At Entuitive, we have a great team of creative, collaborative, and advanced people, and that includes our talented co-op students. In this series, we’ll hear from them and dive in to their experience with us. Our first post is by Amani Eletry, Business Development Coordinator.
Amani: Walking into my first day as a co-op student at Entuitive, I had a multitude of thoughts running through my head. Don’t get me wrong, I was incredibly excited to begin, but there’s a certain mixture of anticipation and anxiety that’s coupled with starting any kind of new venture. The reality is, new people, new surroundings, and a new corporate culture can all become overwhelming, especially as the ‘little fish in a big pond’. But I can honestly say, my onboarding process has been as smooth as it could be.
Assimilating into a new workplace extends far beyond getting the hang of the work itself, especially with this being my first exposure working in an office. It’s learning how to use the fancy coffee machine, remembering people’s names, and in this case, learning to navigate the ever so confusing PATH. It took a while to settle into a comfortable routine, but surrounded by a group of friendly, curious, and passionate people, I felt welcomed and valued. The people at Entuitive are the embodiment of the workplace culture, creating an overall feel to the office that is just generally happy. That might also be due to the endless stream of chocolates that randomly appear on the kitchen table.
What I’ve truly valued from my time here so far is how honest and understanding everyone is. I’ve learned the importance of understanding priorities and expectations, and to ask questions when it’s not clear. As the newest addition to the Business Development team, I’m gradually picking up on how best I can support the overall strategic business plans of the firm. People understand there are things a new hire can’t be expected to know right away, and they were more than happy to support my learning process. There is also a good amount of autonomy that provides lots of opportunities to make an impact. I strongly believe that you get as much out of the work as you put into it, so building a relationship with your team based on mutual trust and respect provides room to go beyond the basic job description and make your place in the company. My advice is be honest, open, and reliable and it will take you far.
Being one month into my work term at Entuitive, I have a few suggestions for future interns or new hires in general. Introduce yourself to everyone right away! You will develop these relationships with your colleagues and it will make work that much more enjoyable. One thing I’ve found has helped me to stay organized is developing clear and detailed to-do lists to avoid scrambling those first couple of weeks – believe me, the tasks will pile up fast. I found it helpful to define short- and long-term objectives that may be beneficial to look back on at the end of your work term and reflect. And of course, never underestimate the usefulness of googling a quick term or two. The acronyms start to make sense after a while.
At the end of my first day, I wanted to ask myself if I was glad I decided to join Entuitive, and I can honestly answer yes with full certainty. It’s part of the Entuitive way to help people succeed. They care about not just the growth of the developing company, but the personal growth of each employee as well. Overall my initiation at Entuitive has been extremely successful and has set the stage for a positive and productive remainder to my work term.
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