DM UY 4034 - Internship

My first Job, interning at CBS's Inside Edition

[insideinternship]

Blog #10: Stress

So, I was talking to another one of my friends this week. He's recent high school graduate, but he won't be going to college til next year at the earliest. He was a little distraught about finding a job or internship in the meantime. Without much work or job hunting experience, he was somewhat worried about how to go about finding a job. Like the person from my previous blog post, he too was somewhat desperate to do more than just sit at home all day. And it started making me think about stress. How we deal with stress is a pretty big factor in the working world. How we deal with strict schedules, limit manpower, and possibly even failure.

If I had to guess, most companies don't want you to think directly about these sort of things. It not only shows that you may have been part of a sinking ship, but that the company wants someone that can handle a sinking ship. But, being able to handle stress is an important part of the job. In high tension situations you need someone who's gonna be able to whether a storm and not someone who loses it at the first sign of trouble. After all, a team is only as strong as its weakest link.

So, how do you deal with stress? Surprisingly there are many ways to deal with stress, especially while on the job. However, it's important to know how you're dealing with stress.

Music

For most people, music is a great way to relax and stay focused. Certain genres of music can get you amped up for a job, while others may simply just help take the edge off. In some studies, listening to music has actually been proven to help you study. Just be very careful. In some studies, instrumental music as been seen as pretty effective, however songs with lots of lyrics can be seen as distracting. Causing the listener to remember lyrics instead of whatever they need for work.

Power Naps

Sometimes, the best way to get a break from it all is to just take a nap. Certain cultures believe that to be more productive, taking a short rest during work is key. It helps keep you relaxed, rested, and able to better do whatever work the company needs you to do. It's also been shown to help cut back on the need for coffee. However, this too has a downside. Power Naps are only effective through REM sleep. So a nap should last for around 90 minutes, which would be hard to convince your boss to let you sleep for that long. And trying to wake up too early could have you feeling groggy and stressed out instead.

Remember the goal of a stress reliever is to help make yourself feel better. So, at the end of the day relieve your stress however you see fit. So, long as you make sure it's not something that'll get you fired for doing it at work.

[insideinternship]

Blog #9: Worries and Venting

This week I was recently talking to a friend. He's a recent graduate of Poly (now Tandon) and we talked a bit about how both of us were doing. Now this friend is an electrical engineering major, smart, talented, enjoyable to be around. So while we were talking I realize, we're at the school. So, I ask him why he's here.   Was he here to visit some old friends or say hi to old professors to see how he's doing? Sadly, that was not the case at all. He was here trying to get help with finding a job.

Now, honestly I was somewhat surprised. Usually when people think an engineer, they think job opportunities, high pay, like you've got it made. But, this isn't always the case. He told me about the string of bad luck that had been happening to his family. Money was tight, bills needed to be paid and unfortunately, his parents couldn't afford to help him pay for his college debt when they had enough to worry about. So this of course meant, low or non-paying internships were out of the question. He needed a decent paying job to help him begin to tackle his debt. Which in itself is a problem. Most places will not hire you without some level of experience, however how can you get experience if you can't get hired. This is where internships and personal projects some into place, but for someone who needs income, for someone who's major doesn't exactly work towards personal projects, this all becomes harder than it may seem.

And it all just made me think about my own personal situation. And I started thinking about what would happen if I had to tighten my belt and step everything up. If I didn't have my family supporting me or if I suddenly had to drop out. Would I still be able to get a job even without a degree? Would the amount of experience I have now be enough? It reminded me of what we've been doing for the required reading and how a backup plan is needed and how sometimes, we can't plan for certain things. Often times the worst case scenario isn't something we can bounce back from on our own. And when that safety net is gone, what can you do? And worst of all is the debt. Look, we all know NYU is expensive. Currently it costs over 70 grand if you're not even from New York. An outrageous price when you consider that cost over a four year period. College tuition in this country is awful and it seems like every form of aid is only given to those that are destitute or the best of the best. It's depressing. I feel blessed to be lucky enough so be able to go to this school without acquiring much to pay off after, but when I look at everything all together, sometimes I consider if I made the right choice going to college.

Anyway, this blog was more about telling a story how it made me feel then some tips or helpful hints. And I think maybe venting and just writing about it helped.

[insideinternship]

Blog #8: Feeling Overworked.

