Important People

Last week at my internship was a little different. While the work I did was the same the atmosphere and general day went a little differently. There were lots of important people in and out of the office. Between stockholders and high up supervisors there was only a little bit of tension in the air. While I never saw anyone, those higher up on my team had to concern themselves with them. I had to dress up, just in case, but I never met anybody while during my week. It's very interesting to watch how people react differently when those with more power or more clout in the chain of command show up.

It Is Just Like The 9-5 Job. . . That I Don't Want

As I sit here, struggling to think about what to write this blog post on, I realized my struggle stems from the fact that I have not really done anything new or exciting this week. How does one go through almost a full week at an internship with not one exciting thing happening you ask? Simple, an internship, at least this internship, is just like any other job. While having a higher end internship may seem like something that would provide at least a little excitement at least a little nit every week, but the truth is that this internship is a lot like an average job. I go into my office, I sit at my desk and do my work, I have lunch, I go to a meeting maybe, and then I do more work before I go home. Sometimes there is an exciting moment, or something fun that spices up my day, but in general this internship is giving me some great experience on how to work within the confines of a regular 9-5 job. Therefore, while I haven't learned anything new pertaining to my actual work, I am in the process of learning how to make the most of 8-hours at a desk. As someone who is very people oriented, who enjoys conversation, idea brainstorming, and lots of interaction with people and physical movement throughout my day being confined to a desk all day has been hard. However, it has taught me two things: the first is that I am learning to, both, make the most of it and do my job well but not go crazy in the process, and the second is that it has simply reaffirmed what I already thought I wanted in a career. While I will always be so grateful for the experience this internship has afforded and for the nice people I work with, I certainly have realized that training and development for a large corporation is not what I want to do; especially if it requires me to sit fairly quietly at a desk all day and not have a single exciting thing happen all week.

The Importance of The Supervisor

This week I have not really learned anything truly new about the work I am doing, however, I have realized something. I know that working in the the "real world" after school will be different than working at an internship while I go to school, but having to work for someone will not change. Today I had to call in due to some issue that had arisen with school work that needed to be handled immediately. I have never called into work, on any job, just because I needed more time to accomplish something else; in the past the only excuse I have ever allowed myself to use to call into work was serous illness or a family issue. However, today I simply had to allow myself to break that rule. I was dreading that my boss would be disappointed in me for calling in for such a reason, but I was pleasantly surprise to be told by my boss to, "focus on my school." I have never had a boss so understanding about the other things going on in my life, and feeling how nice it was to not be guilted for calling in made me realize how important it was to work for someone you, at the very least, respect. While I haven't been working for my current supervisor long, I have realized that the relationship we have seems to certainly work, and I would be very happy to have one similar in my next position.

Would I Consider That?

This week at my internship I got to have a very interesting conversation with some unexpected people. My desk mate is nearly finished with her internship position and is, therefore, applying to other positions within the company. The two ladies that she was speaking with about a position happened to stop by our desk this week. I managed to have a little conversation with them myself.
At first, they were simply asking the polite and general question every student at the stage I am at in my college career gets. However, their reactions to my answer, for instance my answer on what I would like to do once I'm out of school, were unexpected. The one woman was the head of a completely different department than the one I am currently in, however, she happened to know of ways to get me connected with the department that I could potentially be interested in: the human resources/public relations departments. She gave me a little information on where those positions were normally stationed, New York and Atlanta Georgia, and how they worked within and without the company. She then mentioned possibly reaching out to me in the future if she heard of any potential openings; needless to say I was grateful and surprised. However, this occurrence caused me to begin considering elements or my more immediate future than I had been; like asking the question, do I really wish to stay in the corporate world. Therefore, while this chance interaction may end up being an opening for an opportunity, it, at the very least, was an instance that caused me to consider some things I had not been thinking about concerning my position at First Data. It was enough to make me at least ask: "would I consider that?" about a few things.

