGNA. In that time I have managed to take two trips to N.Y. for the weekend, I tried just about every Connecticut resturaunt that was on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, and I have also become a tangible asset to my team.

Over these past few weeks I have been assigned a number of short term projects which are now all winding down. I have delivered all my work to management, and am currently in the stage of making any new adjustments they come up with. This is honestly my favorite part, I love knowing that some of my deliverables are being presented to the CIO of the company. Unlike school there is no grading scale from what you turn in, you have to gauge for yourself how well you are doing and what you can improve on.

I am very proud of the work I am doing, and I am even more excited that I have been able to dig even deeper into the application development process. I have been working with an automation development tool which I had never even heard of before CIGNA. By simple research and experimentation, I have been able to not only assist the team but teach them on to drastically restructure thier program to fix the issues they were having. It was strange to see the table turn from the intern with all the questions for management, to management with all the questions for the intern.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Interns Take a Road Trip

It’s hard to believe that I’m finishing up my sixth week here at Newell Rubbermaid. Next week I will be halfway done with my internship, which brings me that much closer to an end of the summer trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Welcome Week at IU. Everything from the people I’ve met, to the activities I’ve participated in, to the internship itself, has been enjoyable, and I’m very thankful that I was able to have the opportunity to intern at a company as well-known and respected as NWL.

Two weeks ago, I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for marketing intern training at the NWL headquarters. Seven of us interns piled into the HR minivan and scooted off to Atlanta for two days full of seminars, networking, and good times. There may have been a group viewing of the Justin Bieber movie on the ride down, but I’m going to plead the 5th on that one. All I’ll say is that even our reluctant driver Gordon, much to his denial, had a severe case of Bieber Fever by the time we arrived in Atlanta. I included a picture below of all of the marketing interns at training. There are marketing interns at five different NWL offices in the United States, and about 30 of us in all.

One of my favorite aspects of the two day training was getting the chance to attend a Q&A with some of the full-time employees working within brand management, channel marketing, and marketing communications at NWL. One thing that was clear during this session was that all of these employees were passionate about the brands they are working on and their careers at Newell. Listening to these young professionals talk about their careers really got me thinking about my full-time job search next fall. While I’m not quite sure what I want to do after graduation, this summer has made me realize how important it is to do something that you’re passionate about. It’s easy to be enticed by a big salary or flashy job title, but if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it’s going to be hard to excel in that position. Students at Kelley really are lucky to have the resources and opportunities available to help them navigate the internship and full-time job search, and I know that I’m going to take full advantage of them next year when deciding where to begin my career after graduation.

Walking back to our car in the parking garage after training, I had my first celebrity sighting. Well, there was that one time I met Whoopi Goldberg in New York City, but honestly I don’t even like Whoopi Goldberg, so I’m not going to count that. I ran into none other than Mark Ketchum, President and CEO of Newell Rubbermaid. It was a brief, chance encounter, as Mr. Ketchum was just getting into his blue Mercedes as I was walking to the minivan. But he winked at me and we shared a smile, and it was if he was saying “keep it up, intern.” While you all may laugh at this, I can assure you it was the highlight of my trip.

Life in Huntersville, North Carolina has been really good to me. While some people may not consider North Carolina as part of the south, I would beg to differ. There are so many little things that I just love about the South. Sweet tea really is served as if it’s water, and men proudly wear pastel colors as if every day is Easter morning. Southern accents are pretty cute, and I’ve even found myself embracing the use of “y’all.” Having a city like Charlotte a stone’s throw away allows me to venture into the city whenever I get tired of suburban life, but it’s nice being able to come home and lay by my pool in quaint Huntersville after a long day of work. This is somewhere I could definitely see myself beginning my life after college.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

As an international student, you need to do some additional work after receiving your internship offer/before you officially start your internship: apply for curricular practical training (CPT). CPT is work authorization that is required for international students to gain practical experience, such as an internship, in the US prior to their graduation date, as the F-1 visa only guarantees your legal presence in the US for academic purposes.

To qualify for CPT, you must hold an F-1 visa, have an official internship offer from a company, be enrolled as a full-time student for at least one full year, and register for an internship course. For Kelley students, this means that we need to work with our academic advisor for all approvals prior to contacting the UCSO to apply for one of the internship courses. We also need to submit our official offer letter to the Office of International Services (OIS). It is important to note that your offer letter must contain your start/end dates, hours worked, location/address, hourly pay, and your internship/job duties. If it does not contain this information, you will need to contact the Human Resources representative at the hiring company and ask for a more detailed letter. Fortunately, many companies already know that this is needed when they hire an international student.

