Dear readers,
I am writing this blog entry with a lot of excitement as I am currently sitting in Boston Logan airport about to head home for Christmas. Those who know me, know that home is not only Scotland but also France. So I am heading to both countries for my favourite season of the year!
It is with a lot of thoughts in mind that I am writing this post, as I have just finished half of my internship. It is really hard to believe that a year ago I was just accepting a job offer to come and work at Northeastern University here in Boston!
The past six months have really been a life learning experience as well as a tremendous professional growth opportunity. I came to that realization in the past week as I have been taking part in the interviews for next year’s GCU intern coming to Boston. It was at that point that I realised how much I have grown as a professional, I recognised how much I have changed and how much this experience is shaping my future - and how much it will impact me, for the rest of my professional career.
Since the beginning of my internship I have been able to build stronger communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal; to achieve this I have been assisting and presenting to different student bodies, information sessions, facilitated employer calls and visits on campus. I have also been corresponding with various employers all around the globe on almost a day to day basis. The skills were further improved through the management of a large scale event - 400 students attending and participating – and with the administration of the front desk of the Career Services department, a highly visible position with a lot of traffic requiring vigilance and multitasking. This part of my role was challenging at first as I wasn't familiar nor had experience in business administration.
I would now feel comfortable if I was to work or assist in a business administration position.
My role here in the Global Employer Relations department is allowing me to not only cultivate and expand my knowledge on a daily basis but also to strengthen my job development and outreach skills through the creation and establishment of employer/co-op leads in several regions of the world. This also helped me to understand my learning and working style.
I have also come to the conclusion that I can be really efficient and productive when I have a lot of work to do as sometimes the stress and variety of projects allow me to become more creative and therefore create a better and outside-the-box type of work as I am challenged by the diversity of my work.
My work over the past couple of months gave me a growth opportunity that I never expected to happen as no previous employment gave the opportunity to expand my understanding and abilities to deeply explore a business environment and its opportunities on a global scale as well as getting a deep and comprehensive knowledge of higher education in the USA. This will further help me to shape who I am as a professional as I will have experiences in different working cultures. The American working culture is really different than any European working culture I have previously experienced. This hierarchical system made me realise the opportunities of growth that are available in the USA and therefore making think about different opportunities that coming back to the USA after graduation might offer me.
My professional growth also includes at this halfway point the ability to receive, comprehend and execute tasks and projects to the level required by the team. Therefore this means that since my start about six months ago, the levels of responsibilities and projects I have been working on have really been able to challenge me but also make me accountable for the work I am doing.
Since my last three-month overview, I have been working on a different marketing project that has been allowing me to further expand my understanding of marketing material creation as well as discern the needs and demands that different student groups might have. These activities and projects give me the ability to create and think outside the box and to keep my work diverse and creative.
Over the past couple of months, I have also been further involved with the Global Experience Office, I have been assisting in the delivery of multiple Pre-Departure Orientation – focus on Health and Safety – presentations. As mentioned previously, these are a way for me to develop my communication skills but also my ability to speak in front of large group of individuals. The PDO events were really successful as my work was described to be the same as a fully experienced member of staff.
My final thoughts about the past six months are that I am having an amazing experience and that I have not only grown professionally but also learned about myself and I now have a clearer idea of what I want for myself.
My last words of 2016 to you amazing readers are
“I wish every single one of you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a really happy New Year!”
Thanks for reading,
Alexandra