Recently I've just gone through two of my midterms. One for psychology and one for a class on game narrative. One midterm was to design a game, a process which is quite time-consuming if you can imagine it. The other was an exam, however quite a bit of time was devoted to studying and being prepared for it. I love psychology, but remembering the brain or the specific people who came up with certain theories or methods is always troublesome for me.Some people have written blogs, discussing how challenging it's been to work and go to school.

In previous semesters I had workloads that had me at school from 8am til 8pm. All of the classes had some required work and all of them took some effort. However, my schedule for this semester is basically cut in half, but I feel like despite having less school work, I still feel exhausted when I get home. A different living arrangement than what I had previously might be attributing to this, but I thought about specifically what's different now. I mean, it's not because I'm getting old, right?

First off, its mid term week. Because of my major, most of my classes deal with projects, meaning it's a bit more than simply learning how to work. So, even for one class, this means quite a bit of time is occupied through project work.  But, even more I feel like I'm putting more time into my classes this semester. Every week I have to read a 200+ page book, study some form of psychology, work in a video game, and possibly write an essay. But, this isn't anything to brag about.Nothing any normal college student couldn't get done in a weekend.

I think my bigger problem is what's happening outside of school. Taking on an internship is a sizable responsibility. Working 2 days out of the week takes up a sizable chunk of time. Not to mention, after work I just feel fatigued. More so than school. By the time I get home I feel sluggish and like I don't wanna do anything. Maybe its senioritis, but it feels like something more. See, I'm a person who can deal with physical pain easily, but mental anguish for me kills my productivity. So, when I have what feels like an endless mountain of work or stress, it really gets to me. I end up taking more breaks, getting less work done, and overall I'm just not as effective as I could be. In addition, there's been quite a few speed bumps to deal with at home. I won't go into detail, but it's definitely been affecting me.

I feel like more than anything despite real world experience, I need to develop a better work ethic and learn how to be more disciplined. I know how tired or anguished I feel, but I know that based on how much work I'm doing I shouldn't be. I know that what I'm doing now is nothing compared to how much I've had to deal with before or work through. So, it truly bothers me when I know that I should be able to deal with all this with ease. So, if your reading this here's a question. How do you deal with feelings of being over worked, or lack of free time. Does it just not bother you? Do you schedule in some relaxation time every week? How do you deal with it?

[insideinternship]

Blog #7: Transportation Woes

So, this week marked the first time I was late for work. Despite my boss not chewing me out for being fifteen minutes late. However, despite this I still felt very annoyed with the train. Despite having lived in New York all my life, it amazes me how something that a great deal of the city relies on can still be so problematic. This blog is going to be a bit of a rant, but I'm going to talk about my issues with the MTA.

Cost

The price of taking the bus or subway has been going through a gradual increase over time. I suppose this has something to do with inflation. But at 2.75 is seems almost too much. Right now, if it wasn't for getting a transfer it would actually be cheaper just to take a taxi to the train station from where I live. Obviously it's still far cheaper than spending $50+ for a taxi to go across different boroughs, but for shorter trips.

Delays

Sometimes, things run late. It happens to everyone and it would be insane to expect these things to never happen. However, there have been times where I feel like the MTA has almost purposely delays their customers. Take for example this week. Every week on my way to work, I take the 5 train to 59th Street, a trip that shouldn't take more than 25 minutes. However, due to a "sick customer" the train I was on was delayed for 40 minutes. Not stuck at a station, but in the tunnel, not moving for 40 minutes. Honestly I find that ridiculous. For an entire line of the subway system to be held up for 40 minutes, during the morning rush hour, for anything less than a mechanical malfunction is ridiculous.

Cleanliness

Now granted, this is New York. Not a place known for its cleanliness, but the subways are filthy. And I don't mean the floors are dirty from people walking over them all day. Have you ever looked closely at the windows of a train or the seats of a bus. Dirt, grime, dead bugs, stains, and more. The MTA doesn't seem to clean the inside of their vehicles or at least not very well. Even for public transit, I feel like there should be some standard cleanliness. I shouldn't feel like I need to take a shower before I even get to work.

Alternatives

Driving: If you have a car, driving will more than likely get you there faster. However, the cost of gas, insurance, and parking, may not be worth it.

Biking: If you have the time and you're not going too far, a bike may be the way to go. Chase and Citibank have been putting rental bikes throughout the city. If it's not too big of a distance, maybe you can bike your way to work.

