Tina Milosavljevic:

Hello and welcome to the Work Like a Laker podcast. My name is Tina Milosavljevic and I'm the writing and communications intern at the GVSU Career Center. I'm your host for today's super special intern takeover episode and joined by a group known as Intern Row. I'll go ahead and let you all introduce yourselves and your positions at the Career Center.

Anna Buckman:

Hey y'all, I'm Anna Buckman and I'm the social media marketing intern. I create content and graphics for our Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok pages.

Emily Linck:

Hey, I am Emily Linck and I'm an events management intern. And I work closely with the employer relations team to plan some of the big events for the Career Center, like the career fair and the employer showcase and just stuff like that.

Austin Nielsen:

Hello I'm Austin Nielsen and I'm also one of the event management interns here. I deal mostly in the realm of career community based events. So if you've seen me, chances are you've seen me a lot in the Seedman College of Business for events such as Careers in Finance, careers in Accounting. I also did help significantly with the big 2023 career fair. I've also been, we've all, we've all been a part of the Etiquette Dinner, but I've been if you see, if you've got an email from those chances are you saw it was sent from me along with everybody else.

Parker Kuchulan:

I'm Parker Kuchulan and I'm the data analytics and technology intern. Contrary to popular belief, I do still interact with the other interns, so that's always pretty cool. I work with our Handshake database. I produce reports that help, you know, see certain things about our student demographics and how we market to students and how they hear about our office. And I also work with like post-event survey analysis.

Tina Milosavljevic:

He's super smart with numbers and stuff.

Parker Kuchulan:

Not self-proclaimed.

Austin Nielsen:

That is indeed self-proclaimed by Parker Kuchulan. Very good with numbers.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Well, great. Now that you know, with the whole gang, let's get into why we are even here. So internships can be super intimidating, especially if you've never done one before and they can come with a lot of questions and confusion. So who better to ease your anxiety about internships than real life interns?

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah, so that's a very good point, especially for my own information, I am, this is my first internship ever. I've done a couple of part-time on campus jobs, but this is my first real internship and I can agree there is a, there is a lot of intimidating aspects to kind of go with that no matter if you need it for credit or if you're taking it just for your own experience. It's helpful to get some preliminary information before you get into that world.

Emily Linck:

Yeah, this is my second internship and honestly they can be really scary and intimidating when you're first applying for them and everything. Like for me personally, I was like really nervous that like I wasn't qualified enough or like I didn't know enough about my, like what was going on to like even be here. But once you get into it, it's a lot less scary and it helps that there's other interns here that made me feel like more comfortable and stuff with being here.

Tina Milosavljevic:

So our internships run for the full school year, both the fall and winter semesters. Does anyone wanna talk about how they found the internship when they started looking or anything about the interview process?

Anna Buckman:

Yeah, so I'll talk about my experience. I found this position through one of my Laker Dance Team friends, Jackie. She told me about her job and what she does and I was like, this sounds so interesting. And I'm like, my major's marketing, I am interested in this industry. Like let me just go for it and see what happens. So I also found out about the Career Center through the Career Center Open House in 2022 that I ran through my HTM 240 class. So that was super fun to be able to meet some of the advisors before the interviews and getting to know about the career center. So once I applied through Handshake, I kind of just waited for a few days and then I saw that they wanted to see me for an interview. So I got ready and I asked Jackie, I was like, help me. I don't know what to do. Like I feel so under prepared. And she pretty much talked me through the process. She told me that everyone is super nice, like they're always like gonna be there to help you. And I felt like that during my interview. Like they, like, I honestly felt like they were rooting for me, which was so refreshing because I feel like I've been like disappointed with interviews in the past with other employers, like feel like they're intimidating me and it's just like it wasn't a good fit. So when I got my interview here, I just felt so relaxed. Like I obviously was nervous. It was an interview <laugh>, but it was just so awesome and just like prepping for it. I looked at through the Career Center website, I looked at the staff, I got to know them a little bit what they do. So when I came into my interview and I was meeting them face to face, it was easy to remember their name and I was seeing them more as a person than just somebody that was gonna hire me, which was super beneficial.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah, I agree. I think like doing research ahead of time helped me out as well. 'cause Personally for me my data analytics and technology position, this is the first year that the Career Center is offering that. So I had that in my head going into the interview knowing that I, you know, I didn't have someone who did this last year to compare to. So that gave me a little bit of a confidence boost almost like you had someone that did this, your same role last year, Anna, and that probably helped you in a different way in terms of preparing you for it. But in my case it was like almost the opposite. Like I felt almost more prepared because there wasn't a person in, in a sense, if that makes any sense. But as far as how I found the job, I I saw my advisor, Kirk Anderson, he sent he sent a notification to all of his advisees on LinkedIn, or I'm sorry, on Handshake. And I was like, this is perfect. Like I worked as a tutor last year. I wanted to do something that was a little bit more applicable in the field and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. So yeah, I was really happy to have found it.

