The Internship

It’s hard to say exactly, but I think I was more nervous for this Skype call than I was for the initial interview. After exchanging a few emails, John and I had decided to Skype tonight to go over some final details and expectations for my internship.

I nervously raced around the house gathering my tablet, a notebook, and my headphones. Setting up at my dining room table, I connected. Within seconds, John typed out a message.

Hi, it said. Are you ready?

I typed back that I was.

After nearly two years of using Skype to communicate around the globe—first from Europe to connect with my parents, and since to call to friends over in Europe—I have decided that the Skype ringtone is one of the most annoying sounds a computer can emit. Accepting John’s call, the connection (at least on my end) was remarkably better than during our previous interview.

That said, the call was dropped within minutes. When the audio reconnected, we could only do so without video. We decided that would work, and went about outlining some of my job duties more specifically.

John noted I had started a separate blog (the one I am being graded on for school) and asked about its future content. I explained that it is going to be more academically focused on what I learn and how I can apply it to business.

“I’m not completely sure what you will learn about business here,” he said.

“I mostly want to see how business functions differently,” I said. “What management looks like, how the work place works.”

“It’ll be interesting to see what you think,” he said. “We are a pretty small company.”

“Well with the exception of the boy scouts, all of the companies I’ve worked for are small companies,” I said. “It will make for a good apples-to-apples comparison.”

He asked me if I’d done any practice to learn some Chinese language. I recanted to him a story from the other day.

“My Dad and I actually went to buy a new backpack the other day,” I explained. “When we were checking out, I was telling the clerk that I was getting the pack for a trip to China. He told me he was from China and asked if I knew any of the language. I told him the few phrases I’ve learned and he said, ‘I don’t know what you are trying to say, but that means nothing to me.’”

We laughed. John explained that we can actually use that story for part of my job.

My primary role with All Set Learning is going to be to learn Chinese and journal about the process. I’ll be learning the language and also trying to assimilate to the culture. As I note what is easy, what is frustrating, and what progress I make, they will use the story of my process for a variety of marketing opportunities. The goal will be me to become as fluent as possible as quickly as possible.

I honestly think this is a better opportunity than anything I could have planned myself. Over the 3 years I’ve been in school, I’ve memorized finance and accounting formulas, I’ve read about management theories, and I’ve looked at marketing case studies, but none of my academic courses have looked at the role that language and culture play on business. To incorporate not just a cultural understanding, but a linguistic understanding of China into my academic experience will be absolutely awesome.

We also talked about some of the workplace practicalities like dress code and such. My first scheduled day of work is actually a national holiday in China so I’ll start a day later. John offered to meet me for dinner that night so that I can get oriented and find the office on my first day.

Eventually, the signal started to fade and we decided to end the call. John promised to send over a few resources for me to get ready. With 11 days to go, all I can think about is getting ready. And I am getting super excited!