My sneak peek into corporate America

This past summer, I interned for Ernst&Young, LLP as an Audit Intern. I must say it was an incredible summer and I enjoyed my entire experience so much more than I expected. There is a tremendous difference between applying yourself as a professional and just another employee.

Prior to my internship, I was very nervous because an internship with such a huge firm means better perks but it also means more pressure. I was dealing with the insecurities that we all deal with before we start a job. I was unsure how things would turn out. However, I was not going to allow my insecurity to override my confidence because I knew that I need to invest everything I could into this summer because this was the door to my future career.

I worked in the office for the first two weeks instead of being sent out at a client site. I noticed that the environment was very relaxed which surprised me. No one was watching over my shoulders and I definitely did not feel that tension of having a supervisor watching my every move as I did in my previous summer job experiences. I was invited to lunch by a staff Auditor there and we left when we wanted & no one was keeping track of our time out & in. This came as a surprise to me because I had never worked in such a laid-back atmosphere before. I was told by the staff that, "in corporate life, they trust you. You're treated like an adult & they expect you to behave like one." I was impressed with this mentality but I also understood immediately that this trust is (like all perks) a two-way street. I was treated like a responsible adult so no one needed to personally guard my every move. On the contrary, expectations of me are much higher than they ever were with any previous jobs. I knew then, that this was for real. My door to my future career was approaching me so rapidly and I needed to make the path to that door as clear as possible.

I now realize that being a professional means carrying the responsibility of acting with honesty, integrity, and professionalism at all times. Your career and reputation are always held high so any adverse action on your part can ruin what you work hard to build. I believe that you have to put in twice the amount of effort and energy to build up a good reputation; and only half of the negativity to ruin that.