In both the classroom and in my internship, I have noticed differences in expectations for how I go about my work. Particularly in my online work at my internship, I am given options for what project to work on, usually created by other supply chain interns with advice on how they could improve or steps on how to continue their work to finish an in-progress project. Me and another supply chain intern are looking into taking on an automation-related task suggested to me by my supervisor. The only issue is the handover document provided by previous interns has extremely vague instructions on the methodology for the project and a large learning curve to understand the methods used.

The best way to address this challenge has been to request clear communication from my supervisor remotely and while onsite. If a task is unclear or leaves too much room for interpretation, I will ask my managers for help or clarification. Just this week, I am meeting with my remote supervisor for advice on the progress and path of my remote project. Being direct and open with my communication has really benefited my performance during my activities out of the classroom.

In the classroom, some of the expectations for assignments have been jarring, to say the least. In my supply chain management class, we are expected to create a slide presentation about different articles of our choosing, each connected to a different week of class. I was confused as there was no reference presentation or outline document for what was expected of us for the assignment. I had to ask my professor to show examples of previous students’ work to base my presentation on. In my global workforce management class, we have a research paper as a main component of our final grade. Recently, we were told to submit a research proposal for said paper, but the only guidelines we were given were hastily put on a whiteboard, with only the suggestion that we take a picture of it for formatting. To stay on top of expectations here, you really need to be aware.

Through these interactions with Australians, I’ve had to reconsider how I think about my interactions with those in positions of authority and my own expectations surrounding guidance for different responsibilities. All in all, these challenges have forced me to take agency over my work, not passively following an outline.