Austin Nielsen:

I guess I'll share a little bit about my experience too. So more related to Anna than Parker, I found my internship through the previous event, man events management intern Mallory, a super nice person. She gave me a lot of really good information about what I can look forward to because last year I worked as a student worker in the career center. So this is not my first year being in this department, but I worked more so with one-on-one with other students. And she gave me a lot of really good information throughout some of the events that I would attend as a, as a career connector about what this position entails and what I can look forward to. And I found it to be something that I really wanted to look into. I'm though, I'm a marketing major, I'm not actually going into marketing. I'm continuing my education after the fact as going into the higher education program. And so I just wanted more experience working with, not only other departments, but also the student body as a whole. I'm sure a lot of you can probably sympathize with that, doing something that might not necessarily be what you're gonna do end game. And that's also a big thing to know is that internships are not just for your own degree, but they can be to really help you figure things out on what you want to do in the future. But back to the, back to my little spiel here my interview process was terrifying. Not <laugh>, not terrifying, but it was daunting because I was faced with the predicament of, I had to interview with my current supervisors, Kristy and Cindy but they already knew me. And so with that then you're faced with the idea of how do you interview with people who already know a lot about you, right? And so I had to present information in a way that was, it's information they already know, but it has to be said in a way that they almost don't. Like I'm a completely new person that they had never met before. With that, you know, that creates its own trials and circumstances you just kind of have to overcome. And let me tell you, they still found ways to trip me up in the interview process. So it was a lot of fun. But yeah, so that's, that's how I'm here.

Anna Buckman:

I actually have something kind of like relating to that because when I was talking to Jackie about this internship, she was telling me how she was telling the other advisors here about me. So it was just kind of like, I feel like people already know about me, but they don't know me. So it just kind of intimidating to go into it with like, what do they think about me? Like do I have to live up to these standards and all that? So I totally relate.

Austin Nielsen:

If I may, one of the good things about being a student worker is the fact that you don't have to really worry about that because this is an environment where obviously we're working on campus, which means that we're meant to learn as we go. We're all students. And so, I mean, do they expect work? Obviously there's like a certain degree of like expectation there, but you go in with the notion that you're gonna learn as you go. And that's the great thing about it because you're not expected to know everything and you're expected to use all the experiences you have up until now to supplement that, which is fantastic. And you're also learning as you go. Being a marketing major, you know, social media is a big, obviously a big part of that. You're gonna have preliminary information, but you're also gonna learn so much more as you go, which is fantastic, I think.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah, and I think another thing is living up to the expectations that you think other people have have of you is, is really weird in the interview process. You, you know, are going in trying to sell yourself to these people and you think that they have these, these really high expectations of you and in reality they don't, they just wanna see who you are. And so I think the number one thing to remember is you just have to be yourself.

Anna Buckman:

Yes. I totally agree with that. And I also feel like when people go into interviews, like when they're getting interviewed, like for companies, people forget that the people who are interviewing you are also people like they're human. Like just all these things and also that you're interviewing the company that you're interviewing for.

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah. And so a note on that is obviously when you go into an interview, one of the best things that you wanna do is ask the interviewer questions as well. But also I found that, because those is my first internship, I've obviously, I've had a couple of jobs in the past, I've done more than enough interviews to have experience and one of the most fun things I've noticed in an interview is that just having a conversation. Oh yeah, I like when it's not just questions back and forth, but when you get into a conversation of talking about why your favorite coffee place is Tim Horton's, for example. And I could go into that for more than enough time this podcast would allow <laugh>. But just something out of the blue like that just to get you, just to let you know the other person on a more personal social level than just the professional I think is something that often goes unnoticed.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah. And I think sports is another really good thing to talk about. If you're interviewed with someone who likes sports, you guys could talk about sports for hours and not even get interviewed.

Tina Milosavljevic:

And like Austin said, coffee, we love coffee at the Career Center.

Parker Kuchulan:

Coffee and sports.

Emily Linck:

I was just gonna like piggyback off what Austin said. I do think it's like really important to like actually have a conversation with the people that, 'cause you're gonna be working with these people for potential years. So like it's good to like kind of figure out if you guys are gonna work together well, you know?

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah. Like you're, you're an asset as much as they are an asset to you. Like they're hiring you because they need you and you're working for them because you want to work for them. It's a mutualism. It's not like a one-sided relationship.

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah. And on the note of mutualism is, it's not just your mutualism with your superiors with those that you're working for, but also those that you're working with. And so a prime example of that would be, I, I mean I would like to say is Intern row. Intern row. The name was spawned from one of the career center workers and it's just something that we've carried on.