Motorized Wheels/Hover boards: It's becoming a bit of a trend in some parts of New York where people will be riding. While not quite a car, it's definitely easier and somewhat faster than a normal bike. It'll definitely get you wear you need to go in a somewhat timely manner. As long as you know how to ride it that is.

[insideinternship]

Blog #6: Tensions

So, this week I’d like to talk about emotions. Sometimes when working or just dealing with other people, sometimes you may find yourself in situations you may not like or dealing with personalities or attitudes you may not like. Of course, everyone deals with people they don’t like in different ways, but in order to preserve a work environment you’ll want to play nice and stick it out for as long as you can. But, you may be wondering what can you do to ease the tension, or even when enough is enough.

Communication

Often with people who constantly deal with each other conflicts may come up due to miscommunication.  Your co-worker may be asking you to produce yellow when they more specifically want gold. Or they may say orange and you think fruit when they meant color. Often times miscommunications are easy to fix, provided you focus on fixing it, as opposed to being upset over who’s in the wrong. In a business, you are only as strong as your weakest link. So, everyone should strive to prevent these weaker links, not waste time staring at them.

Work Ethic

Sometimes the issue isn’t just a communication error, but an issue in work ethic. In some cases, a co-worker may not properly understand your job or what all you do. It’d be unreasonable or impossible for someone to understand every intricacy of your job, but sometimes it may just be the nature of how you work.

A few times during my current internship I've seen people literally come into the office and ask 20 minutes before show for a specific graphic for the show. From the attitude of the designer, he felt it clear that the producer didn't understand how much time it took. But, perhaps it wasn't just a spur of the moment desire. Perhaps a story had changed and whatever they had now would be seen as tasteless or maybe even the story had to be cut for legal issues. Both people need to understand each others jobs as well as need to understand why they work as they do. No one wants to purposefully make your job hard for you. Making your work harder means less gets done and less money is made. Why would anyone want that?

Personality

Sometimes, issues may arise just from conflicting personalities. In some cases, people simply just don’t get along. Now don’t get me wrong, as I previously said, some issues can be attributed to simple miscommunications or work ethic, but what I’m talking about here is rebelling personalities. The type of person you wouldn’t get along with even if they saved your mother from a burning building. Usually, he best idea would be to keep an air of maturity and trying to work through it, however sometimes working through it isn’t always possible. Everyone has a breaking point whether we want to admit it or not, and it’s a benefit to recognize these points. Sometimes trying to make it work or staying there just isn't helpful, for the business, the environment, or your mental health.

[insideinternship]

Blog #5: Landing the Opportunity

So, because of the recent chapters of the book, I started thinking about getting that desired internship or any kind of position. Thinking back, after only getting one after a long and boring summer I feel like I might have some tips for helping you get through a somewhat trying period. So, here are four tips to help you during the application process.

1) Why do they care?

When applying to most companies, a resume along with a cover letter is usually required. However, some people forget this is both an academic and social test. Your cover letter and sometimes your resume as well, are the first places to show off your personality. If this a company that receives hundreds or thousands of applications, think about what you’re writing. What makes you stand out to this person. Not just in accomplishments, but in personality. What makes you more interesting than the next guy who can do the same things? Length is also not that big of a factor. Sometimes a short and concise cover letter is better than along drawn out one.

2) Persist

Unless they say otherwise, it might be a good idea to follow-up sometime after applying. In some cases, this will make you look like a self-starter. Depending on the company this can be a pretty good thing to be. Just be careful to not seem aggressive or annoying. Applying for a job is also a social test. If they can’t like you as a person, you may hurt your chances at getting the job. You want to make a good first impression, but subsequent impressions are important as well.

3) Don’t go overboard

Believe it or not, not all professors like reading complex and wordy things. Like you, they like it when information is given in a simple and easy to understand manner. A lot of people underestimate how helpful having some basic design and creative skills are. A clean and easy to look at resume design can do wonders for a good resume. Just be careful about trying to go overboard. Pretty pictures and bright colors are no substitute for explaining your skill set.

