Week 7 Journal Post

July 21, 2013
Week 7

With my Macy's internship coming to an end, I have had time to realize my strengths along with weaknesses in corporate life. I have learned that my abilities to bridge both the business and creative sides and understand each are a valuable asset in the fashion industry. I have also learned that my professionalism, the way I presented myself at work, and networking skills are also things to be prided on.  I would not are rate my self as the "perfect" intern, since I was not aware of all the functions of product development, however, I do feel that I performed as the "ideal" intern. I always arrived 30 minutes to 1 hour before my boss, and was always proactive in asking for new projects and always providing a helping hand. I also maintained a positive attitude through out the entire internship process and also was the leader for my internship group project.

There are however areas that still need improvement in myself, as should everyone else. I am still working on my communication skills, since my fear of public speech has not subsided. But as I always say, practice makes perfect.  I have also realized that I must work on my excel skills. Excel is a huge factor in product development, and anyone who wants to be in product development must be a wizard at this Microsoft Office suite. And last but not least, I also need to work on my time management/ multi-tasking skills… Coming into this internship, I thought I knew the meaning of multi-tasking, but I was completely wrong. I frequently asks for tips from my boss on how to make my time as efficient as possible along with having frequent touch bases to make sure that I was on task. 

Having this internship experience was definitely an eye opener. I now understand how working in corporate life is really like and if I am truly fit for the job. Working with Macy's has been a great experience. Everyday, I was excited to go to work. The reason is because I was treated as a part of the product team and as a product assistant - not an intern. I also loved the fact that my office was very social and had a family-esc quality to it. I honestly can not say that I have had a bad experience in this internship. The only issue was the amount of work Macy's expected from us interns (especially on the group projects). On a few occasions, I actually had to work overtime to finish our project, but it was all worth it in the end when we presented our idea, product assortment, sales plan, and marketing strategy to the executives of Macy's.

With this internship drawing to a close, I believe the biggest fashion lesson learned is that no one will hold your hand and guide you. You must ask for more projects if you want to learn more, be proactive/ take charge in your learning, ask a TON of questions, and seek outside help if you are stuck.