Emily Linck:

It was me <laugh>

Austin Nielsen:

It was Emily

Emily Linck:

Put some respect on my name. <Laugh>.

Austin Nielsen:

Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. Let me restart that. Then. Intern Row, the name was created by Emily Link <laugh>. And it just turned into a complete like an inside joke with us. So any chance we get, that's what we're called by by most of the workers here. It's a fun time. But I'd like to say that we're a prime example of how just simply being coworkers can spawn into something so much more than that. I suppose, I guess what I'm trying to say is like, one important aspect is to be friends or like more than just cordial with those that you work with, not just your superiors because these are your peers, these are also, you know, fellow students with that have lives outside of that. And trying to find ways to merge more than just your work but your social lives together is something that I think is really beneficial to your professional development.

Anna Buckman:

I could not agree with this any more. Like my favorite work days are the ones where I can just roll my chair <laugh> like over the intern row because my desk is like two feet away. But I'm like, I wanna be closer to you guys. Like tell me about your day. Tell me about what you've been up to. Like I also feel more productive too, like in those work days. Like I'm like, I feel more motivated, I can get more things done. And just like the presence of other people. Like I'm an extrovert so I get all my energy and everything from other people. Absolutely. So just being able to like work so close with you guys and like being able to get to know you on a more personal level just makes like the workplace and just work experience that much better.

Parker Kuchulan:

Do your favorite work days include or not include getting stuck in an elevator?

Anna Buckman:

We don't talk about getting stuck in an elevator anymore.

Emily Linck:

It's happened more than once. <Laugh>

Anna Buckman:

Hey, we all got stuck in an elevator. It was not just me.

Parker Kuchulan:

It went the wrong direction, it went the wrong direction.

Anna Buckman:

Yeah, Parker, you got stuck in the elevator too.

Parker Kuchulan:

I got stuck too.

Austin Nielsen:

I didn't get stuck in that specific elevator, but I have been stuck in an elevator before and it has ruined my experience of elevators. So -

Parker Kuchulan:

Glad it wasn't before your interview. 

Anna Buckman:

<Laugh>. Yeah.

Austin Nielsen:

That's totally, what do you mean before my interview? Do you have a story to tell Parker?

Parker Kuchulan:

No, no, no. I was just -

Austin Nielsen:

Okay.

Parker Kuchulan:

I was just making an open statement. No, no. My story has to do with Taco Bell in my interview, but not elevators.

Austin Nielsen:

I'm a Taco Bell fan. I want to hear this.

Anna Buckman:

Yeah, me too.

Parker Kuchulan:

Well, so basically before my interview I had tennis practice because I'm on the club tennis team here and I was like really hungry and I was like, man, I could go for some Taco Bell. I'm not sure. I don't eat Taco Bell often. I really don't. And I think my body responded in a way that let me know not to eat Taco Bell more than you should. So I woke up at like four in the morning and I was just sick and my interview was at 8:30 downtown at, I live in Allendale, so that's about a half hour drive. And so I woke up at four and I'm just like, oh no, this is, this is Taco Bell. <Laugh>. So <laugh>. Yeah, I was, I was sick. I, I took some pills, some medication. I took some Tums and I just could not fall back asleep. And I was like, I got all dressed and I'm like, man, this is not gonna go well. Like, I'm tired, I'm sick. Like I'm probably gonna have to, you know, get up and go to the bathroom during the interview at some point <laugh>. But you know, just magically as soon as I got into the car I was suddenly better. So Grace never knew that until after I got hired. I didn't make that apparent when I was getting interviewed, but yeah, that's my story Austin. So thanks for asking.

Austin Nielsen:

Your body knew when to not let Taco Bell takeover in the interview process. I love that the crunch wrap Supreme can wait.

Anna Buckman:

Yeah. I think we've all had that experience with Taco Bell, you know.

Tina Milosavljevic:

You prevailed nonetheless though.

Parker Kuchulan:

<Laugh>. Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think I stopped getting Taco Bell for maybe like a year after that and I'm, I'm back.

Austin Nielsen:

But please, please do me a favor on the anniversary of that interview. Please. Just get some Taco Bell again.

Parker Kuchulan:

Taco Bell. Yeah. I, I've relapsed now so I can have Taco Bell again.

Anna Buckman:

Intern Taco Bell run.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yes.

Anna Buckman:

A hundred percent.

Parker Kuchulan:

Book it after this.

Anna Buckman:

Oh my gosh.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Well, clearly you can see we're all great friends here as interns. I think that speaks to how the Career Center has a very inviting workplace culture. I mean, I could tell right from the interview that it's a place where you make connections, you make friends, you don't just sit down at your desk and work all day.

