As I was walking to work this morning, I felt like I was 22 years old going to my first real job. I was nervous and excited, but mostly nervous. I had no idea what to expect. Did I learn anything this year? Am I prepared to enter the workforce as an MBA-in-training? Will I be able to keep up with the lingo? How will I compare to the other interns? For a moment I thought that maybe I somehow tricked them into hiring me, and that perhaps next week they were going to wake up and kick me out. I had so much racing through my head that I wasn't paying attention and got into the elevator banks to floors 1-8, although I was heading to floor 9. Mistake number one: check.
Once I finally got on the correct elevator, the doors opened to a lobby milling with HR employees and other interns. I was greeted immediately, given an employee badge and began the process of getting to know everyone. After a day full of meetings, training, small talk and an overwhelming sense of being ill-prepared, I survived.
When I say ill-prepared, I don't mean that Owen didn't prepare me. I don't know how anyone could be prepared for a day like today. It's exhausting, but in a good way. And it's only a sense of being ill-prepared, a fear of the unknown mixed with an excitement about the future. Thousands of “what-ifs” played in my mind all day. Then I forgot my badge and got stuck in some random hallway. Mistake number two: check.
All in all, I was impressed with the way I was greeted and welcomed. I was impressed with the incredible organization of the program, and I was impressed with the general atmosphere of the office. It was all exactly what I was hoping for.
However, the real work has yet to begin, and until I really get my feet wet, I'll still be wondering if I have what it takes. Until then, let's hope that mistake number is only a trivial one and I can get ahead of the learning curve. Stay tuned.
Read the full article: One Day Down, 49 To Go