– \u201cYes. May I ask who\u2019s calling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– \u201cAh, I call from UPM. Do you remember having applied to the Summer Worker position in UPM Supply Chain in December?\u201d\u201cYes!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
-\u201cAre you still interested in the position?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-\u201cAbsolutely!\u201d \u2013 I answered with eagerness & (lots of) hope<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-\u201cGreat! Then I\u2019ll forward your profile to the hiring manager and if it matches their needs, we\u2019ll be in touch shortly for an interview\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The call\nwas purely magical, if one may put it. Seems like a powerful force of the Universe\nhad found a way for me. I received a call-back immediately the next day and the\ninterview happened only few days afterwards. The entire recruitment process\nhappened in \u2018a blink of an eye\u2019 and already in mid-April, I\u2019m one of the summer\ntrainees at UPM Pulp Supply Chain organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, I\nexpected nothing more than just a summer job with some \u201crookie\u201d tasks that\nwould end nicely with a \u201cbreak-up\u201d on the last day of summer. But I WAS\nABSOLUTELY TOTALLY ENTIRELY WRONG<\/strong>! Blessed with luck, my tasks were\nnever boring and not rookie at all, my bosses always valued my opinions\n(hopefully) and my relationship with UPM has been going strong *knock on the\nwood* still, since I was offered a thesis work in August when my contract was\nabout to end. You see how my initial perception was completely defeated?\nAdmittedly, this has been the best summer job, ah no sorry, BEST JOB I\u2019ve ever\nhad thanks to all the rich experiences and especially the people I\u2019ve worked\n& connected with throughout the summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All those\nspectacular experiences with amazing people there would be incomplete if I\ndon\u2019t mention about the lessons that I\u2019ve picked up along the way. To be\nhonest, they come quite handy at times. Here comes a few key, invaluable\nlessons that I would love to share with all the Hankeits out there to maximize\nyour traineeship\/internship experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Keep\nyour expectations level moderate but your motivation level & work ethics\nhigh (if not extremely high). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Be positive\nand open minded because your attitude speaks better than words!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you ever\nwonder what can possibly be more important than your professional skill sets,\ni.e those fancy dashboards you built from Power BI, those regressions you run\non Python, etc., then I\u2019d tell you \u2013 that is ATTITUDE. Your attitude is the\nbest showcase of yourself that everyone can see and feel almost\ninstantaneously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Always be\nopen to learn new things, to listen to people\u2019s experiences and to adapt. Do\nknow that people would be more willing to teach you and help you develop if you\ngenuinely show your interest and eagerness to learn and to become a better you\nevery day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Never\nsay \u201cI can\u2019t\/It can\u2019t be done\u201d before trying things out \u2013 Remember to take on\nchallenges with a bright smile <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is possibly the greatest thing about being at a trainee\/entry position: You have a room to explore yourself, your company and the world; to try things out: to fail fast and to learn your lessons fast because everything is so flipping new to you and most of the time, everyone understands that you always learn things by doing (most effectively through failures though) \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things that\nyou\u2019ve learnt at school \u2013 true that not all of them reflects reality but DO NOT\ntake them for granted! Try to apply something your professor once said at class\nand retrospect once in while about those concepts\/lectures that were stuffed\ninto your head. You might not notice but it does help (if not a lot then at\nleast to some extent) shaping your critical thinking ability and organizing\nyour thoughts in a structured way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Don\u2019t\nhesitate to reach out to others, even just to ask for a coffee break together \u2013\nExpand your network!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think one\nof the best things when it comes to workplace is the people \u2013 those individuals\nthat surround you every day and form what is called \u201cenvironment\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They will\nbe the influencers of your professional behavior, the catalyst for your\npersonal development, and in most of the case, the motivation that drives you\nto work. Without you having realized, but for those people – you are also one\nof the influential factors. That said, be nice & happy to ask your\ncolleagues how they have been, be courage to build relationships with them and\nget involved in their work life actively. There\u2019s no better way to expand your\nnetwork than a 15-minute conversation over a cup of coffee (tea, in my case) or\na lunch table filled with laughter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Don\u2019t\nbe afraid to ask questions and challenge conventional way of thinking \u2013 Speak\nup your opinions because you\u2019re better than you think!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two of the\nmost obvious yet toughest things to do are raising questions and challenge\nother people ways of working. You might think that your ideas are stupid but\nmaybe you underestimate the importance of \u201cout of the box\u201d thinking. I\u2019m quite\nsure that once you got your opinion across the table, at least, people will be\naware that you have your own view about certain things and that your view is\ndifferent from others. Naturally, people would reach out to you, asking for\nyour opinions about certain things because they know that you have a different\nperspective and creativity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking\nthese actions will definitely build up your courage, self-confidence and\ncredibility. I know that the feeling is unpleasant sometimes because who would\nlike to be wrong, right? But remember what Neil deGrasses Tyson once said: \u201cI\nlove being wrong because that means in that instant, I learned something new\nthat day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, that sums up pretty nicely my traineeship experiences and some lessons I was able to get out of it. Hope that you\u2019ve had a good read! Thank you if you make it to this point of the story \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/nordicbrilliance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Hanh-Pham-blog2-768x1024.jpg\")
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