Austin Nielsen:

I could go on about this to be completely honest. I obviously I've worked, I've worked here already for the past year and to say that this place has, this office has changed the course of my life, frankly is an understatement. I had no idea what I, what I wanted to do going into this position. And I feel like that's to be expected because, you know, being a student worker, you're still trying to figure things out. And then I got to working with students and I loved it and I got to meet more of the people in this office and I loved that even more. And so it's gotten to the point of, you know, we can joke around about Taco Bell runs and, you know, the occasional Starbucks outing and whatnot. I think that's a whole big aspect of, you know, getting an internship is how well you work with, you know, not just work with, but how you, how well you get along with your fellow peers, your fellow, your supervisors, all of that.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yeah. That's definitely important to keep in mind too when looking for different jobs, looking for different internships almost when you go into the interview, try and like interview the people interviewing you because then you can figure out if it's a good workplace culture or if it's not right for you.

Anna Buckman:

Going off of that, I think it's also important to see like what people are doing before you go into the interview. Like, how's the front desk? Like what are they interacting like? And then also like if you could get a little peek of like in the office, like seeing how people interact like that, I think that can also is like, it's like a true tell too. I think that's the right word. Yeah.

Emily Linck:

I would agree. Because they're kind of in their natural state sometimes when they're interviewing, just like we put on like kind of a bit of a show when we're interviewing, so are they. So when you can like kind of watch people in their natural environment, you kind of see how they interact with other people and how they treat other people as well.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah, that's well put. Yeah, I think, I think for me, like particularly the workplace culture here, I think some of my like first memories and first days on the job were, we went to the Downtown Market for an entire shift. All the interns and they bought us lunch.

Anna Buckman:

That was so good.

Parker Kuchulan:

It was so good. It was delicious, right? I tried poke for the first time. Poke, poke, is that what it's called?

Anna Buckman:

I think those little intern like lunches that we did was a super great like awesome like little team bonding thing because I was so nervous the first day. I was -

Parker Kuchulan:

Same here.

Emily Linck:

Yeah. I was so was scared of you guys. I was like, oh my gosh, <laugh> like, they're not gonna like me.

Anna Buckman:

Yes. And like I think it was so good because when we first like actually got together was after like that orientation that we had like with the whole Career Center. So really being able to like focus in on just the five of us and with our advisors, with our mentors, like it was so great because I was getting to know you guys on a more personal level and I just was like, I can't wait for the rest of the year.

Austin Nielsen:

I totally agree. I, honestly, when it comes to the internship one of my favorite moments so far has been our initial meeting, which was after one of the big full staff meetings. We all got Starbucks and at the Innovation Design Center, which I had a vendetta against that area for a while, <laugh>, because I didn't wanna walk all the way there. But I love it. So I'm a, I'm a coffee junkie so -

Parker Kuchulan:

You can take Gunther to get there. Gunther the Scooter.

Austin Nielsen:

Yes. We have affectionately named my electric scooter Gunther the Scooter.

Parker Kuchulan:

Transportation intern.

Austin Nielsen:

The transportation intern and <laugh>.

Anna Buckman:

I didn't know that!

Emily Linck:

He couldn't make it today, unfortunately. <Laugh>.

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah, he's dead.

Parker Kuchulan:

He's like battery dead.

Austin Nielsen:

Battery dead, battery empty. But I loved that Starbucks meeting because it just, you know, we all got to talk a little more individually. I remember, specifically, I was talking to Tina about the Five Nights of Freddy's movies. <Laugh>.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yes!

Austin Nielsen:

And it's just those sorts of things that make what you do at the workplace all the more fun because then you know each other's personality, you know how you work off of each other, you know how you interact and those, those sorts of personality aspects go a long way.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Oh yeah, definitely.

Parker Kuchulan:

I think for me it like caught me off guard how much social stuff we did the first couple weeks. Like I, I was expecting to get handed like a stack of work when I came in on my first couple days and I was actually handed a stack of food. For free! I didn't even have to pay for any of it. I mean they, they really promoted like us getting to know each other, us going out, having a good time exploring the area. And like that to me was, it caught me off guard because I didn't know that was gonna happen and I, I was completely unprepared for it. I was, and especially, like I mentioned earlier, this is the first year that they're doing my position so I didn't even know what people in the office were gonna expect of me. And to just have the first couple weeks be bonding and not any crazy work was just super refreshing. Really helped us all. And I think I speak for all of us when I say this, like ease into our jobs.

Anna Buckman:

Yeah. I feel like this place is like such like a family oriented kind of workplace. Like I can go to anybody for anything. Like they can answer any of my questions and I know someone's gonna help me. I know someone's gonna guide me to where I need to be.

Parker Kuchulan:

Exactly. Yeah. And like big picture when you are all looking for jobs, like if that's not how you feel in the workplace, then you really need to consider like, do I wanna be here? Like, am I happy? Right? Like if you feel at home, then that's a job that you really don't want to take for granted.

