My Summer Responsabilities

As an intern at Company X, I was brand new to the department, the company, and the industry. I was lucky enough to come in during a transition period when there was a change in management. Therefore, I was able to attend a full department conference in which every member spoke about his/her responsabilities. I started out in the International Sales Department of Marine Fuels. In this department, I dealt with inquiries about our products and found out if we had availables for the clients. If so, I would then make the sale and contact operations to start the shipment process. I then worked in the Operations department. Here, I did blending calculations to make the best quality (while still looking out for profit) product out of the supply we got from Refining and Supply. I then worked in the Supply Chain Projects Management Department. This was a very exciting department considering that many decisions are being made that could affect the corporation enourmously. With this project, I traveled to Headquarters to meet with my boss's supervisor about updates on the process flow of these projects. Finally, I traveled to Panama and Houston to see the terminals there as well a refinery and the Chemical Department of the company. I had excellent managers who were always making sure that I was learning, and that's exaclty what the whole experience was: a summer of learning.

My Next Steps

So I interviewed with Company B (which I found at the Career Fair). The interview went well I believe. I will contact my interviewer in about a week and thank him/her for coming to campus and interviewing me. I will also ask him/her if he/she has heard about any progress on my application. I am currently also speaking with representatives from various departments from Company X (where I did my summer internship). I had an on site interview set up but unfortunately, due to weather, it was postponed. I am still waiting to hear from them to reschedule. I did get a call from a different department in Company X for a home-office based job. I have not accepted or declined. I want to weigh out my options. We'll see what happens with this....

My Career Fair Experience

I have been speaking to the company with which I interned this past summer (Company X) in order to get an entry level job once I graduate. This made my Career Fair day a little more challenging since I already had an idea of what I wanted and with whom. I stopped by the table of Company X just to say hi and network. This went well. I told them that I have been pursuing jobs in various departments within their company. Still, I made an effort to walk around and speak to other companies just to give myself options. I spoke to about five other companies and was asked to interview with Company A. We will see how it goes. All in all, it was exciting to see so many companies on campus eager to hire WPI students.

How I'm Preparing for the Career Fair

There is a Greek Alumni Resume Critique next Monday, Sept. 15th in the Odeum. I will attend and bring my resume. I also will have the CDC look at my resume once more, even though they have seen it before. A resume is constantly changing according to classes one is taking, experiences, and career objectives. I will then look at the list of companies who are attending and make a list of those who are attending. I have been doing some reserach on these companies: such as basic info about the company, about their products and services, and their opportunity locations. I made sure that I had an business casual outfit for both days of the Career Fair, as well as any interview days following it. I also made sure that my clothes were clean and freshly pressed with no wrinkles. The only thing left is to get excited, print plenty copies of my resume and go in with enthusiasm and confidence.

How I Spent My Summer

So I walked away from the Career Fair with two interviews in the next two days. I was so excited. My second interview with company YEY! went really well and they informed me about one week later that there was some interest. After a couple of e-mails and a phone interview I got the job. It felt incredible to have a summer job by October already. I moved to Coral Gables in Miami, FL the weekend before my first Monday at work with company YEY!. I found housing through roommates.com and bought a car upon my arrival. The job was fantastic. I was brand new to the industry and the company. It was non-stop learning from day 1 until the day I said goodbye. I was even sent to Panama; Fairfax, VA; and Houston, TX on the job. It was a fantastic experience in which I learned how to move somewhere by yourself (a skill I would need by graduation). I never thought I could have gotten a job that exciting with an experience as influential as the one I had this summer. :)