Digging In with THE INTERNS

Digging In is a regular series of blog posts profiling UDig employees. We hope this series helps you to get to know our team and understand why we dig what we do!

This summer, UDig Richmond had the pleasure of hosting two summer interns.  As they head back to school, we had one last request… a recap of their experience for the blog.  Read on to hear their accounts of what’s it’s really like to work at UDig.

 Best of luck at school Kensley & Reid!   

The Summer of UDig

The beginning of June I started my first “big girl job” as an intern at UDig. I was eager and excited to begin work when I finished my freshman year and get out into the field of the “Working World”.  I am currently an IT and Marketing double major at Virginia Tech, and wanted to explore this opportunity as a way to test the post-graduate waters.  I was eager to see if I was following the correct academic path in order to set myself up for success after graduation. As I started my internship, I learned as much as I could about UDig, the technical consulting industry and all aspects of a business.

During my time at UDig, I was given many important responsibilities and just like most interns I was also tasked with a few errands including Starbucks runs.  Overall, I was assisting with the back office tasks of UDig.  I became very familiar with the company’s different computer systems, tracking new hire paperwork, consulting hours, invoices, billing, expense reports, payroll and benefits. I was given the responsibility of assisting with our different state locations, business licenses and unemployment taxes.  I truly learned how intricate back office duties are and how tedious the work can be to support the other employees, consultants and clients.

My eight weeks at UDig turned out to be an amazing experience and a highlight of my summer.  The amount of information I received from working hands on at UDig improved my knowledge and understanding of what an IT Consulting firm or any similar business does on a daily basis.  I learned the importance of focusing on details, multitasking and time management, which I will apply moving forward to my remaining years at Virginia Tech.  I enjoyed all of the work I completed, as well as getting to know everyone in the different locations. Week by week, I began to realize the different components of this company and the UDig promises.  I will continue to apply the promises to my daily routine at school…listen first, solve problems, act with urgency, expect results, embrace teamwork, be genuine, and most importantly, have fun!

Signing off until next Summer – have a great year and GO HOKIES!

Helpful Hints for Future Interns

Having never worked in a typical office setting before my summer internship with UDig, I truly had no idea what to expect walking into the office my first day. Despite what I may have thought at the time, in reality, I knew little about what it meant to be a successful and invaluable employee and even less about how to become one.  Now, as my internship comes to a close and I reflect back on my time spent here, a few things continually come to mind as being absolutely critical to success.

  1. Motivation is key. If there is one characteristic I’ve seen day in and day out here at UDig its motivation, both intrinsic and external.  Every person here is determined to be the best at what they do.  Whether it’s a self-drive to succeed or constructive criticism from managers and higher ups, there is always a sense of determination and motivation to better oneself and the company as a whole.  I feel this attitude is vital to any individual or business that wants to prove them self in today’s competitive work environment.
  2. Listen constantly. When trying to learn and evolve as an employee in a new and unfamiliar industry, listening to things said to you directly is obviously important.  With that being said, I found that I learned just as much by listening to the conversations of those working around me.  Listening to recruiters engage with consultants allowed me to hear the various technological terms of the business used in context, which greatly bettered my understanding of the industry as a whole.  Hearing the sales team interact with potential clients gave me insight into the types of conversational and people skills needed to be successful in sales in any industry. The list goes on and on.
  3. Ask questions. When I first started at UDig I had a misconception that by asking questions I was being a distraction or annoyance to my co-workers.  In reality, they were always happy to help.  In any situation in which you aren’t 100% sure about what is expected of you, it is always better to ask questions and clarify than to spend an entire day working on the wrong task.

Although the list of things I’ve learned this summer is seemingly endless, I feel these three simple concepts are invaluable to any future intern about to start their first day of work.  I hope these ideas may help you have an experience as beneficial as mine and I hope you find a company as great as UDig to share it with.