Once you have completed these steps, assuming all parties approve you for CPT/the internship course, you register for the course (BUS W499 or X498) and you are good to go. FYI - W499 is a zero credit course and X498 is a two credit course.

Now that I have gone through the CPT process, I have two pieces of advice for someone going through it for the first time:

1. Get started as early as possible. I originally reached out to the HR department at the firm I'm interning at this summer in February and received the detailed offer letter needed in late April.
2. Apply for the internship course the same time you submit your offer letter to OIS. It takes time for the UCSO to approve your application for the internship class and for OIS to process your CPT application. The sooner you submit your documents, the better.

For more specific information regarding the CPT process, visit the OIS website. They have a great online guide re: the CPT process. As a supplement to this guide, click here for the UCSO's step-by-step instructions for CPT (listed under which course do I choose).

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Moving on up the Ladder

In the week following my boss leaving there has been a lot of change. My role hovering between the Finance and Indirect Spend Teams has been solidified: I am now the head Finance support for the Indirect Spend team.

Frankly, I was really surprised that they put me, a humble intern, as the head Finance support. The Indirect Spend team has been charged by the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), aka the CEO and his head minions, with cutting the companies operating expenses.  The team meets weekly with the ELT to review where the cost cutting opportunities and activities exist.

In the past few weeks I have met with the highest rungs on the ladder showing off my rhinestone crusted reports and my gilded spreadsheets. The sum of my efforts, which have been me frantically running around the office desperately asking anyone and everyone for help trying to generate reports from systems that remind me of the communication barriers from South East Asia, has earned me this accolade.

When my boss sat me down and told me of my new role I had to ask why I was being put into this role and not a full-time finance person. His first response was that the resources weren’t available to hire a full-time person but my disappointed look spurred him to quickly recover and comment on several qualities that made me the best available person to fill this position.

• Not being afraid to ask for work
• Not being afraid to ask for help

These are the two most important things I can pass on to future interns. Whenever there is downtime it is really important to ask both your boss and your coworkers for different assignments. It is really great to have a pile of assignments to work on but it can also be really overwhelming at times. Frankly, in larger companies where they have a multitude of software and programs that you need to use the learning curve can be really steep.

This is where asking/begging/pleading for help comes into play. Getting help is a great way to  meet more people in the company as well as a great way to learn new computer systems and some of the lesser known tips and tricks. Asking for help has helped me build a troubleshooting network that puts the IT department to shame. I have made great connections and found mentors in most every department. I like to think of myself as a corporate socialite. I am having a chihuahua flown in from our Monterrey plant next week to carry around the office.

The adventure continues next week.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Cold Weather, Short Weekends, and Busy Work Days

It is Wednesday of my third week of my internship, and the high is 59 degrees in the middle of June. For someone who has spent the first week and a half spending as much free time as possible at the beach, having gloomy and cold days mean that sunbathing is out. And other activities are in.

Since our weekdays nights start at 6 and end before midnight, and usually some sort of cooking and working out occurs between then, there is not a lot of time to actually get to experience some things. Last week we had movie nights with some other interns, and a group of ten of us went out to a restaurant called the Eatery. One night last week my roommate and I spent quite a bit of time at the grocery, and I never thought that it would actually take as much time as it did to get a week or two of groceries! Yesterday my roommate and some of our other friends went to the mall a little outside Milwaukee, but by the time we actually made it out there, went shopping, ate, and then came home, it was 10:30 pm. It is amazing how fast the time actually goes when you actually get home from work and even on the weekends. I never realized how short weekends were until I started working 40 hours a week at this internship.

During the first few two weeks of my internship, I was still getting the hang of the location of meeting rooms, my daily responsibilities, understanding my buying office, and getting to know my co-workers. But from my first meeting at the beginning of week three, I could tell that my work life was going to be busier. I was now getting more responsibilities, and I found out about a project on Monday that I had to present on Thursday. Now that I have started to get the hang of things, my buyer will pull me into meetings that I love, but meetings do take up a lot of the day. As someone who likes to learn things by myself, I have learned that you save a lot of time and a lot of stress by asking for help. Everyone is eager to help me learn, and I feel like I understand more about the buying office everyday.

Even though the weeks are long, the weekends are short, and adjusting to a routine can be uncomfortable and stressful, I think the key is to keep and open mind and be willing to learn. Also, especially for me, I had to accept that if I didn’t ask for help or ask questions, I could be missing some key pieces of information. Sometimes balancing lots of projects, meetings, and responsibilities can become stressful at times, I am excited to start working on more projects and learning more about Kohl’s and life in corporate retail.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: 7 Things to Know as an Intern

My first week is over, and I can tell you that I already feel comfortable walking into those doors every morning. It was amazing how quickly I switched from the college mentality to one of a traditional work day!

