As the school year winds down and finals near, stress is high and we can’t but help but hold our breath until the last final is over. But even when the stress of school comes to an end and summer officially begins, a new stresser appears: the first day of your new job or summer internship. As the start date of your summer internship nears, although exciting, can often be very nerve-wracking (speaking from personal experience here!) Here are some tips on acing that first week, and making the best first impression:

1. Soak up everything around you! Be a sponge.

One of the most important things you can do the first week of a new job is to pay attention! Absorb everything around you. Familiarize yourself with the day-to-day activities of your co-workers, as well as with the company culture, the working and communication styles of your teammates, and the problems or conflicts that the team may be experiencing internally or externally. Getting to know these facets of the workplace better right away means that you’ll be able to start your real work sooner and be more effective when you do! In order to absorb as much as possible, try to attend weekly meetings, mingle with your coworkers and ask questions. It would also be helpful to join in on the informal events, or getting lunch with your supervisor or co-workers. Showing enthusiasm about being apart of the team and an eagerness to learn more is great.

2. Don’t Overcommit

Do be wary of overcommitting. Trying to please everyone the first week may lead to a catastrophe when you start showing up late, or get too overwhelmed. It’s more valuable to get to know the ropes of your job well, in order to be highly successful at your given projects, than trying to spread yourself out too thin with other work.

3. Ask Questions!

In order to get up to speed and assimilate as quickly and efficiently as possible, you’re going to need to ask questions. People will expect this from a new hire, and will be willing to help. Taking notes and recording this new information is crucial-your brain will be on overload this week, so writing as much down as possible, although it may seem simple, is critical to success and will keep you from forgetting and having to ask again.

4. Don’t Forget to Speak Up

At the same time, don’t be afraid to contribute and add to the conversations around you. You may not know every answer to every question, but trying your best to contribute to conversations will show that you are the right hire and that you are trying your best to assimilate. Don’t be afraid to share your unique perspective or skills, which may be why you got the job! This may also come in the form of offering your help. Don’t just sit around, waiting for others to figure out tasks for you-volunteer to help on new projects, in order to show initiative and build connections with your team. Stepping up and helping out will also help you learn the ropes more quickly than sitting around and waiting to be assigned tasks.

5. Keep Transparency

Throughout the week, asking your boss for periodic meetings, rather than popping in his/her office every five minutes with a new question, may be more a productive use of both your time. In addition, keeping your boss informed about the progress of your work in these meetings, in order to check in with what you’re learning and to see if you’re on track might also be useful.

Asking questions here, like “Are there any additional tasks I should be taking on or skills I should be learning?” and “Can you give me feedback on the project I just completed?” will express your initiative and eagerness to learn. But don’t forget to listen carefully as well! Feedback will be the most useful thing you can rely on at this point, in order to grow into your new role to the best of your abilities.

For this week’s blog post, I will be reflecting upon leadership styles, and how learning to work with a variety of management styles has allowed me to develop a wide range of communication skills, and refine my own leadership methodology. The best supervisor I ever had was a former boss who challenged me every day. His tough personality, combined with the difficult responsibilities he gave me, allowed me to grow immensely as a professional, and personally as well.

scary boss lady!

When speaking on the phone with my former boss before my in-person interview with him the following week, he ended our conversation with, “Nobody lasts here. I’ll give you a week”. Sounds intimidating, right? Well, he was. But this was just the challenge I needed to show him that I could take a task handed to me and provide effective results. Having to prove myself that week may sound like a lot of pressure, but I learned more in that first week of work than I have in months at other internship experiences I had in the past. In the end, I really appreciated the fact th he challenged me in new ways, and as a result, I grew exponentially from this environment. By the end of that summer, I had gained his trust, so much so that he asked me to return the following summer, and gave me the responsibility of re-branding his company. Our relationship is now more of a mentor-mentee relationship, and we text and talk on the phone often.

Reflecting back, what I appreciated the most about his management style was his willingness to allow me agency in my tasks and responsibilities. By challenging me and handing me difficult work, I had to work hard and prove myself, and learned so much in the process. I often compare this experience to my other intern positions, where I was often given menial tasks and in all honestly, was not using much of my brainpower and often became bored. This contrast made me appreciate the projects and tasks he gave me, which allowed me to grow my professionals skillset and forced me to utilize all the brainpower I have!

In addition, working with a tough personality and character taught me a lot about communication skills, and how to speak to a superior who was often not accommodating or available to offer help. This experience led me to become not only more self-reliant, but develop communication skills that became key in other tough work environments or group projects.

As a leader myself, I would like to emulate these ideals that my former boss taught me. I often describe my leadership style (a VERY common interview question by the way!) as very positive, fostering an environment where everyone feels comfortable to share opinions and ideas, but also a leader who keeps others accountable for their actions and commitments, and aims to keep a higher standard in quality of work than most. In the future, my management style will emulate these qualities, but also allow for the people I manage to grow by giving them challenges and responsibilities that will force them out of their comfort zones and teach them to expand their skillsets as well. What does your leaderships style look like?