4) Know your Worth

As you try to find your way into the professional world, you may try to apply to a multi-billion dollar corporation like Amazon or Google. Sometimes these companies may try to intimidate or make you feel as if you’re taking up their valuable time. With these companies, it’s a good idea to try to value yourself. Know the companies and yourself, and assess the situation. Does their language seem belittling? Did they keep you waiting for weeks before you got a reply? These are times when you ask yourself if your time is being valued. You are a person, and no company or person should make you feel like you’re worthless. A hiring person, and by extension, a good company, knows to treat potential employees well and to make them feel like they’re wanted. Remember, even it seems like the best, there are other fish in the sea.

[insideinternship]

Blog #4: Goodbye Old Friend

This  week was a little different from previous. While last week was a sort of busy one with the arrival of the pope happening, this week was a return to the usual work pace. Sometimes I wonder if the office is a bit over staffed in the Graphics department. Often there's about 6 people in that room including myself and Pratik. Often we'll get a few logos and graphics to make, but usually it seems like most of the work is done by 1pm. Though this rules gets proven otherwise due to how ever-changing a news show can be. The show itself airs at 3 so, any number of things can change til then. Stories might get cut or suddenly added. They might not be pleased with what was done or have a minor suggestion that we'll have to accommodate. This part of the job I like, because it feels fast paced and exciting. Not to say that everything else is boring, because it's anything but that. But, a little surprise alway gets the blood flowing I feel.

The other interesting thing to take place this week is the loss of my work station. See, the graphics department consists of these computers against the wall which are called work stations. Everyone on the job that day gets a work station and go about their tasks. Simple, right? Now my work station might be what you call a worn out one. The station uses Mac computers, like most graphics teams seem to use today, and mine was a bit of an older model. The programs were dated, and it was somewhat slow. But it worked. Up until last week I got my work done on it so I had no real complaints. This week however, the computer crashed. Which was unfortunate, because most of the work I was doing, was kept locally.  It kind of sucks cause that's quite a bit of time and effort  lost. Not everything I made was for the show, but I suppose that's the risk I took for not having my folder on the network drive.

Well, with a computer now gone, this meant I was back to working with Pratik at the same computer. It did mean we ended up talking a bit more, but like I said, with work being more stretched out until crunch time, it felt perfectly fine. We still got all of our work done with about two hours to spare. Usually I just use that extra time to check out the news or just pick a project to do to brush up on my skills. It's one of the downsides at working in a  broadcasting station for a news network. You can't really just work on what's coming up. The news isn't planned so carefully because well, it's the news. Something is always happening so we always need to be prepared to adjust and give what's more interesting. Which is more than I can say for the non-stop political coverage of Donald Trump by other news shows.

[insideinternship]

Blog #3: Complacent, yet Energized

As i write these blogs, i find myself having less and less to say. I mean in the beginning it was new, it was fresh, but it’s been 3 weeks now and i guess i’ve kinda slipped into place with everything. Everything just feels so normal now. I mean don’t get me wrong, i still love the place and i love what i do. But, it just doesn’t feel like enough is happening to force myself to talk about it really.

This week was much of the same work. Not challenging or monotonous mind you, but more of the same. Among the logos i did work on, was one for a story about a professor saving a child, one about presidential candidate Carly Fiorina. Among the many republican candidates, this week, she seemed to be trying to create a more human image of herself.

Thinking about it, I feel like I've definitely had more exposure to both political and local news since I began working there. A few months ago if you asked me I didn't really pay attention to the news. Maybe I'd get exposed to something through Reddit or Facebook, but I didn't go readily looking for it. I was more focused on myself and my own affairs then going out of my way to pay attention to the world's.

But, since working here I've been doing more of that. I'll actually come in during the morning and actually looked at the new york times.When the pope was coming I felt actually interested in what was going on. But, I can't say this was just for interest in the world. There's a sense of duty and professionalism you have when working for a company. Unlike when you go to class, not everyone feels like the professor or the class deserve their full attention. Some people would, but most don't. I'm sure everyone knows of classes where everyone has their laptops out and everyone's just on Reddit the whole time. Here it feels a bit different.

I like what I do, and it's given me a genuine reason to want to learn and stay professional. I want to not only learn and try to better myself, but I also want to give my co-workers and this business the respect it deserves. If I'm gonna make a logo for Donald Trump, I want to understand who he is, what he's doing, the story behind this logo, and what I should be incorporating into it. I want to make sure that I'm giving more than 100% to what I do here, because that is what I feel it deserves.