You pick up a lot of office basics the first week on the job. As such, I wanted to share my top 7 things I learned/you should know as an intern:

Time management is all you.
First day I had asked by manager if it was okay to leave. He replied by saying that it was up to me to make sure that I get the hours in to complete the work. How this was done was up to me and didn't matter to him.

Press 9 before dialing.
This one sounds dumb, but it took me 30 head scratching minutes for me to figure it out.

Ask questions, it saves time.
This is reinforced by number 2, those 30 minutes could of been eliminated by a simple question.

First weeks are slow.
I went crazy in my first days trying to gain access to the most simple features of my computer. I had to remember that everything is a security risk, it takes time.

Manage expectations.
Chances are that management is not ready for you to show up. They don't know your skills yet, and may only have a vague idea of what to do with you. Complete all tasks with the best of your abilities and better projects will come your way.

K201/X201 = Gold
Ya I said it. The skills I learned from these two classed allowed me to become the official excel and access consultant for my entire team within two days of starting work.

Google it
Don't know something about finance, accounting, taxes, branding, roles, software, programming? Google is your friend, it will allow you to at least frame your questions better before pestering management.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: 3 Intern Do's and Don'ts

This week, I decided to focus on three major intern do’s and don’ts. These are the things you’ve probably heard 50 times from your professors, parents, and friends, but still can’t seem to comprehend. It may seem like a little tough love, but you’ll thank me later when you receive your full-time offer in August.

Don’t Be Tardy for the Party.
Surprise, you’re an intern! Whether you like it or not, you are not the CEO of the company. Heck, you’re not even the assistant to the CEO of the company. Thus, you’re expected to be on-time to work like all of your other co-workers. When the pregnant lady who was up until 3am nursing her sick child manages to make it to work before you do, you know you have a problem. Rolling up 25 minutes late, looking disheveled with a Starbucks cup in your hand, is unprofessional and unacceptable. Don’t be that intern, the one that everybody stares at as you walk of shame it to your desk, late for the third time that week.

Likewise, never be the intern that leaves early. We get it. It’s summer, it’s hot, and you just want to head to the bar to pound $1 beers with your boys. Here’s a little secret…pretty much everyone in the office wants to leave to pound beers with their friends or lay by the pool. Skipping out early is not only going to make you look bad, but it’s also going to piss off all of your co-workers who can’t do said things after work because they have to go home and tend to their three kids and spouse and live a real life.

Break Room Behavior.
Is there anything worse than going to get your morning cup of Joe and realizing that the pot is empty? Probably, but to most of your co-workers, there isn’t. The rule is simple: if you pour the last cup, brew another pot. What’s that you say? You’ve been living under a rock for the past 21 years and don’t know how to work a coffee maker? Then don’t take the last cup! Simple as that.

Continuing with proper etiquette in the break room, always make sure to clean up after yourself. The break room is not your kitchen or your frat house, and thus shouldn’t be treated like it. While everyone in the office is happy for you that you decided to save some money and pack your lunch, nobody wants to see or smell the glob of tuna melt you left to crust onto the table. And don’t even dare to leave your dirty plates or mugs in the sink. Just…no.

Welcome to Club Corporate.
With your internship offer, you’ve been granted access to one of the hottest and most exclusive clubs around, Club Corporate. Unlike many of the other clubs and bars you may frequent during the school year, Club Corporate does not want to see you in your shortest skirt, highest heels, and flyest baseball cap. Sure, you may like the attention you get from the 30 year old, married, finance guy who sits next to you when you stroll in wearing an outfit that emphasizes your, um, finest features, but I can assure you everyone else in the office is not going to be as impressed.

Dressing for your job in the corporate world is a bit like dressing for your Grandma Betty’s funeral…always better to err on the side of caution. Men, a little cologne goes a loooooong way. As much as you may love that $7 bottle of Axe that’s been sitting in your car since you turned 16, the lady sitting 20 feet away from you probably doesn’t as she now has to pop Tylenol twice a day just to keep her headache at bay. If you must, put on a little cologne, but just make sure it’s not so overbearing that it ruins everyone else’s day.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: The Final Countdown

I’m heading back to the states to start my internship! As I begin to pack my bags, I’ve been reflecting on this whole experience up until this point – applying for internships, interviewing, securing summer housing, etc. Of all of these topics, I’ve received the most questions about summer housing. More specifically, people want to know how I found my apartment. Having to secure housing for a summer internship on your own can be daunting. As such, I wanted to share my story about how I landed my summer housing in Chicago in hopes that it will give you some tips should you ever find yourself in the same position.

