Week 6: Final Week at Solari Creative
This past week was my final week at Solari Creative and to be honest I was fairly sad to leave the office on Friday. Although this summer I have only been an intern, in the past six weeks I have really felt at home during my time at Solari due to the amazing work atmosphere. I feel so fortunate to have had such a lovely experience, for I know that not all interns are able to have such a wonderful experience. Although the tools that I have acquired from my internship were entirely different from what I had originally anticipated I would learn, I am so grateful for the exposure that I have gotten to the real work world.
I know that I have previously spoken before about the structure at Solari, specifically about how this company is both small and majority female, but I just want to stress how crucial these aspects of Solari’s structure were to my success in this internship. The environment at work the entire time was a jovial atmosphere filled with employees who were as close as family. Most of the employees had extensive relationships outside of work that included grabbing dinner together, and many employees had even gone on family vacations together. The closeness at this company will allow for any intern, or any new employee, seeking to learn to thrive. All members at Solari treat you as though you have been a member of the team for years. From my first day there when the team immediately invited me out to lunch with them to my last day when they brought donuts and coffee into the office (they knew both are my favorite combo), I never felt out of place. The entire time at Solari all of my questions were entertained and the team showed me how to do things without making me feel stupid at any point.
I am so glad that I did not just accept a position at a big name company in order to put that experience on my resume. My time at a small company like Solari really allowed me to have a hands on experience that I may very well not have had at a large corporation where they often just have interns complete simple tasks like grabbing coffee for the higher ups in the organization. I actually learned many valuable lessons in the workplace and I actually had a blast while doing so (which was completely unexpected).
Though it may have been different than you expected, I think that the experience you had and the environment that you experienced will be invaluable; beyond the skills and competencies that you developed that are undoubtedly transferable. Having had this experience, you are better equipped to assess opportunities that lay ahead of you after graduation. You’ll find that there are larger companies that may share some of the qualities you experienced and now you’ll be better equipped to identify those as you interview for other jobs. It helped you identify things that you value in a work environment, which is really important. Again, as you reflect back – make certain to identify specific skills you developed, values that were supported (or realized), projects and things that you contributed to during your time. This will not only be helpful with assignments this fall, it will be helpful as you embark on your job search (both for what you are looking for and how you are able to articulate your value to a company).