Summer time: make friends outside the campus

(MBA, Amazon)

The timing for talk about my lifestyle in Seattle could not be better. The summer has finally picked up. With it, several new outdoor opportunities arise. As I write this post I look outside my window at the high of the 15^th floor with a beautiful sunny view of the sea where several sailboats gently heels. I have to admit that Seattle is treating me well.

During the first half of my internship I had the chance to really enjoy Seattle and the surroundings. I went sailing, diving, hiking, kayaking and running. I went visiting Vancouver and I’m going to visit LA. But more important than it all, I accomplished one of my goals for the summer: expand my network and make new friends.

Seattle is probably not the city with the biggest MBA intern class (approximately 150), but is definitely unique in its setup. Pretty much all the MBA interns, mostly Amazon and Microsoft, live at the same apartment building complex. It happens because both companies subsidize the leasing. This uniqueness creates an atmosphere of cohesion and openness hard to find outside campi. Interns from 30 business schools interact with each other in several events organized by the companies and by us.

Only 6 weeks have gone by so far and I still have 6 weeks more to come. If it is true that after almost one year at Ross I keep meeting new people there, I can assume that my networking expansion here at Seattle is far from having fulfilled its potential. During the next 6 weeks I anticipate the life becoming a little bit more stressful with the approaching of final presentation. I also am aware that I was part of one of the last groups to begin their internship, therefore the group will get smaller every week from now on. I am confident that the foundations for an enjoyable 2^nd half have been laid down.

Learning, scoping, delivering!

MBA, Amazon

At this point, one third of the internship is done and with it comes an urge to see some work done. The first month is probably the most unproductive and hard (at least that’s what I have heard and what I expect), simply because you are flooding with new information. You have to learn the about the company’s culture and how to navigate it, the topic and industry you are working with, and the project objectives itself. Apart from it all you are still supposed to start delivering some results.

From the very beginning I have spent a considerable amount of time just scoping my project: what it will be and what it will not be. I believe this is probably the most important success factor of a good end product. Is by scoping, and discussing the scope with your manager, that you are able to set expectations and plan yourself to achieve a good result.

The first month would be the best phase of the internship if it wasn’t by one detail: you are supposed to start delivering something. Just by talking to other interns and former interns I have the feeling that pretty much everyone has some sort of frustration during this phase. The common sense is that either you don’t know exactly how or what you are supposed to deliver.

I guess that my consulting background helps me at this point. I feel much more confident simply because I have worked at many other 3-month-projects before. I’m also lucky to have a very concrete end product to produce: an excel model. And the success of my work will be easily accessed at the end by checking the website: the model is there or not. At this point I have a mock-up and I can start showing it around. That was my strategy to manage internal and external expectations.

Taking the most out of it!

Hi all,

I would like to introduce myself. I'm Douglas Storf, a rising MBA2 and will be spending my summer at Amazon in Seattle where I'll be managing a product called S3 at the Amazon Web Services group. I'm really excited about the opportunity. One of my goals when I came Ross was to have an working experience with marketing at a High-tech company, preferably outside Brazil (my home country). I can say it is mission accomplished: not only I got a Marketing position at Amazon in Seattle, I only got a MAP project at Google in London!

After spending the last 6 weeks working and living in London, getting back to Ann Arbor had a contrasting impact on me: I'm happy to be back to where I now call home, but I know I'll miss Europe.

This week is the last week of the first year and is definitely a time for reflections. We are just getting ready for our internship experiences while our friends from the second year are getting ready for their full time experiences. "It will go fast" That is what I was told before coming to B-School. "It went too fast" That is what our MBA2 colleagues are saying now and I second their voice! I'm doing my best to take the most out of this experience but I find it inevitable to have a taste in my mouth that I am still missing a lot!

The internship is not going to be any different: it will go supper fast, I'll do my best to take the most out of it, I'll still get the feeling I'm leaving a lot behind! I guess I'm getting used to that!