Three Tips to Help You Get Through Your First Office Internship

After two years of interning with start up companies, my new full time, office-based internship was a major change. Knowing that I would no longer be attending the casual, weekly “team meeting” at the bar during happy hour, I headed to the mall in early May and bought myself a few pairs of slacks and flats to prepare for the months ahead.

Now that it is July and I have fully adjusted to my office’s environment, I have learned a few vital things for working in an office.

1. Say “Good Morning”

Your very first task of the day should be to say hello to anyone you see on your way to say good morning to your boss. This first act of communication is very important because it shows that you are willing to interact with everyone in the office. This will also come in handy when your summer internship begins during allergy season because you do not want to be the only one in the office who is not receiving a “God bless you” after every sneeze. If you are not a very social person, a smile also works! Silence every time you walk in the room is a lot more uncomfortable than greeting a few people every day.

2. Don’t Wear Headphones

Listening to music is a great way to make time pass while at work, but if your music is on your phone, it might be in your best interest to break out your old iPod from 2009. We all know this happens–one minute you could be changing a song and the next you are on Instagram looking at pictures of your friends at the beach. Now you are daydreaming about how you wish you were actually able to go to the beach on a weekday. Meanwhile, your coworkers are passing by you, probably peering over your shoulder as they walk to the printer. Now everyone is thinking about how they would rather be at the beach, and most importantly they are thinking about how you are not getting any work done.

3. Befriend the IT Guy

If your office hands out laptops to its employees, there is most likely an IT department that handles them. These guys may not seem like anyone you need to know, but along with giving you a laptop, they most likely handle the Wi-Fi and download speed for your computer. Since you are new, they might try to put you on a slower Wi-Fi than everyone else, which also means you will have a slower download speed. You might not mind this at first, but as soon as your boss begins sending you massive files of photos that need to be uploaded somewhere in the next hour and the file is saying it’s going to take 11 hours to download, you are going to be on your hands and knees praying to the IT Gods.

Every new job takes some getting used to, especially when every company’s work environment can be so varied. Just keep in mind that this period of adjustment does not last forever, and the longer you work somewhere, the more incredibly bizarre, and usually hilarious things you will find out about your office.

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Kristen VanLeer. 

Job Hunt: Understanding Office Culture

Whether you're a senior gearing up to begin the infamous job hunt or a current student seeking out the perfect internship to hone your skills, there are so many factors which must be considered. Which city would you like to work in? Are you more interested in social media or media relations? How many hours can you really bear to put in each work week? All of these questions are important, but one that is often overlooked is: what kind of culture do I want in the workplace?

Workplace culture is a huge factor in what will become your overall work experience. More than clocking hours and crunching deadlines, your job will be filled with different people who all come together to create the environment in which it all happens. Your job is more than the whole of what your company produces, but rather the sum of the individual parts which build a company culture.

The best way to learn and understand what an office's culture is like is by researching materials produced by them, and materials produced about them. This helps you gain two perspectives and create an unbiased opinion about what working there may really be like. Start on the company's website, reviewing their mission statement, any press releases or media material they've made available, and bios of employees. Take the next step, and reach out to your own personal network to see if you can get a first hand account of the office culture. Your old boss or classmate may have either worked for or with that company, and may be able to provide helpful insights.

If you're still unsure if the office culture would be a good fit for you, informational interviews give you the chance to grab information right from the source. Ask questions like:

- Do the employees here often work late into the night, or leave at the end of the regular work day?
- Does the company support employees working from home?
- How do members of the organization interact with each other during the workday?
- How do the different roles in the organization come together to support each other?
- What sets this organization apart from others in the industry?
- What keeps you committed to this company?
- What is the dress code in the office?

These questions give you insights into what happens beyond the services that the organization produces. Experiencing different office settings will help you determine which aspects of office culture you like and dislike. Would you rather work in an office where the dress is casual, or where there are strict guidelines regarding dress code? Experiencing both of these settings will help you determine an answer truly right for you and your interests.

Do you consider office culture when applying for jobs or internships? Share your own experiences below in the comments section!

XOXO PR Girl: Avoiding Gossip in the Office

(Source: Tumblr)

With a small office, open cubicles and chatty co-workers, inner-office gossip is bound to happen. It can be a fun distraction during a stressful work day to exchange stories churning in the rumor mill. But this bad habit could end you in hot water. When gossip comes up in conversation at the office, be mindful of these few points to avoid getting caught up in workplace gossip.

Be aware. Gossip is defined as “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.” But gossip isn’t always that obvious. To help you determine if you’re participating in harmful rumor spreading, consider how you would feel if the person you were discussing heard your conversation.

Have a strategy. Create and commit to a strategy for steering the conversation away from rumors. Try to subtly change the direction of the discussion by asking your co-worker how their weekend was or what big project they’re working on.

Stay positive. Gossip is almost always negative which creates a toxic work environment. When comments come up, it’s important to stay positive. By countering the gossip with something productive, you diffuse the negativity and stay out of the drama.

Stay focused. It can be disruptive to your workday and even affect your performance. Try not to get sidetracked by gossip; it won’t serve your overall path to success. It may seem like a harmless rumor but by participating in hurtful gossip, you could be risking your job and even career.

Don’t perpetuate rumors. Spreading the gossip that you’ve heard is just as bad as starting it in the first place. Rumors can only end when those they are shared with refrain from repeating them.

At the end of the day, gossiping at work just appears unprofessional and immature. Staying out of inner-office chatter will benefit you by increasing your credibility and trustworthiness while helping you avoid harmful drama.