Have you ever been to a Las Vegas buffet? One that includes omelets, prime rib, fruit cocktail, pizza, pasta, and all sorts of desserts you want to eat, but know you really shouldn’t? Or even a buffet like Sweet Tomatoes or Golden Corral?
You’re over-whelmed, unsure of what you want to try, since you know your stomach can only take in so many calories in that sixty minute time block. By the end of brunch, you’re busting at the seams but proud of your great accomplishments. You’ve learned a lot about what foods you wouldn’t try again and taken mental notes about what are some go-to dishes you should have if you return. At the end of the day, you’ve gained a lot from your time there, although it was way too short, but know there is more to try.
This all-you-can-eat buffet is the best metaphor for a summer internship that I could’ve imagined (and trust me, I thought of many other very mediocre metaphors). In a corporate internship, like mine at PetSmart this summer, there is so much to learn, so many people to meet, so much to do, but in so little time. Just like a buffet, you realize you must allocate your time and energy wisely before the 2-3 months pass and you must return to school for your classroom learning.
Although you may not like working in every aspect of the business you are exposed to, you take note of the jobs you may like one day and the jobs you’d like to stay as far away from as possible (whether at that company or elsewhere). By the end of the summer, you’ll feel like you just started and have way more to learn, but realize that it was a very impactful experience that’ll guide your future employment decisions.
My experience this summer at PetSmart HQ (or Store Support Group (SSG) as they call it) has been remarkable. I’ve learned a ton within my role as an intern in the Customer Engagement and Adoptions team within the Store Operations department, helping to better understand customer satisfaction within our in-store adoptions. Before leaving in August, I will have the opportunity to develop a strategy to improve adoption experiences in the future, presenting it to my team, other PetSmart SSG associates, and executives.
Yet, that is just the “day job” portion of my internship. Our HR liaisons have connected us to mentors who help guide our thinking on our project as well as have encouraged us to reach out to other associates to set up meet-and-greets with to learn more about what they do and see if it interests us as well. Meet-and-greets, coffee-chats, sitting in on other team meetings, and trying to learn as much as possible from associates and other interns (who, by the way, are super knowledgable, fantastic people, who I’ve really enjoyed getting to know personally and professionally) makes up the rest of the internship experience.
Just like the buffet, I haven’t been able to try every dish (aka see all of the different departments) but I’ve learned some of what I would like to do in the future as well as what I wouldn’t enjoy as much. At the end of these ten weeks, I’ll have gained so much and hope to have given PetSmart some great value too (just like a happy buffet guest gives the restaurant some great value as well). Well, here are some other photos to enjoy from my time at PetSmart as well:
Follow Bennett on Twitter: @BennettDwosh
