Jeffrey developed skills in collaboration and adaptability while gaining experience in a new industry.
How did you get your internship and why did you choose it?
I got this internship through my network, specifically through a mutual friend of my dad's. He had a connection with a friend who had a family business that was open to hosting me as an intern. Overall, reaching out within my family helped me secure the internship and gain new experiences.
I chose this internship because I had to pivot after another internship opportunity fell through, so I needed to rely more heavily on my network to get an opportunity rather than submitting more cold applications. I decided to do my internship here because the location was convenient for me and I already knew people who worked there so I felt more comfortable going into a new situation.
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
Throughout the internship, I assisted with car body repairs and was introduced to new things about the automotive industry. I prepared cars for repairs by sanding and blending compounds into the cars and used jack lifts to get the cars ready for mechanical repairs. I learned the various techniques the shop technicians used to repair damaged vehicles and was introduced to some basic plumbing skills for work on semi-trucks.. I also learned more about how the business ran and how the different departments collaborated together.
What new knowledge and skills did you practice and develop in this internship?
The transferable skills that I practiced and used during this internship would be time
management, collaboration, and adaptability. Time management was an essential skill because there were always several tasks that needed to be completed before the end of each shift, so I needed to prioritize and plan for them to get done each day. Collaboration was another skill I needed to practice on the days we all worked together to finish work on larger projects like a semi-truck. Lastly, I think adaptability was something I developed because I wasn’t familiar with the automotive industry. There would often be something new I had to do that I didn’t feel the most confident doing, but I always found a way to learn, adapt, and complete my tasks.
What was your favorite or most satisfying part of your internship?
My favorite part of this internship was feeling a sense of accomplishment when finishing projects. When finishing the projects I felt proud that I was able to finish a task that I never imagined that I could do before. Gaining this confidence made me feel better about trying new things in the future. This internship made me realize the value in trying new things and gaining knowledge in other fields, which is valuable not only for yourself but for the teams in other industries that you get to contribute to.
What did you find most challenging about your internship?
What I found the most challenging was being in a new environment with people who had prior
knowledge of working in automotive whereas I did not. Being new and the one who did not know the names of tools or equipment made me feel less valuable than others in the shop. I learned that the only way I could feel better about my knowledge and ability to contribute was by learning and using the equipment. I eventually learned more about the equipment and processes through repetition and felt more confident about my role on the team.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for and begin their internship?
My advice for students for their internship search would be to use every platform that the Internship Team recommends you to use. I think that using LinkedIn helped me get better results than Handshake, in my experience, and that's also what some of my peers had better results with. For students in their internship experiences, I recommend that they keep pushing and learn if this is something that they want to do. I also think doing an internship that interests you is something that can help you in that decision-making and make the time fly by faster.