On the job!
Author: Odessa Clear | Major: International and Global Studies | Semester: Summer 2023
This summer, I had the opportunity to intern with a small consulting firm, Cynuria Consulting, in business development. I participated in an academic internship program through The Washington Center, based in Washington DC, and it was incredibly special to spend time in such a lively city full of young professionals. In complete truth, I had not had much prior knowledge of the consulting world, and I was not sure what to expect. Consulting had seemed so ambiguous and subjective, and I felt that I did not know what was to come. However, after several weeks, my interest in the consulting world has brought me more clarity for my professional future. Little did I know how challenging, stressful, and rewarding a career in consulting could be. Every deadline and each time I felt unsure of what I was doing was ultimately a learning opportunity. One of the greatest takeaways I learned was the importance of learning by doing. It is one thing to hear someone tell you how to do something, and another thing to know how to do it, but entirely different when you have to figure it out by doing it. It is one of the most mentally challenging, and often frustrating moments at work. That said, it becomes so clear once it clicks and is one of the most important ways to learn. My position at this company was entirely remote, which I did not find conducive to productivity, networking, or an internship experience. I was very grateful to have this opportunity, but the workflow in a virtual environment is not a good fit for me. It was difficult not to be able to walk to my boss’s desk or easily ask my fellow interns for help. Although there were setbacks and challenges, I am confident that I grew greatly professionally and personally through this experience.
My workload started from day one. I remember looking at my calendar and seeing many meetings and it was kind of overwhelming at first. I remember having five minutes to jump to another call and everything felt brief. The first week I took time to settle in and understand my responsibilities and communicate expectations with my supervisor. As I mentioned before, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the consulting industry and I did not know what to expect. However, after I met with my supervisor I knew what my job was and it was still ambiguous. Each day I would wake up and hop on a call with my supervisor first thing in the morning and we would outline my tasks for the day. Each day looked entirely different as some days I would be editing proposals in Google Docs and other days I would be learning how to use and set up Learning Management Systems. On one hand, it was exciting to wake up and have something new each day to accomplish, on the other hand, this unpredictability was something that I didn’t enjoy as I am such a planner. This was something that I became more familiar with and comfortable with over time. Working at a small consulting firm with only seven employees allowed me to take advantage of trying different things and having many responsibilities. I was fortunate enough to meet with all of the full-time staff at different points within my internship, and it was great being able to understand their role within the company and to get to know them on a more personal level. Our Friday mornings would begin with an all-staff meeting where we would go over projects, people, and pipelines. This allowed us to communicate what we were doing at the time, hear from our colleagues, and understand the company and where it was at at the moment. This was a really important meeting because everyone was working virtually, and l it can feel very isolating at times. This check-in allowed us to stay in touch and emphasize strong communication as much as possible.
Walking away from this experience I have not only gained a stronger sense of the consulting industry but also what my interests might be. I enjoy the variety of projects and the exposure to different work daily that this job provides. At the same time, I have realized that at
such a small firm the lack of structure is not ideal for me. It is difficult at a small firm to have the structure that would support a young professional, and the company employees that I work with have already had corporate careers. I have noticed one of the disadvantages of working at such a small firm is the kind of lack of structure that I believe is necessary for my career. The corporate structure provides more of a framework and clear expectations with less ambiguity than that of a smaller company. Along with the fact that it was virtual, the experience that I would have in an office would be drastically different. I know now I want to work for a larger company for many years before transitioning into a smaller company with less structure. This internship experience gave me the clarity I need to have confidence in my future professional decisions and figure out the company I want to work for, and the ideal characteristics of that organization.
Before this internship, I had never been in a professional workplace before. In many ways, it met the expectations that I had but in the virtual environment, I didn’t get a clear picture of what being in an office would feel like. There were not any break room conversations or conversations at people’s desks, and the lack of commute made it challenging to separate work and personal life. Moving forward I do not see my future in a virtual position. I am grateful this experience has given me an idea of what I’m not interested in and the clarity to figure out what I am. I am walking away from my internship with stronger professional skills in areas for example communication project management and organization. I have learned so much from deadlines about knowing how to effectively and efficiently use my time. I know what it is like to encounter small challenges and have to problem solve without much guidance. This experience has shown me what I am capable of and how quickly I can learn new skills. I have learned to not get discouraged or doubt my capabilities when I don’t know how to do something or when I make a mistake. I must know how to navigate these situations when they do occur in my career and not be afraid of how to address them. My internship has been very valuable in providing me with guidance for what I want to do in the future. I have come to realize my strong interest in consulting, and I am excited to see where it may take me. This experience as a whole has been transformative and educational through the career readiness program and the night course respectively. Both elements are unique to the program, and challenged my learning further. The career readiness program focused on strengthening professional skills, from resume building to how to navigate an interview. My evening course focused on security and peace in international relations, which was a great addition to my international studies knowledge from my major.
Through both of these components, I have developed stronger professional skills and also enhanced my knowledge of the field where my academics lie. As I look back on this experience, I see the challenges that provided opportunities to learn and grow. I came into this experience hoping to learn as much as I possibly could and I am confident that I was able to do so.