Introduction


I am the Assistant Web Project Editor. My job is to create web projects from information given to us by the Authors. The information given to us by the Authors will be used by them at their selective Universities for a fall, spring or summer course. My job also consists of me helping other interns as well as other co-workers with anything they need help in. We, as Assistant Web Project Editors, have a due date for each project which is typically either a week or 2 weeks and depending on how big the project is, a month.

Coming into the Publishing Industry I did not know what to expect. I was a little nervous going into it because it was something I had no information about but I was ready to take on the challenge. The first week I spent getting trained by two other interns that worked at GRT for a year, I also spent the first two days reading three books and those three books actually benefited me. I learned a lot from those three books and to be honest, it showed me what to expect working at GRT as well as it showed me how GRT wanted me to act in the workplace. 
Another thing I had to do was to consider about how I would present the information I would gain in my internship to the school. I thought about it and I decided that I would try to explain everything I did in detail as well as answer any questions that anyone might have about my time with GRT. One my first day, I was not faced by my lack of knowledge about the industry I was going to be a part of, I attacked it just how I attacked going to Loras College and just how I attacked baseball when I first began at the age of 10. I was self-assured that I would do a great job with GRT and that my supervisor would be very proud of me.

Motivation

My motivation for applying for this internship was very simple. I decided to apply for this internship because I thought it was appropriate for me to get one. I've heard plenty of times in almost all of my classes that getting an internship while in college is very essential for college graduates when applying for a job. Also, I heard from a few of my teammates who have worked there before that it is a great experience as far as showing us what "real world" is going to be like but it has also given me a great experience with technology. I did not know I was capable of doing the projects I am doing now with such little knowledge of the servers we use but the training provided to me by GRT was very helpful and I learned it very quick.

Another big reason I applied for this internship is because quite frankly I needed a job for the summer here in Dubuque and this internship sounded very interesting to me so I thought to myself, "Why not?" and applied. My supervisor actually got back to me quite fast and we actually got in touch a few times, the first time was when she asked me for my resume and the second time was when we needed to set up a time for an interview. I’m not going to lie, when I first received an email from my supervisor, Billee Jo Hefel, I thought that I was talking to a guy and when I arrived at GRT for my interview I was in shock when I saw her walking down the stairs smiling at me.

A long with those couple of reasons, I have some more reasons as to what motivated me to get an internship. One of the other reasons why I decided to take on an internship this summer was to decide if this is the right path for me. Although this internship is for the Publishing Industry and is not my area of expertise, it will still give me a good sense about how working in a corporate atmosphere is like. This internship will allow me to gain valuable insight into the corporate word and help me decide whether or not the industry is the right choice for me. It’s always good to know if what you’re getting yourself into is indeed the best possibility for yourself, and in my opinion this internship can help me do that.

The last reason of motivation was that I was told by a few of my Professors at Loras that the experience I would gain at an internship will provide a valuable opportunity to share my skills with a potential employer long before the hiring process for an entry-level job occurs. What I mean by this is that it is sort of like opening a door at the company for yourself, if you’ve impressed them; you’ll probably be on the list of top candidates for the job right after you are done with school. Also, Professor Ron Collins told us in our Human Resources class that students who graduate and have some kind of internship experience are more likely to get a job right after school than those who don’t have an internship.

Here are a few emails exchanged between Billee Jo and myself. Here, I got a sense of what professional email look like and it shows you why I was confused as to what Billee Jo’s gender was. 






Interview Process

As far as this internship goes, I hope to learn what it feels like to be out in the "real world". I want to gain first-hand experience on the different things that make a "real world" job so special. I want to gain experience on how supervisors, managers, and co-workers interact with one another and what makes a positive work environment a positive work environment. It is also good to see how people work in different situations; from pressure situations to situations where you have a long time to complete a project.  I also would like to gain knowledge on the Publishing Industry itself and as well as what makes GRT such a well-known Publishing company with many Authors and Professors. With the experience and knowledge that I would gain at GRT, I look forward to using that acquired information when I go back to school for my last year in college as well as keep it in mind once I enter the “real world”.