“Where am I going to live?” This was one of the first things I thought about upon accepting my internship. My family is in China, not Chicago, and I was not at all familiar with the city. While I was excited for my internship, I was a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of finding a place to live. “Where do I even start?”

I began my search with Craigslist – the price(s)/location(s) did not fit what I was looking for. Next I tapped my network, asking friends, classmates, and alums for any assistance and/or leads. This provided me with a solid starting point. I was told that there was an apartment complex nearby that happened to be a popular place for students from a nearby college. Armed with this information, I visited the school’s website (similar to Classified at IU), and found ads for summer subleases. From there, I ended up securing my home for the summer. It is a short six-minute walk from the office and the rent is much less then summer dorm housing nearby!

I highly recommend utilizing various resources when searching for summer housing. Larger cities, such as NYC or Chicago, have summer housing through the local college dorms. The rates, as well as move-in/move-out dates, are usually predetermined. Although convenient (and fun, as you get to meet other interns), my internship start date was later than others so the entire cost of living in the dorms was too high. Because of this, I decided to venture out on my own.

Not all companies provide summer housing for their interns, so I hope my story has given you some insight into the self-directed summer housing search.

Before I leave for Chicago, I wanted to provide you with a “Taste of China” and share with you some information about my favorite dish: Hot Pot.

One of my favorite Chinese dishes of all time is hot pot. Hot pot is more of a way to cook food rather than just simply a dish. Chinese people usually have hot pot during holidays or when they feel like to get together with their family or friends...I have it every time I go home! People sit around a table and there is a heating pot with broth in the middle. They order raw dishes and put whatever they like into the pot until it is cooked. It’s similar to fondue restaurants that you might see in the States.

The main reason that I love hot pot is because you can basically cook anything you want with it. Chinese people like to have sliced beef, lamb, seafood, and/or vegetables. You can also cook dumplings or noodles when you have hot pot. Because the broth becomes so delicious after adding meat and vegetables, I like to have a bowl before I finish the meal. If you ever come to China, please make sure that you at least have one hot pot meal...I promise it will be worth it!

Stay tuned for next week to hear all about my 1^st week back in the states!

-Yuanfei Miao (Fei)

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Disenchanted, Disappointed, and a Little Distressed

The week has come; at the end of this week I finally get my own office. Some sort of promotion? No, my boss has decided to leave the company and has turned his office, a glorious muddling of beige wallpaper, mismatched chairs and a dilapidated desk with water rings adorning the top like an Ikea pillow, will all be turned over to me. While I am excited to kick my feet up on my brand new desk my boss’s departure has made me reconsider my feelings towards the company I am interning with.

My boss is not just leaving the company but he is leaving Finance all together. He has given up his life of modeling and spreadsheet building in favor of moving out to the backwoods of Tennessee with his girlfriend and pursuing a career in teaching. In his last days, he has become extremely vocal about his discontent with the company we are working for. He has highlighted the general injustices and the declining levels of concern for employees and overall employee programs. Unfortunately, his protests and his concerns are not news to me.

This past week I have been meeting with the managers of the discretionary spending teams to go over the accounts that they head. I have met with everyone from Personnel account leaders to Travel and Telecom leaders. The general tone throughout the company is one of absolute frustration. A new executive leadership team was recently recruited from management roles of some of the world’s largest companies. They have grown accustomed to the luxuries their former roles afforded them and the benefits of being in such a large corporations. Now, in a much smaller company, they expect those luxuries while making massive budget cuts.

There is a widening gap between a team of leaders unwilling to give up first class flights and executive suites and the common employee working a 7:00-7:00 work day, taking on responsibilities from previously cut positions, and seeing no additional compensation. In a recent budget meeting, one of the new executives called the month-in-the-making report of savings initiatives “smoke and mirrors” while asserting that there clearly needed to be more training of the employees. That same department is currently running with two key roles empty from employees that jumped ship.

The general tension in the office is unbearable. In this windowless prison where the hoi polloi are overworked and exhausted the morale is at an all time low. My boss’s proclamations and the general exhaustion throughout the office have made me question if this company is truly one that I would like to work for in the future.

I may have forgotten one tiny detail to mention at the beginning of this entry...the company I am currently working for is extremely profitable. On top of that, we’re growing.

Well, at least I have my own office.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: Corporate Retail = Fashion with Numbers

As someone who wore a uniform for twelve years of my life, I get excited about picking out my outfit for work every day. And, as someone who’s retail experience deals only with picking out my outfit every day, I was interested in seeing what makes up the business side of retail. Even though product samples surround me every day, I am realizing that corporate retail is a lot about the numbers, and all about the customer. I tend to fill my days with numbers—anything from reports to style numbers. I like that I am surrounded by fashion, but I secretly love the numbers behind the fashion.