Q1 MN: When did you graduate and what was your major/minor? And where are you currently working/have worked since graduation.

SK: I graduated Class of 2016 as a Politics and International Relations major, with a Media Studies minor. I currently work at the Law Offices of Adam Green as an Immigration Paralegal.

Q2 MN: What has been the biggest challenge so far in post-grad life?

SK: Literally everything. You’re going from a fairly structured environment and lifestyle to one where you have to structure everything yourself. You have to find housing (you would appreciate hall draw because at least you know you’ll be housed in the end), you have to budget your money fairly well, understand how to do a lot of things on your own and stay on top of it (i.e. taxes, health insurance, transportation & how you’re going to commute to work, paying all your bills on time & etc), and still somehow manage to find time for yourself to do things you enjoy and give you a peace of mind because work is exhausting and draining both mentally and physically no matter what kind of job you have. Additionally, as an international student immigration issues are always the biggest challenges of living and working in the United States.

Q3 MN: What do you miss most about Scripps?

SK: I miss being in an academic learning environment, having easy (and free) access to a wide variety of resources, close proximity to all my friends, and being able to attend all the stimulating lectures/events.

Q4 MN: What do you miss least/enjoy the most about life after Scripps?

SK: I love the independence I have and as challenging as this adjustment period has been, I feel so accomplished and proud of all that I have been able to manage on my own. Living in LA is also very exciting as there is always something to do, somewhere to go, people to meet, and great food to eat!

Q5 MN: How has your liberal arts degree helped you in your career/how does it set you apart?

SK: The number one benefit my liberal arts education has given me is the tools to be able to think for myself…as simple as that sounds, it’s surprising how far that will take you. Being able to critically analyze, problem solve, write, and communicate effectively are fundamental to almost any job, but it has been especially valuable to have worked on developing those skills early on for my job as a paralegal. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t have to actively practice the above four skills I just mentioned. I’m not saying that it isn’t a challenge still (because it most definitely is), but having a holistic education has allowed me to carry out job duties with more ease and has also allowed me to bring in a fresh perspective amongst my co-workers.

I also want to comment on having received a Scripps specific liberal arts degree and how that has empowered me to navigate my work space as a woman of color and as an international student given the socio-political environment in the country. Sexism and racism are prevalent everywhere we go and therefore navigating through that while keeping your professionalism is crucial, and I believe my time at Scripps (both academically and socially), equipped me well.

Q6 MN: If you could give one piece of advice to a current student, what would it be?

SK: Network!!! If you had talked to me while I was still a student, you would know how much I hated that word and concept. I was always someone who found networking and making connections draining, but I can’t tell you how many resources are around you on a college campus and how little students actually end up using them. The biggest piece of advice I would give a current student is get to know your professors because they are not only incredible people who have probably already done the job you’re about to step into, but they will help connect you to their incredible network if/when appropriate!

Q7 MN: What is something you are glad you did in college?/Did you have any summer internships, and how did these experiences help you in your career after graduation?

SK: Yes, I had internships during the school year as well as summers all four years of college.

There are so many internship/work opportunities in college (even through your classes), so I’m really glad that I incorporated those opportunities into my time at Scripps. Whether that was through my Core III language teaching class, interning with Crossroads Women through Prof. Auerbach’s Food Practicum course, applying and receiving internship grants through CP&R for internships abroad, serving as a Senior Interviewer for the Office of Admissions, or interning at the Downtown Women’s Center through LASPA—I’m thankful for all the opportunities because each one of them gave me new insights and helped me understand what it means to work in a professional space before diving into my first real job. Work experiences teach you a tremendous amount about what it means to work with different kinds of people and I can’t stress how important that is. No matter how important the mission of your company/organization is and how much that resonates with you, if you can’t build an environment and have a team that is conducive to achieving that mission, it really does become miserable to go to work every day. All internships are valuable! Yes even the ones where you were bored out of your mind because experiences help you decide what works for you and what doesn’t work for you, what you want to continue doing and what you could never see yourself doing, and what kind of environment you need in order to be motivated and productive.

Overall, I loved hearing Sharika’s perspective on her post-grad experience so far, and especially her advice on the importance of networking during college.

We’ve most likely all been hit with the dreaded “Where do you see yourself in five years?” interview question. If you’re like me, you have no clear picture of what lies ahead in your professional career. You may have a vague idea of where you’d like to end up, but in all honesty, could not articulate this to save your life in an interview. My lack of clarity around this response does not have to do with the fact that I am not a motivated individual, or that I don’t see many doors opening in my future. Quite the opposite! I am almost overwhelmed with the possibilities that await me post-graduation, and I am excited to explore these different options. Yet, at this point, limiting myself to one of those opportunities seems wrong-and that is essentially my personal struggle with answering this interview question.

