I am on my seventh week of interning at Employment Hero. I cannot believe how fast this semester is going!! Since Spring break, schoolwork has been picking up, so that has definitely made the time feel like it’s going faster.

In the beginning I think the transition into my internship was pretty smooth. Working with the COO made me get up to speed really quickly, and anything else that I needed to know he would tell me as the weeks have gone on. My manager is very relaxed and has been giving me advice on the professional world in general, my desired career goals, and also giving me information on the Australian economy. I mostly only work with Dutchy, the COO, but I would prefer that. 

In terms of other coworkers, I didn’t really click with them in the beginning. I stayed in my chair and worked on my small assignments that Dutchy gave to me. However, as I started to attend more meetings and just be around the office longer, I talked to more people. If there’s one thing that is highly valued in an Australian workplace, it is the relationships among coworkers (we even learned about this in our internship class). I learned pretty quickly that people want to be your friend, and they want to know more about you because it helps everyone work better together in the long run.

Also what helped me with making relationships with my manager and coworkers is the communal kitchen. There’s free breakfast every morning, which is AMAZING, and from 9-10AM, there are always people funneling in and out for toast and cereal. This is where I started to talk to people and tell them about my time in Australia, and sometimes they would even give me advice on where to go around the city.

Advice: In general, I think it’s really important to make friends with your manager and coworkers at your international internship. From my personal experience and what others have told me, the people at their workplace want to be your friend and get to know you. A lot of my friends have been given suggestions on restaurants and activities to do, which I think is invaluable advice. For my roommate’s birthday, her manager got her a bag of all these super Australian things, such as Vegemite and Tim Tams, and I thought that was really nice of her.

SIDE NOTE: Definitely eat Tim Tams. As many as possible. They are amazing and the CAPA building usually has treats in the office room (gummy worms, chocolate, etc). Have a chat with the coordinators in there and eat some Australian snacks!!

Over and out,

Michael

P.S. My featured image is my work name tag that sits at my desk. It also came with that super cool cactus. I really love how Employment is so interested in making sure that I feel like I am a part of their team. I even got my own work laptop to use when I’m there!!