My workdays are long but the weekends are very short. All the interns try to fill our 2.5 days off with brewery tours, eating at new restaurants, going shopping, going to the beach, and just experiencing Milwaukee .And let’s just say, I was far from successful at doing everything I wanted to do in my first weekend. I ended up going to the beach twice, eating at a not so great Mexican restaurant followed by my roommate Tess's car breaking down, and going shopping at T. J Maxx. But on Friday afternoon, we had an intern outing, and we all went on a boat tour around Milwaukee! It was a great way to enjoy the Friday afternoon (pictured is my friend and fellow Kohl's intern Brooke and I on the tour! We also had a large group (about twenty!) that went to the beach on Sunday!

There are a few things that I have learned after working for a week at my internship:

Lay off the coffee.
One time last week I had about three, large, travel mugs of strong coffee, and I ended up feeling sick and shaky all day. Now I have switched over to one mug of organic tea, and drinking lots of water.

Make yourself a healthy, well-balanced lunch.
Even though feel like I’m 5 years old when I bring my sandwich with fruit, yogurt, and chips, I am able to stay awake and alert for meetings because I am not carb-loading for lunch. 

Try and work out a few times a week.
I am one of those people who can only be on a treadmill for 30 minutes max, so I have started running on the path by the Lake Michigan.

After my first week, I am loving my internship, and loving Milwaukee. I am excited to learn more about working in retail, life in Milwaukee, more cooking (grilled my first burger successfully—even though it was with a George Foreman), and life in the corporate world.

*Fun Fact: Macaroni and Cheese pizza is very popular in Milwaukee. I would know this, since I had it on Saturday — and it was actually very good!

Adventures of a Summer Intern: My First Day on the Job!

Months of anticipation had finally come down to this first day at the job. My stomach was honestly churning like the first day of grade school. I checked my alarm 15 times the night before. I had even driven the route to the office the day before to insure that I wouldn't be a minute late. All of this preparation and............!

The first day I arrive forty minutes too early. Fortunately I was not the only one. About eight other interns had the same idea as me, and we all commiserated together as we patiently waited by the security desk. Our leader and the other interns filtered in as we began the first day on the job!

We went downstairs to a training room and did the standard ice breaker affair. We introduced ourselves one by one, and I quickly realized what a diverse group we had. We had all sorts of people with varying backgrounds in technology. One girl was even a cognitive science major who happened to have a passion for tech. Each person gave a little bit about their backgrounds and quarks for the group.

After the get to know you games we were divided into two groups. The first group was led directly to the security center to receive their official security badges. The other group (Mine) was given a tour of the company before we did the same. We were shown the beautiful Gym, cafeteria, offices, and conference rooms. The place felt like an absolute maze. Every cubicle seemed identical, so the use of land marks was out of the question. The full-time who showed us around even commented that he still got lost.

Following the tour we went through the hour long process of getting our official CIGNA badges. The process was painless, except that the camera they used morphs your face in unspeakable ways. My badge for instance replaces my eyes with black holes, and adds about 30 pounds to my face. Regardless I was still ecstatic to feel like a real employee. We were then led back to the training room to meet our managers.

Each intern was assigned to one and only one manager. This news sparked a hundred pros and cons in my head.

PROS:

• One on One Attention
• Ability to have diverse work apart from interns
• Become a face instead of a number

CONS:

• Alone
• Alone
• Alone
• Alone
• Alone

Basically I was nervous to break into an established team without the help of my new friends. I knew I would have a thousand questions, and it would be less intimidating if I could bounce them off another intern before I asked management.

Luckily I was shown to my desk, and I was seated across from two other tech interns. Not just tech interns, but tech interns from IU. All my worries immediately subsided as we spent the next few hours stumbling through help desks trying to figure out how to get access to basic work applications.

My manager happened to be very busy the day I arrived, so he was not able to hold my hand during the onboarding process. I was actually very glad for the opportunity to discover the new interface in my own way. However we did get a chance to speak to each other for an hour while I was starting. He filled me in on my job role, why I was hired, and what I wanted out of the internship.

I knew from this short talk that I lucked out with my role and manager. The job fit exactly what I needed, a cross between developing technical skills and stretching business knowledge. My manager was a very bright and patient man, who I knew I could get along with famously. We talked a little about his family, and that is when I noticed something important.

