Coming into this summer at Indium Corporation, I had a few key goals in mind to make the most of this internship. So far, technical goals, such as developing new lab skills and obtaining a greater knowledge of materials science, have not been difficult to make progress on. As a Research & Development intern, I have been exposed to a ton of new information within my first few weeks, and though that can be overwhelming, I found it exciting and interesting nonetheless.
The other major goal was to increase my confidence in a professional setting, especially regarding meeting and making connections with new people. I’m someone who leans towards the introverted side of the spectrum, and I am prone to getting in my own head when it comes to putting myself out there and engaging with new folks. It would be a major disservice to myself if I let opportunities to connect with as many of the amazing and talented employees at Indium Corporation slip by over the summer. Making these connections requires me to put myself in potentially uncomfortable situations and work through the hesitation I have historically experienced in these scenarios. While an intimidating task, I know this is a skill I must improve upon, not only to make the most out of this internship at Indium Corporation, but for all kinds of future situations.
Regarding this goal, the first couple of weeks at Indium Corporation have produced challenges, successes, and some great insights into how to play into my strengths and capitalize on these interactions and opportunities.
Early Nerves, New Faces, and The Indium Way
I’m pretty sure being a bit nervous about important things, like a test, big game, or in this case, the first week of an internship, is a good thing. That’s what I’ve heard, at least. In all honesty, ‘a bit’ may be an understatement as to how nervous I was going into the first few days at Indium Corporation. Pretty much everyone I was going to meet was an unfamiliar face, and I didn’t really know what to expect. Keeping the nervousness in check would be key to a successful start to the program.
All in all, my first few days went well, which is no surprise in hindsight given how delightful everyone I met was. From the wonderful HR department, to my supervisor and the rest of the R&D team, to my fellow interns, Indium Corporation is overflowing with kind and talented people. I sincerely appreciate the warm welcome that I was given. It’s clear that the Indium Way of respect and appreciation is absolutely the real deal.
Obviously, not everything went perfectly, and there were still times when I felt that my nerves got the better of me. To expect perfection would be ridiculous, especially after all of one week on the job, so I was happy with how everything went overall. In terms of trying to gain confidence and make connections, those things take time, but it was a solid start. I was able to learn a lot and jump right into some real lab work within the first few days. Us interns had been told that we would be valuable contributors to important work during the internship, and getting tasked with legitimate lab work within the first week certainly confirmed that statement.
Strengths and Stories
A really cool part of the intern program at Indium Corporation is the weekly lunch-and-learns. These events bring all the interns together at headquarters for lunch and some sort of professional development presentation. Not only is it great to meet with the other interns (and get free lunch), but the professional development aspect provides a ton of useful and interesting information.
One of these lunch-and-learns involved taking the CliftonStrengths assessment, which is designed to identify your top 5 strengths and offer insight into how your strengths interact with each other and how they can present themselves in daily life. I have taken a number of these kinds of strength or personality tests throughout high school and college, but I never really found them to be super helpful or offer any actual insight into who I am. The CliftonStrengths assessment was a clear step up from anything I had taken before, providing thorough and personalized results.
My top 5 strengths were Consistency, Achiever, Responsibility, Developer, and Harmony, in that order. The first three are part of the Executing domain, and the latter two are from the Relationship Building domain. This is an accurate depiction of the things I think I am pretty good at and would consider to be some of my better strengths. I enjoy following a routine (Consistency), which helps me to stay productive (Achiever) and dependable (Responsibility). I like helping those around me to learn and progress (Developer), and I do my best to avoid conflicts and find areas of agreement (Harmony).
So, where does this fit into gaining confidence in making professional connections? A fantastic speaker from Daneli Partners led an amazing session at the lunch-and-learn that provided some great insights about how to utilize our strengths in professional settings. One message that stood out was about making sure that your story is heard. Missing out on opportunities because the people around you do not know you and all the great things you can do shouldn’t happen. This helped me realize what making connections really means: seeing that the people around you know your story and making sure you get the chance to hear theirs.
Another impactful point in the presentation came up when we were discussing the variety of strengths the intern group had. Everyone always says to be yourself, but it can be easy to forget that as an inexperienced person in a professional setting. It would seem like the easiest way to fit in is to act like those around you. The speaker explained that it can be good to model your behavior after the successful people around you, but mimicking them to a tee can eliminate the unique strengths and skill set that you bring to the table, which is not sustainable for career success. There is a spot for anyone on a good team, which was made evident by the large variety of strength combinations the intern group had. This was a good message to hear for someone looking to build confidence. I can be a valuable and unique part to a team just doing the things I am good at.
Looking Ahead
As I continue the next few weeks of this internship, I can look back on some of the insights gained to view my goal of confidence and connections through a new lens. Continuing to work and maximize my strengths, while looking to improve and develop weaker areas, will help me build confidence within the team and as a professional. Instead of getting overly nervous and tense when meeting new people and working with the great people around me, I can just focus on being myself and doing the best job I can do. Rather than forcing connections, I’ll listen to people’s stories, trying to learn from the amazing folks here at Indium Corporation. And in the process, I get the wonderful opportunity to continue to build and share my own story.