Emily Linck:

Yeah. Kind of saying like, I think that we all work together better. Like we can all collaborate on stuff because I can just, because we just know each other well enough. Like we are all, we're all friends so it's really easy to like work on projects together 'cause it's enjoyable to spend time with you guys.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yeah. Even if there's like no crossover in some of our areas. Like I know data analytics doesn't really cross over with communications that often, but I feel like sometimes we can just bounce ideas off of each other.

Parker Kuchulan:

We both use laptops.

Tina Milosavljevic:

We both use laptops.

Austin Nielsen:

I can't count how many times I have gone to all four of you with any kinds of random questions that I have about my own work because I know that I highly value second opinions and I tend to not be able to make up my mind half the time. So I do appreciate that. But I really think what the whole, I mean obviously having an internship or you know, is not all about the freebies, it's not about the social aspects, though they are very nice. It's meant to supplement the entire experience and that's what I liked the emphasis was on. It was not about just us being there, you know, doing that. It was about getting us to know each other, getting acclimated with the workplace culture, that being inviting, welcoming, which I mean in the, in the higher education space where your sole purpose is to help students with their own professional development, that goes a long way because we're, we're out here helping anybody, whoever, you know, what backgrounds they are, what majors they are, what they want to do in the future. And so having that, that same welcoming, you know, that same welcoming personality, it, that's all, that's what it's all about. And so I'm really glad that we got that experience and I think it really spoke to how it's elevated our own sense of work that we do.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yeah. Almost like learning how to be a coworker.

Emily Linck:

Yeah, like I mentioned before, this is my second internship and I had another one this summer, which I really, really enjoyed working and I got to interact a lot with my coworkers, but there were interns all over across the other properties and I didn't get to meet them until like the end of our internship program. So being able to meet you guys like the first week was great and fun.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Apart from learning kind of how to be in a workplace, you also do learn how to balance different amount of workloads as a student and an intern. You gotta balance that between schoolwork and your internship work.

Austin Nielsen:

Absolutely. With that said, obviously with an on-campus position, it's well assumed that you're also balancing credit hours along with that and that is a very, very delicate process. Me personally, because of my major, I'm taking 15 credits every year or every semester, which is about five classes. And being able to balance not just the classes but the workload that's associated with that can be an issue sometimes. You know, I'll find like the occasional late night, the occasional, I gotta stay up till 1:00 AM doing some homework assignments. But at the same time it's all about how you manage both. One thing that I like about specifically on campus positions is the super, the supervisors they understand that you're a student first and they're never gonna put excess work on you when they know full well that you're, that you're here for your education. And I highly value that and I'm very thankful of that personally. Considering, you know, like today I have a quiz to do after this, I have an essay to write. And so it's just all about that balance, you know, not pushing things off last minute, which I would definitely emphasize. And if anyone has any of their own tips and tricks to share, I would like to hear that.

Anna Buckman:

I have been waiting to share, oh my gosh. Time management is like my little expertise, I swear. So I am one of the busiest people I know in my life. And I'm not just saying that because it's my life, but I, I work this internship, I go to school full time. I'm on the dance team. It's just kind of crazy. So what I like to do for my skills, I, it helps me a lot. I don't know how well it works for other people, but for me, I, I think it's like a great thing to share, but I do a minute by minute like schedule of my day and it really helps me like prioritize what needs to get done and when. And sometimes like I'll be like, oh, I don't know if I can do this right now. Like, I kinda wanna take a nap. Then I'll go take a nap. Like if my body needs that, if what I need to do isn't aligning with what my schedule says, I don't get mad at myself if I have to change it up. Like at the end of the day, it's just my day. As long as I'm getting done what I need to get done, that's really all that matters. And just like learning how to balance, like this new element of an internship has been so fun because we only work 15 ish hours a week. So adding that into my schedule, it's like a little game for me. I swear. Like just adding like where to add in minutes, where to put in the hours and all that is so fun.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah, I'll piggyback on that. I like to write down my goals for the day and I try to separate school and work. I think that's really important. You can't be like, I can't come into my shift and just worry about school the whole time, then you're not gonna get anything done at work. And then you can't go to your classes worried about work because then you're not gonna get anything done in class. So like really make sure you separate school and work is is like my number one tip because a lot of times, a lot of times I'll come here and, you know, sometimes I'll be stressed about a quiz and whatnot and I'll catch myself and I'm like, okay, hey you need to like, just, that's not a problem right now. That's a problem after you get off. And I think that's really important. And another thing too is like Anna said, we work around 15 hours a week give or take. And that 15 hours that we're working because of us being hired is another 15 hours that we're losing in previous years that we would've done to, you know, have free time or do homework. So I think it, it's really about buckling down and optimizing the time that you do have available still and just you really have to be more on top of things. And that's just the facts. Like, if you have something that takes up more time in your life, you're gonna need to evaluate and use your free time in a different way.