He had a child about the same age I happened to be. Granted I was young enough as it was being at CIGNA. I was pretty sure that I was the only teenager at 19 in the building. That started me thinking that this won't be the last time I encounter this. I then realized that I doubt that even cares about my age, he only cares if I can do the job. It was up to me to prove that I was up to the task.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: The New Work Week

For college students, the work week is generally viewed much differently than by those working in the “real world.” To start with, the work week for a college student ends on Thursday, because let’s be honest, none of us want to wake up for a Friday lecture after a night out on Kirkwood with friends. Similarly, most college students don’t begin their days until 10 or 11am, when their cell phone alarm buzzes after being snoozed a half a dozen times. Even then, students seem to throw on the first pair of basketball shorts or sweatpants they see, and then scramble to make it to Kelley for their first class of the day. And Sunday, one of the most dreaded days of them all in the college world, typically means putting in a significant amount of time in the library and maybe lunch with friends at Mother Bears or Bloomington Bagel Company.

While I’ve become accustom to this glorious schedule over the past three years, my summer internship at Newell Rubbermaid has already changed the way I look at the work week. Now, my excitement comes first on Wednesdays, or “Hump Day”, when my coworkers and I realize we have made it halfway through the week. And then there is Friday. Ah, Friday, a glorious day here at Rubbermaid Medical Solutions, where management brings in bagels for all and everyone dresses down. Never has the phrase “Casual Friday” provided so much joy in my life. Yet the most refreshing part of this new work week is that once I’m done for the day, I’m done. I don’t have to come home from work and study, or meet up at the library to work on a group project. Instead, I can spend my time after work at the pool or, if I’m feeling ambitious, at an evening workout session with some of the other interns. Sundays are no longer dreaded, as I now have the entire day to do as I please. Everything comes with its pluses and minuses, but I have to say that I’m enjoying this change in how I view the work week.

My internship is going really well so far. I’ve spent the past few weeks working on a project that involves creating a competitive comparison matrix. Basically, I’m analyzing the products of some of our major competitors, and looking at how we as a brand compare across a multitude of different benchmarks. This file is something that is going to be used by teams across Rubbermaid Medical, including the marketing and engineering departments, so it’s nice to know that my work is going to help out others in the company.

Another project that I’ve just begun working on is the launch of a new product within the company. This seems like it’s going to be a big project for me, as I’ll be developing marketing collateral and a launch kit, handling some of the PR activities associated with this new product, and writing some of the copy for the website. I’m pretty stoked to be working on such a big project, and I know that I’ll be learning a lot. As part of the intern program, I was assigned a mentor. My mentor, Ashleigh, works in marketing communications here, and has been immensely helpful thus far. We’ve had lunch a couple of times to discuss my first few weeks, and it’s nice having someone younger to talk to about their time with the company. Everyone here at NWL has such a positive attitude, and the work environment is something I’m sure people at other companies envy. When you’re working with people who really love what they do, coming to work doesn’t seem like a chore at all.

This past weekend was so much fun, as I was able to get to spend some more time with the interns. Friday night, a group of us headed to another intern’s house for an amazing home cooked meal of chicken stir fry. On Saturday, a group of us went to a minor league baseball game to root on the Charlotte Knights (see picture above). The team won, and we got to see a spectacular fireworks show after the game. All in all, it was a relaxing weekend, and Huntersville is already beginning to feel like home.

Come back next week to hear about my trip to Atlanta to visit Newell Rubbermaid’s headquarters, our marketing intern training, and my run-in with Newell Rubbermaid CEO Mark Ketchum.

Here's a short video tour of my new apartment in Huntersville, as promised in last week's blog post!

Adventures of a Summer Intern: And So It Begins

Hello! I am Yuanfei Miao (you can call me Fei). It is my pleasure to share my summer internship experience with you through this blog. I am currently a junior majoring in Accounting and Finance and minoring in Mathematics in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. This summer I will be working as a transaction service intern for a Big 4 accounting firm in Chicago. I will begin the first week of my internship in New York for training, returning to Chicago to start my actual work.

Because I had a break inbetween the end of the semester and the beginning of my internship, I flew home to China after finishing final exams. My time at home has been spent with family and friends. One of the highlights so far has been my trip to Shanghai to visit my friends/colleagues from my former internship. Last summer, I was one of two sophomores to intern at a consulting firm in Shanghai (all of the other interns were juniors). As such, many of my fellow interns had already started their first jobs with consulting firms, banks, accounting firms, and/or real estate agencies. The get together was a lot of fun and made me think a lot about my future.

I used to think that my vision of the future would end once I secured my first full-time position. After meeting with all these professionals/professionals-to-be, I started to think from other perspectives. What kind of lifestyle do I want after I start to work? What other industries I might look into? As a woman, what will happen to my career if I decide to have a family? I used to think that it was hard enough to even get my first job...who cares what happens afterwards?

