What constitutes a successful internship? Is it measured by the value that I can bring to the organization over the course of a few months? Could it be more about developing my knowledge of a particular industry and “making the right connections”? Maybe it is successful if at the end I can say that I have developed myself personally and professionally because of the experience? These were the questions that followed me from Edinburgh to Houston, Texas as I began my internship experience as a CRM Integration Specialist and Business Analyst at AEL Americas Inc. Now, as I enter my final week, I’ve realized that a successful internship is about embracing all these questions and using this opportunity to define yourself; both professionally and as a person with unique experiences and perspectives that will be valued by those around you.
My first few weeks felt like diving into the deep end. I was taking on a role that was not related to my field of study and committing to initiating and completing a completely new project for the accounts team of the company. As I browsed the catalogue of training material and navigated my way through the operational software, I was starting to worry that I was in too deep! It is inevitable that you will face this fear at some point in your internship, you just have to commit to backing yourself and not being afraid to ask questions. Between completing training modules, I hit the road with the sales team to sit-in on some introductory meetings with potential new clients. Not only were these off-site visits useful to understanding AEL’s value proposition within the offshore industry, but also helped to orient me in this vast metropolis of a city that would be my home for the summer.
Approaching the halfway point of the internship, I was feeling a lot more comfortable in my role. I had completed my training with the software and had developed an interactive dashboard detailing all the data that the accounts receivable team would need for tracking payments coming in from customers. It was incredibly rewarding to have worked on a project that was now ready to be used operationally by the accounts team in domestic and international offices. Week six was very busy with me organizing and conducting training sessions in the use of the CRM software with staff in USA, UK, Mexico and Azerbaijan. In addition to the live training sessions, I produced accounts payable and receivable procedure documents and on-demand video training to be added to the company SharePoint as a reference for all relevant team members.
As I near the end of my internship, my project is almost complete. Though already operational, opportunities have been identified to track more key performance indicators through the software, so now I am liaising with our third-party operational data system provider to include these within the CRM dashboards that I have created. It won’t be long now before I’m back in Scotland; jet-lagged, colder, and pedestrianized.
Wrapping up this blog, I want to end on the personal impact that interning overseas with the Saltire Scholarship Program has had on me. I began the summer worried that my lack of experience in the industry would be a real hindrance to my progress. It wasn’t. Truth be told, you are going to feel inexperienced even if the internship perfectly aligns with your degree because the skillset and knowledge that you need to excel in a workplace looks quite different from the qualities that you develop in university to pass exams. Adaptability and resilience are desirable qualities that this internship experience has helped me develop and these will go with me far further into the future than the specific hard skills needed to complete a particular project. One of the most rewarding and enjoyable aspects of my time in America has been living with my fellow Saltire Scholars; Lauren, Caitlin, Jess and Ali. The vibes have been immaculate. Being able to sit around the dinner table and listen to the experiences of the other interns made me feel more secure in my own position and developed a tangible sense of camaraderie between us. Nights out, enjoying the food the city has to offer, day trips and movie nights have all been made immeasurably more fun by getting to spend them together. I wish all my fellow interns the best and I have full confidence that you will all go on to achieve great things. If you are a prospecting intern reading this blog, I encourage you to apply! I am a student who has supported my own way through university and this internship was financially accessible for me to participate in, so back yourself and ‘take the bull by the horns’, yee-haw!
