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12 Years Later, My Lessons from Being an Intern at a Big Corp

As my journey through consulting, post-grad education, entrepreneurship, and startup leadership continues, I’ve gained a greater appreciation for my co-op experiences at a big corp more than 12 years ago.
Especially now as I’m recruiting, oftentimes, less experienced candidates than in my past, I’m realizing the value of spending more time at a big corporation.
At Georgia Tech, I was a co-op for four semesters at a major 3rd-party logistics provider in Atlanta. I remember falling asleep at my desk more than a few times that first semester. It wasn’t the most exciting as I was the spreadsheet analyst at first. Over the semesters, my projects became more complex, and I earned my stripes with my own special projects.
It was some of the best experiences I’ve ever had, and laid the foundation for things to come. Here are some lessons now looking back at what I’ve learned.
  • Politics – Implementing changes at a big company is like steering a massive ship – it takes time, and a lot of effort. There’s a lot of personalities involved. There will be proponents and champions as well as blockers and gatekeepers. Knowing how to speak with executives while tactfully navigating the cluster of people is imperative. Politics and risks are huge facts of life that cannot be glossed over.
  • Structure – Big companies come with big structures. As much as you may jump and grimace at “structure”, structure gives us balance and the ability to prioritize. As a co-op, I learned the value of structure through workflows, time management, and simply, how to build an analysis.
  • Professionalism – I’m hiring in a startup. Yeah, you can wear a t-shirt, if you want. We’ll throw a stress ball around and crack jokes, but you can bet we will be professional with each other and with everyone we encounter externally. Too often candidates think professionalism is just “thank you” and “yes, sir”. Professionalism is about communication – both explicit and implicit. It can be silent communication through your body language. Professionalism is how you receive feedback, speak on the phone, and write an email. Too often candidates rely on what they think is good to him/ herself but fail to recognize what’s good for others.
  • Connections – Humans are social creatures, so relationships are vital to us. In the business world, relationships enable sales, recruiting, etc. I didn’t do a great job of connecting and forming good relationships with the full-timers. I did, however, form very good relationships with my fellow co-ops that later led to all sorts of opportunities. This is where I strive to better everyday in daily interfaces.
  • Reality – This sounds simple, but it’s not. Reading the best practices in books and learning about case studies is one thing, but reality sets in in the real world that toss much of what we hope and dream for out the window. That’s not to say things can’t be better, but there are details that make businesses so much more complex. Striving for better is always the goal, but failing to realize the holistic picture of yesterday, today, and tomorrow’s business can lead to disaster.
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How to Talk About a Part-Time Entrepreneurial Venture with Recruiters

I received a question recently from an entrepreneur about working part-time/ contract work as her startup continues to build momentum. She wasn’t sure how to talk about her company with potential head hunters. Head hunters advised her that employers could view her startup as a “conflict of interest”.
In the employers’ minds, the entrepreneur would be “taking advantage” of the company. The entrepreneur (read: “worker”) would be taking a higher rate, and leaving soon to work on her company.
My response is that there’s no “advantage” here. Instead, there’s mutually beneficial relationship. 
Some quick thoughts on this:
  • The employer is hiring a part-time/ contractor for flexibility and expertise. The employer does not have to pay for benefits, taxes (in most cases), and any severance packages. Meanwhile, the employer gets a skilled resource to address an exact business problem. It’s an beneficial arrangement for both parties.
  • A clear scope of work and deliverables ensures the entrepreneur is meeting expectations. It’s up to both parties if those expectations are exceeded (or not).
  • The entrepreneur should be upfront in her passions and what she wants to do. There is not a finite period of work at this point. It’s up to both parties to find a mutually beneficial arrangement. Again, the employer is looking for part-time/ contractor work anyways.
  • Big companies do, in fact, value entrepreneurial mindsets. These days, companies of all sizes realize the potential of more agile competitors. As such, companies are looking for capable, creative, and ambitious resources. These resources enable agility for companies.
  • Cultural fit is key. The right companies will realize fit with the entrepreneur, and vice versa. Some companies will leverage the entrepreneurial skills to bring a new product to market. Others may want the worker to augment a team and execute. In any case, it’s down to people on both sides to enable growth on both sides.

Entrepreneurial ventures can enable some of the best experience anyone can ever have. Through entrepreneurship, founders can learn all facets of the business with a real-world MBA. They’ll learn through the ups and downs of why corporations operate today. (Corporations exist and create structure to scale early success, after all.) For the entrepreneur, be confident and honest with what you’ve done. Be honest with what you want to achieve. Realize the right opportunity will enable both parties to benefit.

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Start Your Own Lessons Learned

It’s been a little over a week since I wrapped up #100Strangers100Days, and I’ve given this a little reflection. As you can imagine, I get a lot of questions on what’s next and what my lessons have been. I find the question for lessons learned interesting.
When I think about lessons we learn, we learn them because they somehow resonate with us. They resonate with us so we can remember them. When I create my list of lessons learned, they will be my own.
I’m wondering how many people will try to learn their own lessons, or are they looking to me for the Cliff’s Notes. Meeting the 100 Strangers required no patented process. Required no money. Demanded little time. (What took a lot of time was everything after the meet.) Anyone can do this.
Again, the lessons will be my own, and though, I might paint them in a light that is best seen and understood by others, they will be mine.
Meeting a handful of Strangers today, tomorrow, over the next two weeks, and learning from the experience (and maybe making some great connections), just requires an initiative. Then, those lessons will be your own. Don’t need to blog about them. Don’t need to bust out a voice recorder. Don’t need to start with “Who are you?” Instead, your lessons and journey starts today, and you can take whatever path you wish.
(This is true beyond meeting Strangers, too.)
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