Communication=Essential

While there are many things I have found out/learned as an intern at First Data this semester, one of the most important things is the crucial nature of communication. My position is one that requires directions from those above me. I am given assignments and I can not move on until my supervisor gives me a new one. I have found that there are two types of communication: clear and correct, and open and honest. Clear and correct information mostly pertains to the actual work. Due to a miscommunication about particular sites and links I almost started on the wrong project, however, since I communicated my hesitancy to start on the link sent to me (because something did not look quite right) the mishap was avoided as I, and my supervisor, communicated affectingly to resolve the mistake, The other form of communication, the one that is open and honest, may seem easy and common knowledge at first. However, I am not referring to moral or ethical issues or concerns that need to be communicated about, but the simple open communication that should happen between co-workers. I am not a shy person, however, when I am unfamiliar with the dynamics of a space/among people (as I still am in this office) I am hesitant to approach situations as my personality normally dictates. Yet, I decided this week to be bold and step out of my comfort zone in making a request I normally would have put off for fear of inconveniencing anyone. The results of these communication decisions, clearly, panned out just fine this week, and I can say that I have started on a path of open and honest, and clear and correct communication with my supervisor and the rest of the intern team.

The Corporate Side

One thing I have learned at First Data is that the corporate side of the company, although I don't see it plainly in my position,  is always involved.  My job involves, basically, data entry concerning the training and reference materials used by those in the call center, therefore, one would imagine that my position, especially as an intern, would not concern the larger side of the company. The truth is completely opposite.  My work directly affects all of the call center agents that work for First Data. Some days the pressure of that reality is evident. In the weekly staff meeting this past Monday, my boss' boss discussed with the team how her boss was pushing for the team to finish the project by June of this year. Of course, one would think that just saying that it is impossible to write and edit the thousands of, what we call solutions, by that time is acceptable, I am learning that even at this level corporate America is more layered. Of course, my supervisor pushes us to complete our projects as quickly as possible, however, she knows that this project will not be completed in time (especially since she is not allowed to hire more interns). Therefore, I have figured out that there is a lot of, act like you're doing something one way, when you're really just doing what you think is best, in this corporate America. Perhaps I'll have a different view the more I find out. We shall see. . .

It's Nice to be Part of A Team

A few more shifts have passed at my internship at First Data. At this point in my position I have learned how to properly operate the wyzywig (the solution manager that the new manuals are being created with), how to navigate the old reference guide that I am helping remake, and what tools the team uses to make sure there is unity and coherence across the new material.  There have been some pretty slow days the past few weeks, but the time has given me the opportunity to get to know the team a little better. Even though the project I am working on means I mostly work alone, it still requires me to collaborate my individual work with the group. Therefore, one of the things this realization has taught me is that in my future career endeavors I will always be working with people. Even if I am responsible for individual work, everything, almost always, will come into play with the work done my many people on a team.

Two Weeks in and Still a Lot to Learn

Here I am, going into my third week at my internship at First Data. These last two weeks have certainly been an information overload and I still have a lot to learn. Therefore, let me share a little of what I retained from all the information thrown at me and why I know I still have so much to learn.

My first week at First Data consisted primarily of orientation videos and meets (lots of meetings). The reasoning behind this was so that I, and my fellow interns, could get a feel for what the company is all about and why the project we are working on is so important. The other meetings were also to cover necessary bases of necessity (dress code, responsibilities, etc.). So, what I have remembered from these meetings is that First Data is a "technological company," and they are proud of it. This fact relates to my work as an intern because I am working on a project that is converting their training material for their call center to a completely technological reliant system. In addition, the First Data corporation is huge and I mean huge. They not only process transactions in the states but globally. The training program revamp that I am part of will be used by all the call centers. While speaking of the training material revamp, let me tell you a little about the work I will be doing.

So far I have not been able to play with any of the more elaborate systems. I am currently being taught how to operate a wiziwig to rewrite the material in. The current training/reference tool that I am taking information from is called MRT (Merchant Reference Tool). This system is outdated. Not only does this old reference tool require too many links and trail after trail to find the necessary information, but it also is slow and confusing. The goal of the new reference toll, called SmartGuide, is to make the information easily accessible through its own search engine. As unfortunate as the admittance is it is very true: that is pretty much all I know at the current time. I know that there is link and image insertion into the resource center and a little bit of coding knowledge is required, but I have yet been able to  play with those tools yet.

There you have it. Very little information, but its about equal to what I have. I am hoping that this third week is the start of really getting into the system and learning it. Therefore, I will be back soon with updates on how I'm doing, and what I'm doing at my new position.