In order to better answer this question in an interview setting, I did some research. I found a column from the New York Times, which may come in handy in order to answer this question successfully, and honestly. In the piece, David Cancel, the CEO of Drift, which is a sales communication platform, is questioned about career and life advice he has for recent college graduates.

His response proves very telling towards crafting an appropriate response to the dreaded interview question:

“If you ask me today what my five-year plan is, I don’t know. My plan is that I try to make every day as good as it can be, and then I try to make the next day better than the last one. That’s it. It’s a slow progression, but if you do it over time, amazing things happen.

Also, be prepared to work hard. That can help you get ahead if you don’t have the advantages that other people have, because not many people will do it. Not many people want to do anything that involves discomfort. But if you want to grow in any dimension in your life, it involves discomfort. If you’re not willing to deal with the discomfort, you can’t grow. It’s impossible.”

His advice (which is applicable to employees of all ages really) can help you answer the five-year-plan question for several reasons. Primarily, this answer enables you to distance yourself from the elaborate, perhaps somewhat dishonest, answer that you think your interviewer wants to hear. It also allows you to be more genuine with your self-presentation in an interview, and formulate a more honest, authentic response.

Turning back to Cancel’s advice, your answer might be similar to something like this:

While I do often contemplate about the future of my career, I find that it’s often difficult to create a clear vision of my life five years from now. Inevitably, there will be unforeseen circumstances and opportunities, and plans may not always come to fruition as I had expected. Being open and flexible to the different challenges life throws my way is one of my greatest strengths.

Yet, some goals I have consistently set and been working towards, and what I would definitely plan to do here, is to do my best to always be improving my skills and abilities, and learning as much as I can. Every day is an opportunity to progress, and I plan to work as hard as I can and take on as much responsibility as I’m able to, in order to improve, progress, grow, and be more effective in my position.

This being said, careers take time and patience, so I’m willing to put in the effort and time, and entrust that if I do that, opportunities will arise.

Lastly, in the past, I have consistently stepped out of my comfort zone, and have taken on new challenges that push me to achieve new heights. Through these experiences, I have learned and grown the most and therefore, I plan to welcome those opportunities in the near future, which hopefully will include working for your company/organization in xx position.

Or something along those lines.

Essentially, the final point is that even if you don’t have an extremely detailed vision of where you want to exactly be in five years, you can take this question as an opportunity to focus on your strengths, highlighting your flexibility and openness to change, as well as your strong sense of hard work and patience. Not only are you answering the question in a more honest fashion, but you’re able to come through as more authentic, allowing for the interviewer to get a good look at the “real” you. Although tailoring your answer to the job description never hurts, if you really are unsure of what your future path looks like, using an answer similar to this, or whatever you believe best fits your honest representation, is a great way to knock this question out of the park!

I know we are all freaking out about the internship hunt…. You’ve had a few interviews and nothing seems to be working out. You’ve applied to a few places, but haven’t heard a response back yet. I bet you’re feeling a bit hopeless and exhausted, I know I am. So, what happens now?

Keep Up the Search

Until you have a concrete offer, you need to keep searching! Don’t give up the fight until you have that written offer. There are still many positions waiting to be filled, and it is just a matter of time until you hear back from a company.

Staying Organized and On top of it!

In your internship search, you make a lot of new contacts, follow-ups and next action steps at once. All of these interactions can get confusing, and it’s easy to forget a name or forget you even applied to a certain company! Creating and updating a document that keeps track of this information is important towards success and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Reminders are Key

You may have spoken to a recruiter or manager at a company a while back about a position. The conversation went great and you had high hopes that an offer was just around the corner, but they still haven’t responded! Make sure to keep emailing them with reminders about your application and prospects. These are busy people, and often times, they have other priorities than internship applicants. Staying in their line of vision through email is important, but make sure to keep it professional. Although, again, it is important to keep seeking other offers if they have not solidified one with you.

Visit CP&R

Don’t forget your resources on campus! Make an appointment with a counselor to seek further guidance if you’re having trouble with the internship search. They can provide you with more ideas on where to look next and how to take the next steps to solidify those offers. Doing practice interviews there or working with a career consultant on strong applications is also helpful towards getting that summer internship position.

Use your Network

Through the connections you’ve made, professional and personal, make sure you are leveraging these connections as well. These people may include your friends and family, former employers or even professors. All of these people have connections (use LinkedIn search to check it out) that you may not be aware of that can be useful in your job hunt. Ask for an introduction over LinkedIn or email to get the job hunt started.

Internships Search Engines

Don’t forget to use all of your online resources. These include internships.com, Vault, The Muse, Glassdoor, LinkedIn and Handshake of course! There are so many key listings on all of these sites that can push you in the right direction and let you know what is still available. When using these sites, check out the company careers page to see if you can go through them directly, rather than through the third party site.

Reach Out to a Mentor

If you’re still stuck, reaching out to a mentor to ask for advice may be a good way to get some new ideas about how to game-plan.

In the end, the best advice is not to give up. It is more than important to continue to apply yourself because eventually, with enough hard work, you will get that offer!