After meeting with them, I started to realize that getting my first job was not an end; it was a start...a start to a new life. Before I dig into my new life, I’d better do more research about it. It made me recall the words from an IU alumnus, who is working for McKinsey now, “There are two things that you will spend the most time with in your life. One is your job and the other is your partner. Both of them deserve you to spend a fair amount of time looking for the best fit for yourself. ”

Adventures of a Summer Intern: From the Far East to the Midwest

Sitting trapped behind a desk in the Supply Chain Finance department of a Fortune 1000 company could not be any further from the life I led last semester. Just a few weeks ago I was in Hong Kong — my unequivocal New York of the East. A bustling city with a strong pulse where there is always something to do every hour of every day. From course work to clubs the city has as the allure of a European city blended with the distinct and sometimes frightening culture of China.

Following my journey around Hong Kong, I spent three weeks motor biking through Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. My time there was breathtaking and uncompromisingly eye opening. The blend of poverty, culture and tumultuous history that Southeast Asia offers is unparalleled. However, after all of these adventures I find myself nestled comfortably in a town of 10,000 in the great American Midwest.

My internship just started yesterday and so far all is well. The one of the most difficult aspects for me has been resisting the desire to hop on a motorbike to get to the copy machine or fighting that almost irresistible urge to take pictures of everything you see that is new or unfamiliar...including coworkers. The other eye opener has been the small-town surroundings of this company. For some reason I am more comfortable in Vietnamese villages where the homes are made out or corrugated steel than towns of 10,000 where every new entrant into the local YMCA is met by a collective greeting of “Hey Bill!” or “Hello there Nancy”.

Being from the East Coast there is a lot to get used to in the flat and often desolate landscape of the Midwest. The people are one of the greatest differences. In Boston, one typically walks struts down the street with a glossy indifference to those fellow pedestrians passing by. The occasional tourist may venture to penetrate your façade with a cheerful greeting and a warm smile but a true east-coaster doesn’t fall for such trickery. The ONLY appropriate response is to wince at the trespasser, purse your lips or sneer, and turn your head ever so slightly away from them as if you didn’t even recognize their presence lest you suggest some sort of justification to their existence.

In the Midwest things tend to be a little bit different. Everyone walking down the street smiles warmly and greets you. At first I thought this was some sort of conspiracy or some bizarre flash mob but I quickly realized that this is what some people call hospitality. They have hospitality everywhere around here, and it’s FREE! Everyone in Kroger, people around the office and fellow gym-goers all have hospitality. I hope that I too may leave this internship with a dollop of the warmth that people hear have shown me thus far.

I am excited to trade my backpack in for a briefcase and see what this company and the true Midwest has to offer.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: A Week of Firsts

My first day of work at my corporate internship was not like any other first day I have ever had in high school, my first day I got to wear make-up; in college, my first day I could wear whatever I wanted after 12 years of uniforms; and last summer at my internship in Spain, I had to speak communicate in an entire different language for the entire day. Needless to say, I had no idea what to expect on my first day of my corporate internship.

This summer, I am working as a Merchant Business intern at Kohl’s Corporate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in one of the buying departments. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, since my only retail experience was working as extra holiday help at Aeropostale when I was 15. But after I met my head buyer, plus the 10 other people who I will be in contact with daily, I felt less anxious and super excited for the summer. Everyone at Kohl’s and everyone in my department had been looking forward to the interns arriving, and I’m excited to learn more about buying, and trying to find my own personal impact on the company.

Even though my first day was great and I loved all the people that I met, it was definitely overwhelming. I had to wake up at 6 am and be on a shuttle by 7 am for a 45 minute bus ride to corporate. Once we arrived, our schedule was packed with events all day long. By the time I actually met my team, I was exhausted and couldn’t even remember what I did before lunch. Also, once you start, you hit the ground running. I already had about 100 emails and meetings already set up for the next day! I soon found out that I have multiple meetings everyday, along with having to balance various projects. By the end of the day I just wanted to come home and crash, but of course I had to eat something, so I had to decide what to eat and then cook it. Quite a long day.

My first day was busy, overwhelming, exciting, fun, stressful, but overall great. I know that this summer I will learn a lot, but I will also have a lot of fun too. My dorm is in a great location — only a five minute walk from the beach (see picture below)! This is going to be a summer of firsts — my first time having to dress business casual all day (including heels), my first full 40-hour work week, my first attempts at cooking for myself (my first pasta dish was a success!), my first time relying on public transportation and/or taxis, and my first time being a five minute walk from the beach for the entire summer!