Other than that, I actually got to meet one of the news anchors of the show. She seemed nice and really cheerful much like she did on the show.I think she actually only came in just to ask that one of her personal pictures made it into the broadcast, but it was still interesting nonetheless. Plus, at least it was to demonstrate a Pope related app.

[insideinternship]

Blog #2: Slow but Steady

The second week of the internship felt a little more like a job than the last one. For the most part, last week was me and another intern working off the same computer. We didn’t really mind since I don’t think either of us were too familiar with Mac computers, but have two people work off the same computer was a little odd. Though I think more than anything, it was simply an over scheduling issue. This week however, we were both at different stations.

I kinda missed not having him right next to me, talking about whatever as we got the work done, but I’m at work to work and not gossip. There wasn’t as much grunt work this week either. The first day there were quite a few images to transform, but we actually got a bit more logo and design work to do. I feel as if I'm slowly starting to figure out what type of style they have. I know my supervisor likes bold and condensed type, but sometimes I get a little worried about anything else he might want. Sometimes it gets a little confusing to figure out what exactly the client wants, but that's design I suppose.

What was interesting was that our supervisor, James was curious about what we were doing. It seemed like he gave the other intern some work to do to help him with a project for another class and he supervised and gave me advice while I was working on a somewhat personal design. So, it’s nice to know that he’s given us work to help us out and not just train us for what the show itself would need. It makes it feel less of an experience to help them and more of an experience to help both of us.

The only issue I can think of is that the pc I’m using is obviously dated and freezes up quite a few times, but I don’t think that’s anything my supervisor can help too much since every computer is usually in use. It does get annoying to sometimes get set back because I haven’t saved in the last five minutes and Photoshop crashes, but it happens. Although it does make me consider if macs are worth it when I can only imagine how sparse virus protection and replacing older parts must become.

Oddly enough, since I’ve started working there, I’ve found myself paying a bit more attention to the news. Personally, I’m glad Inside Edition is more of a local, once a day show as opposed to the 24 Hour news stations like MSNBC or CNN. Those channels have honestly turned what was supposed to be a 24 Hours of constant news, into constant repetition on politics and usually the worst thing happening in America. It’s honestly pretty boring, so I’m glad this place isn’t like that at all.

So far, it’s just been a really pleasant experience. The people have been great, the work has been interesting, and  hope it continues to be that way.

[insideinternship]

Blog #1: First Experience

So at the time of writing this blog, I’ve only been working at my current internship for about a week. This is not only my first internship, but also my first job, so as you can imagine I was a little nervous about it. CBS is a very big company and I’d be lying if I wasn’t somewhat eager to make a first impression.

I remember how for the interview I had an argument with my mom about what to wear. The recruiter when he called seemed like a nice person and he seemed to want casual attire. And of course, this was a news station. If any form of media was anything to work off of, unless you were a reporter or journalist, a news station never seemed like a place to wear a suit. Of course, my mom only wants the best for me, but she can be a little over zealous.

By the time I got there, my advisor was already there waiting and did a pretty good job at making me feel welcome. He introduced me to the other people working in the graphics department and help me get set up to get right to work. Despite my worries though, most of the people seemed pretty nice and genuinely happy to have us here. It's honestly a pretty good feeling to know that a place you were sort of anxious or afraid of is actually pretty welcoming of you. It honestly made me pretty happy to not only work there, but to work alongside such nice people.

I have to say it took me a bit of time to get used to how Macs work. Some of the controls were pretty confusing, but I feel like I got the hang of them. The work at first was pretty simple. There is quite a bit of grunt work, but I figured it's to be expected for an intern position. I will say that I am learning things that I didn't know before, which is great. A job, no matter what kind, should be some kind of learning experience. I'm sure you can hear of quite a few jobs where the people are just getting coffee or making phone calls or cleaning someone's car. I'm pretty glad that I managed to find one that doesn't make me feel like I'm wasting my time.

Lastly, I'll say it was a pretty welcome surprise that I'm interning at the same time as one of my friends. We both ended up working on the same days, and we've ended up working on some of the projects together. It makes the whole process feel a bit better when your working with them. It makes the job feel like like a job and more like work you're getting done while hanging out. And that isn't to say we don't work hard and do our best to get the work done, but it does make it go by smoothly.

All in all, I'd say a enjoyed my first week of work. And I hope the following weeks go just as smoothly.