Living the Corporate Life

During my internship here at Concurrency there have been many learning moments that have contributed to my personal growth.  One of the most important skills I learned was how to work in a corporate setting.  This experience has taught me the importance of those unspoken rules, dressing for a professional job, and building rapport or maintaining relationships at work.

Corporate life is a vastly different world than any other job.  For example, one of the first things to learn about a professional setting is that there are unspoken rules that must be followed.  As with any first interaction with someone, there are multiple topics that should never be talked about, and same goes for the workplace.  One area that should be avoided is talking about your personal life to extent.  Obviously, we shouldn’t shy away from disclosing platonic interests and small personal details because that is how we relate and connect as people; it is how relationships develop and how company culture grows.  However, people should not talk about the aspects of their lives that give away too much information.

Another aspect of corporate life that Concurrency has taught me, is the dress code for a professional/business casual setting.  Coming from a creative space at my previous job, business casual was more lenient with the term.  Many of the clothes that I could wear at my previous position I am unable to wear at Concurrency although it has been exciting to able to build up my professional closet. 

Lastly, being at Concurrency has helped me understand what it means to have work friends.  As I am with a bigger group of interns, it really helps to connect with them because we are all in the same boat with different backgrounds. It has been interesting to see the various topics the others have learned and how they apply them to their own work and when helping others.

One thing I will note that I appreciate about the culture of Concurrency, is when a mistake is made, rather than being hostile, my peers will politely tell me what I did wrong and offer helpful suggestions on what to do to improve. Overall, my experience here at Concurrency has been helpful in teaching me the inner workings of professional life and has given me a better understanding of what it means to live the office life.