Week One: Insights of a Design Intern

“The expert in everything was once a beginner”- Helen Hayes

I didn’t know what to expect when I started at Common Good as I have only ever worked at a large agency, never at a smaller business and team but I was very pleasantly surprised. Everyone here works on the principle that all members of the team should be included in as much as possible and I found myself being called into meetings and group work that I never would have thought I would be, right from day one.  This is a huge change from my old agency where the workforce were very much fragmented and you would rarely be included in anything other than your day to day tasks. The team here is far more open and there’s a real sense of everyone mucking in towards a common goal which I love.

As soon as I arrived at the office on my first day I was called into the daily check-in meeting where the whole team relays their progress on various tasks that they are working on, what still needs to be done and who its going to be done by. This is a great way for everyone to keep up to date with everything that is going on rather than just your own work and helps keep the company open and full of communication, although we all have our own individual tasks to complete you don’t feel like your boxed into just your own daily work, instead it feels like we are all helping each other to complete pieces of the puzzle that fit together to achieve an advancement of the company. You can really see the positive effect your work has which is very rewarding.

“Everyone here works on the principle that all members of the team should be included in as much as possible.”

The range of tasks have been far more varied than I have ever experienced before which keeps things interesting and everyone does a great job at making every task I do feel appreciated even though I am a low level employee and the tasks I complete are quite basic.

So far my work days have been pretty hectic as we have all been helping prepare for an upcoming pitch but even during these times things haven’t felt stressed or unpleasant. There is still a light hearted, friendly feel about the office and instead of there being tension, there just seems to be more of a buzz which makes thing even more exciting.

There’s a strong family feel here and I feel like a member of the team rather than just another employee. I find myself excited for the next day of work after I leave in the evening which is something I haven’t felt in years!

During my time here I am just hoping to learn as much as possible and help out as much as I can in any and every way I can and hopefully make a positive difference to the company and the team by taking work off the team’s work loads to free them up to focus on the more important tasks. I am also aiming to learn to become a better employee by improving my proactiveness and completing every task to a standard higher than what is expected. Thankfully, Common Good seems like the perfect place to learn and achieve these aims so I am excited for what my time here will hold.

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