Anna Buckman:

I totally agree with that. I think it's a great learning experience and learning thing for us to take in the real world when we start like working big girl and big boy jobs. Like, I think it's just super important thing.

Emily Linck:

I was gonna say, say the same thing. I definitely think it's a learning experience. This is my second year on campus and last year I did not have like an on-campus job and I wasn't involved in as much. But now I have this job and I also Career Connect for the Career Center. And I'm in school and I have another job and like in the beginning of the semester I was just taking on way too much. So it's definitely as a semester has gone on, I've been able to learn how to balance that better. It's not gonna just come naturally. So like you gotta, you definitely gotta learn.

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah. Learning how to effectively balance everything in your life from your academics to your work to your social life. That goes a long way. But also along with that, learning how you best manage it. I've, you know, personally I've tried calendars, I've tried planners, I've tried Google Sheets, assignment tracker and none of them really work for me. And so eventually I found out like Google Calendar just straight up on my phone. My best friend, my best friend right now. It helps out a lot. So my piece of advice to you on the time management aspect is though it's very important to understand when to worry about certain aspects, which trust me as a student, we all understand that schoolwork is constantly on your mind. Learning how to more properly choose when you worry about what is effective, but also just learning how to better, better understand how you work and how you manage all of that at the same time goes a long way. Don't use a planner if you don't feel a planner works best for you. Do what you fit most naturally with because the rest will fall into place when you find something that synergizes with your learning and your development styles.

Anna Buckman:

I love that. That was beautifully said.

Austin Nielsen:

Thank you very much.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yeah. Cool. I think we got a lot of good information, good conversation here. Before we wrap up, I think we should go around and real quickly say some unknowns about internships. Like things you don't necessarily think you'll learn. I know I'll start by saying I did not realize I would want a whole wardrobe change. When I go to stores now I'm looking for turtlenecks, I'm looking for button-ups and I'm looking for sweaters.

Austin Nielsen:

The business casual.

Anna Buckman:

No, that's literally the same with me. I'll be shopping out with my mom. She's like, you don't need that. I'm like, but it's for work. Like I can wear it for work, Mom. Like, it's so cute for work.

Emily Linck:

I never thought I would buy loafers, but I bought loafers last week to wear to work. So here we are.

Parker Kuchulan:

See my mom likes to hook me up with all the nice fancy clothes and previously I hadn't had any opportunities to wear 'em. So now I'm getting to utilize my wardrobe.

Austin Nielsen:

It is, I've always liked dressing up rather nicely and so I'm always wearing like nicer sweaters or dress shirts if I can handle it. And so I like that I'm somewhere where I can do that. Beyond just the wardrobe change? Interesting unknowns about internships. I guess I would also add on to the fact that frankly you're, you're not gonna see changes in your personality per se, but you're gonna see changes in how you like to go about things because you're taking on more in your daily life. You're gonna, you're gonna see that your priorities change significantly as they should because you're focusing less on just your school, just your social life. But you're also acknowledging that you now have a work life and with work life comes a newfound social life because you're, you socialize with your coworkers, with your supervisors, you're taking on more responsibilities. So your mindset's also gonna focus on that. So though that's not necessarily something anybody thinks about right away, it's worth noting that your, your mindset's gonna change significantly for better I would say because I prefer work life me right now because I think it's really gotten my priorities straight.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Never thought I'd love LinkedIn as much as I do now.

Emily Linck:

People in my life now refer to me as Emily LinkedIn because I was at the gym and I was on LinkedIn the other day. Yes. But I think kind of an unknown I guess was coming into this, you kind of have to learn how to be in a professional setting too. Like don't get me wrong, it's super chill around here and a lot of workplaces are, but you still have to learn how to be in an office and be in a professional setting. Especially because we have employers coming in and out all the time. So we can't always be talking about Taco Bell and like, we have an employer coming in.

Parker Kuchulan:

My bad. <Laugh>

Anna Buckman:

No, I agree with that because in my past jobs I was a bev cart girl and I was at retail at Club Monaco and it's just been like a super new like learning experience. Like I had to have a sit down talk with my parents and they had to walk me through the do's and don'ts of a little office job because I had no idea. Like I obviously knew to be professional and be presentable, but it's just a new realm.

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah. To piggyback off of that, I didn't really get that talk so I was completely up to the will of what I learned in training. And I would like to say that good training goes a long way. The training here has been fantastic and it's what got me into the mindset, like what got me used to the idea of how proper etiquette when you're working in an, you know, in a professional department, which I mean that's learning experience in of itself. And though we talk about, you know, a lot of the fun experiences, the Taco Bell, Emily and I talk a lot about SpongeBob memes and references. That's all to say that that's only a fraction of what you get to experience in an internship. The fun moments really make the rest of it come together. But also you gotta remember that you're in a professional workplace. The work does come first. And this is just to say that the fun moments really make it all flow more nicely together. And I think they make you a better worker.

