MY INTERNSHIP
Journal Entries and Closing Report
Introduction:
For my internship, I decided to go to a place many others would not think of, Starbucks. My mother is the manager of the store and allowed me to intern under her as an "assistant manager" of sorts. Most of the work was centered around learning how she did her job and what skills are required if one wants to become a manager. The hours were long and tiring but I think it was all worth it in the end. The experience was very eye-opening and showed me the side of the business that I had never been able to see before.
Journal Entry #1: 3/15
The first day of my internship was very basic: learning the basics of the manager's job, setting expectations for what I needed to do, and learning what the manager does. On top of taking notes and doing other some odds and ends, nothing much happened on this day. It was really a learning day more than anything else and I was able to take in a lot at once. Things moved very fast at the place I was interning and to watch it all unfold from the other side, was a lot different than I expected. I never thought about that type of work being so coordinated and animated, in some places, then it was.
Hours: 4
Journal Entry #2: 3/16
The second day is where things really started to speed up in terms of everything really. I learned more, did more, and gained more knowledge about how to be a manager. A lot of the skills that a person needs in order to be a manager are just general skills that anyone could learn. What separates a good manager from a bad one, however, is the time and dedication that they have put in. Time is the key asset of this kind of work because without it you cannot grow your skills. One of the biggest I saw that you need are people skills. Energizing those that are around you and getting them to respect you as the leader takes a lot of time and energy. It all seems to be worth it because I saw what a leader looks like when they are respected and can get their team to work together.
Hours: 8
Journal Entry #3: 3/17
The final day of my internship went by really fast. Not in terms of the work or what I learned but the day itself went by really fast. It reminded me of school and how after getting into a certain groove, the days can sometimes fly by when you’re not paying close attention. The day was essentially the same as the day before with some surprises here and there because of the new workers and people I got to meet. In that kind of managing area, you meet a lot of weird and special people. There were a few times where the person supervising me had to keep an eye on certain individuals because they were behaving in a certain way. That seems to be the life of a manager though because one must know what to do in stressful situations if they want to lead others.
Hours: 8
Internship Notes
Early mornings
Interacting and socializing with people 24/7
Needs to know how to manage people
Money management is a good skill
Counting money and making sure it’s all accounted for
Employees handling respectful sides
Managers generally work more hours than most other employees
Lots of different mini jobs within the overarching job of running the place according to standards
The stress of the job really intertwines with the stress of life
Managers should have a funny relationship with their employees but also should have the respect of them
Needs to be able to make hard decisions (firing, hiring, etc.)
Continuous work and for a long amount of years seems to be where a lot of the benefits come from
Managers are the backbone of the workplace since they have to make sure things run smoothly
Different workplaces come with different benefits that a manager can use
Everyone is expected to wear the proper attire during the entirety of their shift
Guidelines must be met in order to follow it’s the establishment's wishes
Different places will have different dress codes but in this case, subdued colors are the main focus
Anything that is not loud and takes away from the person is allowed
Learning curve to anything and everything so a model is set and is learned
While more experienced employees help in the learning process of new employees, managers are ultimately responsible for making sure new hires are trained and ready to be apart of the crew
Puts out energy they want to see in return
Lots of different “personas” a manager must take in order to be successful
Managers still have rules and guidelines they must follow
Managers are like principals in a way but more hands-on when it comes to the teaching aspect
Lots of rules and steps that everyone needs to follow
Tries to appease everyone in the ways they know how
Managers create different avenues for working based on the number of people they have available to them
Sets up work with inspiration from outside influences like sports
Works as a body with all of the different parts that have to be in sync in order to make it work
Parts are separate from the body so an error occurs but we’re human so it’s gonna happen
Put on a smile in the workplace and try to get everyone’s energy up
Can receive a lot of “hate” or disrespect from people that come into the workplace
Has to be able to do multiple roles within the job to accommodate for absences or slacking personal
Sometimes have to cover for people even when they shouldn’t have to
Usually, have to stay the longest and go in the earliest
Closing Report
Over the course of the three days that I was at my internship, I was able to learn and do a lot. The basis of my internship was managerial training and learning how to manage people in a restaurant setting specifically. The experience, while not in the most professional setting, did allow me to learn a lot about what managers have to do and what is expected of them at all times.
While I was there, I took notes of my experiences and of all of the information that my supervisor was telling me. Having to work while also taking notes was a tough task but multitasking is a useful skill for the real world and a skill I liked using. Another one of the many skills that I used during my time there, was having to listen to and follow directions to a tee. Being the “assistant” manager, I was given various assignments that my manager would usually have to do. The hands-on work really allowed me to get a grasp of the kind of job a manager really has to do.
Managers can be seen in one of two ways: 1) they are mean and force others to do their work for them or 2) they lead others by example. I was fortunate enough to have a manager that lead by example and did the same jobs as those around them. I got to see how they were able to lead others while still doing the work they had to on top of everything else. A lot of what I learned in my time there was all about how what a manager does and the differences between them and the other workers. Overall, I gained a lot of knowledge about how managers keep their establishments running and all of the qualifications one must have to be in that position.
I felt like the toughest part of my internship, was trying to write everything down while still having to work. The work I did, while hands-on, was a lot of dialogue between me and the manager and the other workers. I wanted to write down everything I was hearing to have solid notes for when I needed them to write this whole thing out and for later on in life. Another tough aspect of the internship was staying the mindset that this is not a job but a lesson. A lot of the notes I took were not about the work but about the life lessons that the work taught me. This made the internship a lot more personal seeing as how I would be able to use some of this knowledge later on in my life.
I didn’t really have a lot of initial expectations when I went into the internship. I am a very neutral person so I just knew that I needed to go in and do what I had to in order to get it over with. While working I felt like it was a lot more enjoyable than I expected. It was fun to work with people of different backgrounds and with someone who was willing to show me their world of work. It was a great experience overall and I am glad to have done it.