My impression going into the interview/hiring process was that maybe I was not qualified for the job. I did not know what to expect, I mean, I have had 3 mock interviews here at Loras College and I knew I was going to prepared but I think a mock interview is way different than a real interview. I did not know what kind of questions they were going to ask me so I think I might have over prepared for the interview but you can never over prepare for something. I was feeling nervous because it was my first actual real interview and I was also anxious to get it over with. The 10 minute wait did not help my nervousness at all but I took a deep breather and knew that I had nothing to lose. During the interview Billee Jo asked me some personal questions to get to know me then she proceeded to ask me the real questions. She was impressed with my resume and acknowledged the fact that I am not afraid to get my hands dirty (referring to my work experience being a maintenance worker at Freedman Seating Company). She was also impressed with the project that I helped set up for the children of families in need in my neighborhood alongside the 12th Ward Alderman. I explained to her that I help set up a three day event for children of families in need get school supplies before the school year started. We also brought in kiosk with different vendors; they offered drinks, food, face paint and the school supplies. A long with that, we brought in some amusement rides for the children as well as a few musicians and DJ’s. We had local after school clubs come in and offer free membership to the children of the families that were there. We also got a chance to bring in Mayor Richard Daley and had him give a speech to all of the families in attendance. But the Mayor wasn’t the only one to give a speech; I was picked by the Alderman to give a speech in Spanish and English in front of all of those families on the values of family, school and staying out of trouble. I was given a standing ovation and Mayor Daley complimented me on my speech and my design/logo for the project. Yes, that’s right, I designed the logo for the first ever Latinos for Education Foundation project. Felt great helping out those families and by telling Billee Jo this story she was glad to have me interested in coming in and working at GRT.

The interviewer, Billee Jo, left me with the impression that I over think things and that once I take a breather I am perfectly fine. Also, once she said that I had the job I took a sigh of relieve and had a big smile on my face. It just goes to show you that with a little confidence and the proper training from those mock interviews, I was able to impress her enough that she offered me the job on the spot. 

After the interview, I was definitely more interested in the position because she took the time to show me what my position does for the company. She also showed me a few projects that they were working on and I was very impressed with them, from the technology used to the quality of the product. The one thing that stuck with me was when Billee Jo said that the thing she liked the most about me was that I was ready for the interview. She said I came well-prepared, I came in to the interview knowing some information about the company that I gathered from their website, made eye contact, I was self-assured and most importantly I came prepared with questions to ask Billee Jo.


By going through this interview process, I learned that everything happens for a reason and good things come to those who wait. I also learned that I am very good interviewer and that when I act like I know how to act I can get the job accomplished. 


Work Environment

GRT had by far the best work environment I've ever been a part of. Everyone was real friendly and they made you feel like you were wanted. They also made great food during food days! They were not afraid to share food and always made sure we had some of their food. GRT’s work environment is definitely made for me; I was able to talk bad back and forth about the Cubs and White Sox with John Vail, the Assistant Vice President. As far as who I interacted with, I typically interacted with the other interns since we had to make projects together sometimes and we usually help each other out on projects that we are working on individually as well. Other people I interacted with were a couple of the managers as well as the other co-workers that assigned us the projects.

The office is filled with cubicles in the middle and supervisors/managers offices on the outside of the cubicles.  Our area is divided from GRT to Kendall Hunt Higher Education Department to Kendall Hunt K-12 Department.

When I first started at GRT, my cubicle was located in the GRT area in between Jessica and Tracey. But after a month, GRT hired two full-time employees and I was informed that I was going to be moved by the other interns and the only bad thing about that was that there cubicles are located in the Kendall Hunt side of the 3rd Floor. Although we sat in the Kendall Hunt side, it wasn't that bad, we actually got to meet a few of the Kendall Hunt managers as well as Kendall Hunt employees. Even though we were not located in the GRT side of the floor that did not stop us from interacting with the other GRT employees. We all had a great time and still managed to finish our work on time.

A few of the GRT employees would come over to our cubicles and chat with us. Whether it was asking how we liked working at GRT or just asking us about our weekend, they always made us feel like we were a part of their family.

This was definitely a different experience for me since my previous work experience has been teaching kids about the fundamentals of baseball and working maintenance at a seating company. Working with children was definitely hectic and working at a factory was by far my worst experience with work environment but it definitely taught me the most. The work environment at Freedman Seating Company was by far the worst. The workers working in the actual factory where not the nicest of people, they made my life miserable since I was part of the maintenance department and did anything to get us fired. But we were able to keep our mind straight and make the most of our time at the company.


As far as having my own space, I had my own cubicle as well as my own phone and extension.  Here, you can see how much my co-workers loved me. Since my last day was August 7th and my 21st birthday was August 9th, they decorated my cubicle. It was a great sight when I walked in and something I won’t forget.





As far as there being a formal introduction, yes, there was. My supervisor took me around our office and introduced me to every single person in there and made sure I interacted with them by making small conversation with each one of them. She also showed me where the conference rooms where at as well as the lunchroom. 

She then proceeded to take me to John Vail’s office to make sure there wasn't going to be a problem between us. John is a Cubs fan and I am a White Sox fan; just a little humor to get my nerves down on the first day at GRT. John, Billee Jo and I had a nice conversation about my past, where I was from and why I chose Loras. This minor conversation showed me just what type of people work at GRT.”



    Job Site Information


    Great River Technologies
    4050 Westmark Drive
    Dubuque, IA 52002
    Phone: (800) 344-9043
    Fax: (563) 589-1275

    Hours
    Monday – Friday
    8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CST

    Web Support
    (800) 344-9051


    If you want more information, our job site information can be found at

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