Anna Buckman:

Totally agree with that.

Parker Kuchulan:

I think one thing for me is when you go to class, or at least personally, I try to dress up like somewhat nice when I go to class because I feel like it helps me think better or like put me in a better mindset for the day. Well sometimes I have days where I really don't feel like doing that. So when I go to class, I just wear, you know, a hoodie and sweatpants. Well see when you have those days when you're going into work, you can't wear a hoodie and sweatpants. You still have to bring your A game. Like no one's gonna judge you in class because you're wearing different clothes or you're not looking presentable or business casual. But in the workplace it's different. Like that's a part of what you have to do every day that what you bring in, you have to be presentable.

Anna Buckman:

Kind of going off of that, a little slight unknown about an internship, especially it's a student worker is like, you go to class and then you go to work. Like for my schedule, I go to class and I go to work and then go back to class and then I'll go back to work. So it's also like, I was so nervous. Like the first day I was like dressed up for work and I was walking to the classes, I was like, people are gonna think I try so hard to look good for classes, but that's just not the case because at Seidman and like all the other colleges and buildings and everything else on campus, like people work, people have jobs. Like nobody's judging you for what you wear to class. And I going off of what Parker said, when I go to class wearing my little workout outfit, I feel like a better student. Like I feel like I put in the work more and I try harder in class and it's been really great for my work ethic.

Emily Linck:

No, I thought the same thing. I was like, oh my goodness, I have a 9:00 AM and I'm wearing dress pants and a dress shirt and everybody else is wearing sweatpants. I feel so out of place.

Parker Kuchulan:

Pajama bottoms even.

Emily Linck:

So it's like, but realistically, if you're worried about something like that, people are not paying attention. I don't, I think you have to remember that. Like, if anything, they're like, man, maybe I should, I've had one of my friends in my class be like, if I know that you get up and get dressed every day for work. So that made me get up early this morning and actually brush my hair.

Austin Nielsen:

<Laugh>. I I do sympathize with that. I remember one class last year I decided, it was a final exam. I did not, I had no work. I just wanted to go and go back and go play video games or something at my apartment. So I wore pajama pant bottoms, a hoodie and my Ugg moccasins and I just strolled into the classroom. Never again. Because there's again, lifestyle change, wearing nicer clothes. You feel nice. I definitely think you feel nicer when you dress nicer.

Parker Kuchulan:

You feel like an adult.

Austin Nielsen:

You feel like an adult. It is adulting.

Parker Kuchulan:

A crazy concept.

Austin Nielsen:

<Laugh>

Anna Buckman:

I have just one more thing to say about like unknowns. It's kind of off topic, but I feel like in this internship I've learned so much about myself. Before this internship, I had a lot of things going on like in the summer and then once I came here and I met all these people, it was just like, a lifestyle change. Not like I was changing my whole life around just 'cause of this internship, but like I was learning things about other people, which made me realize more things about myself and I just felt like I've grown so much as a person just from that. And it's, and it's been so fun.

Emily Linck:

Yeah. Like this is kind of similar to what you're saying is I think collaborating with people and being in this internship has exposed maybe different strengths. For example, Parker is just the TikTok star now and he's the data analytics intern.

Parker Kuchulan:

And I don't even own TikTok.

Emily Linck:

And like, who, who would've thought that? I don't know. I just think it like, you can find your different strengths by collaborating with different people who are different than you. Like I've learned new things.

Parker Kuchulan:

And I think, yeah, like you said, I'm the TikTok star again, not self-proclaimed, but I'm not active on TikTok. I don't even own TikTok and I don't post TikToks. And previously I was too shy to record a TikTok. And now having that, I know it's not a part of my job. I mean technically it is, but it's made me a lot less shy and like less, less self-conscious.

Austin Nielsen:

You just have the charisma for it, Parker.

Emily Linck:

Or as Dave would say, the riz.

Everyone:

The riz.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah, the riz!

Austin Nielsen:

The data riz.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yeah. I never really thought I'd be an office girly, but I found myself loving to come to the office and type, type, type away on my laptop and kind of prepares me for like who I might be in my future career path.

Anna Buckman:

Yeah. I feel like also one other unknown that I had about internships is like when I was coming in here for the first time, nobody really knew anything about me. Like I had no idea who the other interns were. Like I didn't even know their names if I'm being honest. Like I didn't know anybody until we had that orientation like day. I only knew Tina because we had one work day before that. So me and her were just bestie-besties the whole time. But it was just like, I felt like when I started I could be myself, I could be like a different person. Like I'm obviously myself, like, I'm not like, pretending to be someone I'm not. But it's just like -

Austin Nielsen:

You're not faking it.

