Ashley Hager is a fall intern with Milliner & Associates, aĀ staffing and recruiting agency for accounting, finance, HR and administrative employment positions.
Stress. Overload. Pressure. Worry.
These are a few words that come to mind when I think about working 20 hours a week and taking 18 credit hours this semester.
You know what, though?
Experience. Mentor. Learning. Opportunity. Thankful.
These are a few words that come to mind when I think about my internship.
Still to this day, an entire month after my first day, I am shocked that I get to work at Milliner & Associates for a whole semester. This is an amazing opportunity.
I wake up at 5:30 a.m. and get home at 9:30 p.m. from my evening classes. I have never had problems with time management before. Iāve also never really had a full schedule like this before either. It is hard finding time for homework, studying for exams, time with friends and family, and sometimes even eating.
I tell myself that it will all be worth it in the end. But to be honest, thatās wrong. I should be telling myself that it is all worth it every single day, every single minute, because it truly is. I canāt believe the amount of things I have learned ā not only about my job, but about myself and who I am ā in just a month.
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“(My internship) is worth it every single day, every single minute.”
– Ashley Hager
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The word mentor, before this internship, never meant much to me. I had never experienced it before, and because of that, I never knew just how important having a mentor is.
My boss, Nicole, is my mentor. Iām still in school, I know I want to get into recruiting. At this point in time, that is all I know. I have questions, like most of us still in college:
- Do I want to work in a recruiting firm, or corporate recruiting?
- What about campus recruiting?
- Who should I work for?
- What size company should I work for?
I donāt have to figure this out right now. I donāt have to figure this out on my own. That is where my mentor comes in. I often hear how important networking is. I believe having a mentor is as equally important, and I encourage you to seek out a professional mentor as well.
Interesting article. I’m experiencing the same thing that Ashley Hager has been experiencing right now with a part time position/internship in an oil gas company working towards a degree in management information systems.
My question would be although it is valuable experience altogether, how well are Ashley’s grades holding up? Because a valuable thing I learned altogether thus far doing this for over two years, is that my grades suffer as I entered my senior level classes. Especially since my major has a heavy course load especially at 12 hours, it makes me wonder how hers is at 18 hours and working 20+ hours a week give or take.
Lex,
That’s a great question! At this point in the semester, my grades have yet to suffer. That doesn’t mean that this has been easy though. My time is either spent at my internship, in class, or doing homework and studying. This can be stressful and overwhelming at times. My coursework is difficult and its a lot of hard work, but it’s teaching me time management and how to prioritize the tasks I have been dealt. Those are very valuable skills that I can take into the workplace once I graduate, or even now in my internship. One thing I have been doing though is giving myself Saturday’s off. No homework, just spending time with my family and friends or relaxing. If I didn’t do that, I would burn out really quickly and I think my grades would start to reflect that. Yes, this semester is extremely hard, overwhelming, and frustrating at times. However, I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. I hope I answered your question!
Ashley