“Slowly step on the brakes and make sure to look both ways before turning this corner,” my dad advised as he pointed to the upcoming stop sign. I turned on my right blinker, looked both ways, and turned the corner smoothly. He chuckled, “That was good, but make sure to slow down just a bit more on the next turn.” These types of comments continued back and forth from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat until we safely reached the garage back home.
For the rest of the year, my dad took me out on drives around the neighborhood and empty parking lots. He never failed to give me clear instructions from the passenger seat. These experiences allowed me to gain first-hand experience and set me up for success on the day of the driver’s test.
Fast forward six years, and I am now in the driver’s seat of my career, pursuing my dreams. Through my internships, as I search for the next steps in my career, I realized that being an intern is like being a teen who’s learning to drive. Interns rely on guidance from a team of mentors in the passenger seat to effectively gain experience before having the confidence to commit to a full-time role. However, just like how my dad never took over the wheel when teaching me how to drive, it’s key for leaders to allow interns to feel independent by letting them control the wheel during their internship.
As an intern, it’s common to be handed a list of tasks on the first day, and spend the rest of the summer working alongside the team assigned to those projects. The problem with this approach is that interns often feel like they are sitting in the back seat for the duration of the internship, which can make them feel replaceable. In the internship opportunities I’ve had with companies, I felt as if my voice was not valued because my teammates were more experienced and had worked longer in the company compared to me. I worked on projects with little to no guidance and felt doubtful about the work I was doing. At the end of the internship, all I felt I gained was just another job title to add to my resume.
Oracle, on the other hand, handed me the driver’s seat from the start of my interview process. My internship guides centered their questions on covering what I was personally and professionally interested in learning this summer so they could assign me to one of the 21 teams of mentors available. Similarly, the team I joined was already in the passenger seat when I arrived and was eager to help me grow in my personal way. Oracle didn’t focus on role-specific tasks but rather assigned me to projects aligned with the position I chose to work for this summer. As a result, I realized during a coffee chat with the previous intern, we did not share the same project list because of our diverse skills and career goals.
With the direction I’ve already received after one month at Oracle, I am fully prepared and have the keys to be successful in this summer internship. I’m excited to see how I will grow and learn with the different people I encounter in my passenger seat. By continuing to navigate the new routes in my career, I’m confident that I will one day drive alone. Once I reach my future destination, let’s unpack what I have learned throughout my journey at Oracle.
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