There were a few things that our team tried to instill in these budding students on a daily basis for the three months every summer they were in our reach! The last 2 years as a team, we were hiring about 500 interns/co-ops a year and 350 full-timers! Hopefully, some of these points are still remembered by a few of you! Not only can they be used for interns, but also for us middle agers who are changing diapers, stuck in traffic, building our own business, or just trying to get through life one day at a time!!
1. Notepad where ever you go! NEVER, EVER go to a meeting, a lunch, etc. with out your pen and paper. You don't know when you might pass your boss' boss and they give you a low producing well to look into, or the Chief Geoscientist asks you to be a fly on the wall at a seismic meeting. This should probably be replaced today with your I-pad, but whatever the case, the person you are talking to needs to know you are interested in what they are saying and taking notes! And do NOT forget to look them in the eyes people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. If we send you a meeting notice, accept or decline it! Further more, if you accept it, you BETTER SHOW UP!! Or else, the wrath of Momma Lisa will come out! I am probably just as bad as the next person, but our society today just doesn't accept any events any more until they know for sure there isn't a better offer coming...And worse...those times where we tell someone we are going to come, attend, be there to support them and we don't show up at all. We can all get better at this as a society. We need to do what we say we are going to do and RSVP correctly!
3. Do a little bit more than they asked for and a little bit sooner. Can't take credit for this one, as one of my mentors (Jim Bowzer) taught it to me and most Marathoners. Whatever you do in life...give it a little bit more than the next person and do it a little bit faster than the receiver expected!
4. Get involved! This is your 3 months to further your education, your career and your life. If at the end of this 3 months you have not progressed as a student, employee, intern and being, you have no one to blame but yourself! For us commoners...Go to social events, have the new neighbors down the street over for coffee, join a bible study, do something with your spouse or kids you have always wanted to do. Don't just live life on the sidelines!
5. Intern Advisory Board - This is not just the company program...this is YOUR program. Why should we, the full-time employees and elders, think that we can sit in a little office and come up with the best program for you? We need you and your ideas!! Get them to do half of the work for you and then the interns in turn will own the summer. Hmmmm, I need to begin using this motto on the kiddos...How can I get them to work for me? It is time!!! ;-)
6. You are either a problem solver, or a problem creator...Another Bowzerism. There are always going to be issues at work, at home, with the kids, with the hubby...But are you one of those people who identifies an issue and than complains about it in the meeting, or immediately begins thinking about a solution before bringing it up? This is another one I need to implement better at home...I've probably, no definitely, been sulking a bit too much the last 8 weeks. Time to quit the complaining and go after what I want...Hmmmm, just have to figure out what the heck that is!
7. Being an intern is a two-way street. Not only will your boss, mentor and this company add value to you, but you must add value to them. Whether it be pointing out an article on-line, scheduling a lunch between one of your great geoscience profs (if s/he is in town) and your boss, or being a campus ambassador and sending great people our way for next year. How are you giving back?
8. Say THANKS! We always gave our interns thank you cards at the end of the summer for them to distribute to the obvious, their mentors and supervisors, but also to those people who truly made a difference during the students time with us. Again, something we all need to get better at. Amazing how little time it takes to write a thank you, and how big of an impact it makes on the receiving person's day, week and maybe even month. Speaking of which...I need to get G's b-day thank you's finished in the morning!
9. HAVE FUN!!! This goes without saying, but truly, if you cannot have fun at work and you hate going in every day, please just put a plan together to find another job. Disclaimer...Do NOT just leave your current job without a back-up plan like I just did! ;-) Life if WAY too short to spend time being miserable. If you can't laugh on Friday mornings at the coffee bar, or break into hysterics in West Africa, EG to be specific, when you are on your 30th day straight of 14 hour days +, then it just isn't worth it. Thanks Al Lodge for being that awesome laughing partner btw!
10. BREAK THE SURFACE!! One of the main reasons we loved our logo so much, is obviously what we do in the exploration and production world is search for hydro-carbons under the surface. But, we also loved it because you should be BREAKING THE SURFACE of your knowledge, friendships, getting to know the company better and determine if this is a place you would want to spend 5, 10, 30 years of your life at, etc. Let's be honest...you spend more time with your co-workers than your actual family. So, really push yourself for the summer. My motto...quite frankly, whatever it is in life, don't do it unless you are going to give it 110%. I am kind of an all or nothing girl in case you haven't noticed! What do "they" say? GO BIG OR GO HOME!! Ha!
Have you had fun with your kids lately? With your spouse? When was the last time you laughed out loud? Like sides hurting, belly bending laughing...Definitely something we need to do even more of in this house.
There were probably a few more Momma Lisaisms, but these were the big ones I can remember. This kind of got me thinking...I know what I tried to advocate to my interns...but what are the lasting things I want my CRAZIES to remember? It is definitely not me yelling in the mornings to "GET IN THE CAR" for the 10th time, or "eat your lunch and then you can have the gummies." Am I the only one that uses gummies as bribery? Looks like it's time for a family mission statement. Oh, John is gonna love this!!
PS. To all of my interns, and employees I really, really enjoyed those days and any time I was a leader. I hope you all had some fun, because I know I sure did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How did you BREAK THE SURFACE today?
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