This past week I have had many new and exciting first experiences. For instance, I had my first work day at my internship with Kietzee. I was nervous walking in on my first day, but my nerves quickly disappeared as I began my onboarding process and took a tour around the Impact Hub office. The Impact Hub is an office space that hosts many different start-up companies of all different types. Due to this very social workspace, I had the opportunity to meet many lovely people and learn about the different types of companies they are working for or have even started themselves. On Wednesday, there was a community lunch, which allowed me to do a lot of networking and meet everyone I would be working alongside.
Kietzee is a new company, and because of this, the team is rather small. I did not know what to expect from this originally, but I have come to like it quite a bit. Instead of doing trivial tasks, I am in charge of much more important jobs. This is giving me a lot of hands-on experience that I do not think I would find working for a larger firm. So far, some of my responsibilities have been making new posts for the Instagram and Facebook accounts, writing the monthly newsletter telling members about the events happening this month, forming mission and value statements, and even diving into their Google Analytics. Needless to say, in just a week, I have done a lot! Due to the many tasks I am responsible for, I need to manage my time well as well as prioritize the many different projects in a way that is efficient and effective. My boss showed me the few applications that she has been using to do this. She introduced me to a site called Trello. It is a free website where you can create online boards that can be shared with others. I have three different lists on my board that include to-do, working on, and completed. I can prioritize my tasks by putting the most time-sensitive ones at the top of the list. This has been working out greatly so far, and I will most certainly be utilizing this website when I am back at Pitt.
I have always been a rather organized person, but many of the projects that I am working on require different types of organizational skills, so I am very grateful that my boss, Lisa, has helped me navigate these challenges. Another thing that has been helping me is having an open line of communication with her. Whenever I am confused or need help with a certain task, she is more than happy to help me figure out a solution with no judgments. She explains my projects in great detail before I begin and is excellent at giving instructions. Not only is she a great teacher, but she is very inspiring and is working very hard to make her dream of creating this platform into a successful reality. Seeing someone so passionate about their work has truly motivated me to work even harder and help her accomplish this goal. She is a fantastic mentor, and I cannot wait to continue working with her throughout the rest of the summer.
One goal that I had before I came to Berlin was to make more professional connections while I was here and, most importantly, while I was at work. I have been managing my time to do this by taking advantage of the community activities they have, such as the community lunch. During these breaks, I make sure to prioritize talking to as many professionals as possible and building connections with everyone. This has worked out well for me because it does not take any time away from the projects I am working on but allows me to get to know people around the office. The Impact Hub has also made this quite an easy task, as everyone is very friendly and looking to talk to new people as well. I have also been trying to get to the office early in the morning so that I have time to grab a coffee from the kitchen and see if anyone is around before the day begins.
Every Monday morning, I intend to plan out my week and write down all of the tasks that I need to complete. I did this a lot with my schoolwork, and it helped me stay on top of all of my assignments. I haven’t run into any issues so far with managing my time, but I know if I do, communicating these issues with Lisa will be the best way to solve any problem I may have.