Adventures of a Summer Intern: A New Start

About Me
Hello! My name is Kevin Phillips, and I am going to be a Junior next year at Indiana University. I am in the Kelley School of Business, majoring in Information and Process Management and Accounting.

I am heavily involved at IU ranging from the Technology Management Club to Out at Kelley to The Singing Hoosiers. I am interning this summer at CIGNA, and am ecstatic for the opportunity.

My job role will be Application Development, that being said I will do my best to avoid all jargon when I talk about work. I am a huge techy, so if you have ever want any more details on what I do feel free to email me! Kevphill@indiana.edu

The Trip
I left Friday morning following my first conference call with the Cigna management team. The call was a general Q & A to allow the interns a forum for any pressing questions. I asked the usual questions of dress code, and if the interns will have access to work files while back at the apartment.

As the call ended, I scurried into the car to start the 16 hour drive with another friend from IU, who happened to be working with me this summer. The trip was long but bearable. We drove the 16 hours from Chicago to Connecticut straight through. CIGNA was nice enough to cover our expenses, including a hotel if we desired. We decided to not take advantage of that, and simply made the long haul with little trouble.

We arrived early at the apartment complex, about an hour before move in. Embarrassingly we fell asleep in the car right in front of the central desk. I awoke startled to see that one of the TECDP associates had arrived while we were sleeping. We got out of the car groggily but still managed to make a good first impression.

We unpacked into these beautiful luxury apartments. CIGNA had really set us up in an amazing place. All furniture and cooking wares were provided. I could not believe that they were paying for such a place, the kitchen alone was as big as my room last semester.

After a quick power nap, we headed out to a meet and greet with our "Buddies". Now we were assigned Buddies a few months before we were arrived. They were young associates who were meant to guide us through the onboarding process, sort of an outlet for any mundane questions we had. They had a great picnic set up for us right within the apartment complex. I found out that there were 20 interns in total, and get this 9 were from Indiana University.

Everyone spent the next couple hours feeling each other out. I personally was struggling to find a line between friendly and professional. This was how I got my first taste of the corporate atmosphere. I have been so used to being afraid to mess up in the slightest, that my guard may have been too high. I had to remind myself that I already have the position, and it is alright to have a little fun.

Knowing that the picnic was soon to end, I wanted an outlet for the interns to get to know eachother in a less formal setting. I called and made reservations for a restaurant only a couple minutes away for the twenty of us. I would say about 14 ended up coming which was a decent number. We talked for a few hours, than headed back to the apartments to sleep off the long trip.

Adventures of a Summer Intern: My First Foray into the Real World

I guess it couldn’t last forever. After four months spent traveling around Europe as part of a study abroad internship program based in London, England, I’ve finally returned back to the U.S to begin being a “real person” again. Let me tell you, the transition from a semester abroad to a 40 hour work week has been a little bit of a rude awakening, to say the least.

Exactly two weeks after I arrived home in Michigan, I once again packed up my suitcases, loaded up my car, and made the 10 hour trek to Huntersville, North Carolina.

Huntersville, a small town located about 20 miles outside Charlotte, is my home for the summer as I intern with Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) as a brand management intern for their Rubbermaid Medical Solutions division. This summer I’ll be sharing my experience with you through this blog, talking about everything from my internship to the new friends I’ve made to life down here in the south.

While in Huntersville for the summer, I’m living with two other Kelley School of Business students who are also interning with NWL for the summer, Stephanie and Kathryn. We’ve already spent multiple days testing out the pool, and it’s safe to say that it will no doubt be the hot spot in Huntersville for us this summer. There are a few other interns living in our same apartment complex and the apartment complexes nearby, and we’ve already bonded over poolside barbeques, nights at the movies, and drinks at the local bar.

As most of the interns are from universities in the south, we Northerners have been the subject of many jokes, mostly due to our general lack of understanding of common southern terms and phrases. Did you know that Southerner’s use the word “fixin’” to describe their urge to go somewhere? As in, “I’m fixin’ to go to McDonald’s tonight.” Yeah…nor did I. Or what about hush puppies? No, I’m not referring to those hideous faux dress shoes we all used to wear circa 2001. Hush puppies are deep fried balls of cornmeal served at almost every restaurant down in the south. While not especially tasty by themselves, when covered in ranch dressing they magically, like many other foods, become delicious. Needless to say I still have a lot to learn about life down here in the South.

My internship thus far has been great. I’ve been so impressed with how well the intern program is organized at NWL, and everyone here has gone out of their way to make us feel at home. Next week I’ll detail some of the projects I’ve been working on thus far, and give you a video tour of my apartment with my roommates!

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