Anna Buckman:

No, I'm not. And it's just so refreshing because like having this new group of people who don't know me, who don't know my background and just accept me for me is like something that it's so special. Like, I'm not trying to get like sappy, but it's just so true because I cherish you guys and cherish how you see me as a person and like our friendships and all of that. Like, it's just, it's also refreshing too because I've hung out with my friends, like I'm a senior, I've hung out with my friends for college for the past three years. They know pretty much everything about my life because I've told them everything about my life. But with you guys, coming into this new environment, it's just, and just being myself and getting to know you guys and being yourselves, like, it's just so, so special.

Austin Nielsen:

I agree. I actively find myself wanting to go to work because I get to hang out with you guys and that just goes to show that we should hang out more often!

Emily Linck:

I would agree, I get excited to come into work on the days that I get to work with all of you and I'm like, oh my gosh, I get to see all my little friends. Or like, we have a group chat.

Parker Kuchulan:

Little?

Anna Buckman:

I'm five two.

Emily Linck:

Okay. And we have like the intern group chat when somebody sends something I'm like, oh my gosh, what is it? And I just get so excited. It's just side like -

Anna Buckman:

Color guard with Employer Showcase flags.

Parker Kuchulan:

Yeah.

Emily Linck:

It was just building those relationships within the workplace is just, it makes it so much more enjoyable to go into work.

Parker Kuchulan:

And about those workplace relationships. Like one thing that's really important is knowing everybody's name. Because there's like, for a couple weeks I did not remember names and, honestly, Emily, I'm gonna be honest, like I thought your name was Emma for a little bit and I think I almost accidentally called you Emma then I was like, oh, that's her name tag, and I saw Emily, I was like, yeah, let's go. So yeah, just make sure you know everybody's name because when you address people by name as opposed to just saying like, "Hey, what's up?" in their direction. It's, it's important to know their name.

Anna Buckman:

Yeah. It also creates like a stronger relationship between the two people. But going back to kind of what Austin and Emily said about like loving to come into work. Like I've talked to my mom and she's like, how come you always wanna go to work, but like, you never wanna do like schoolwork. I'm like, 'cause work is fun. Like, it's so much fun. Like I always have a blast, like whenever I'm creating content, creating graphics, or even making TikToks, like I love being able to just pull you guys aside and be like, Hey, we're gonna go film a TikTok and you're gonna talk in it. Have fun!

Austin Nielsen:

You can't do that with a group project. Let's be completely honest.

Anna Buckman:

Exactly. This is just so fun. Like, I always wanna come in like I always wanna do, like, I'm always motivated when I'm here. Like I've never sat at my desk and be like, "Ugh. Like I don't wanna do anything, don't wanna talk to anybody. I'm just gonna be around myself." I always wanna be with somebody. I always wanna talk to somebody. Everyone here always has something to say too. I can go to any advisor and just be like, "Hey, I have a question." Or like, "Hey, you wanna talk or something?" And they're there for me. That relationship is so special and like, especially when it comes to the workplace culture. It's just, it's awesome.

Tina Milosavljevic:

That was so great. Thank you interns for sharing all your experiences and -

Anna Buckman:

Thank you for hosting.

Parker Kuchulan:

Thank you for hosting.

Austin Nielsen:

Yeah thank you for having us.

Emily Linck:

Thank you Tina!

Tina Milosavljevic:

Yeah, it was my idea to do this <laugh>. 

Everyone:

<laugh>

Parker Kuchulan:

It was, it was!

Austin Nielsen:

It was.

Tina Milosavljevic:

And thank you to all of our listeners for enjoying this super special in intern takeover episode. I hope you learned at least something about internships, not just about Taco Bell and coffee. Remember to like, comment and subscribe even though I don't think you can do that on Audioboom. But you can follow our TikTok and our Instagram pages at gvsucareers.

Austin Nielsen:

And come check us out in person because we offer a lot of good resources in office.

 

Parker Kuchulan:

And advice about internships and resume reviews.

Emily Linck:

We also have snacks.

Anna Buckman:

Oh, the best snacks.

Parker Kuchulan:

Free snacks.

Austin Nielsen:

The amount of cheese that I go through here is probably not good for my health. 

Parker Kuchulan:

And there's a lot of like animal panda cameras on the TV screen. So if you ever just wanna come and chill out and look at some pandas -

Austin Nielsen:

It's a great environment. Trust me, there will be something for anyone here.

Tina Milosavljevic:

Alright, see you guys later.

Everyone Staggered:

Bye, bye, bye.

Parker Kuchulan:

Bye.

Anna Buckman:

Wait, 1, 2, 3 -

Everyone Staggered:

Bye, bye, bye. <laughs>.

Anna Buckman:

Okay, we gotta redo that again.

Everyone:

Bye!