http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/996181137
“There are no short cuts to any place worth going.” -Beverly Sills
Hello! My name is Katrina, and I am an intern here at I Want Her Job. I am also a senior at the Missouri School of Journalism, and since my internship is virtual, I’m splitting my time between taking a few summer courses in Columbia, Mo., and relaxing in Cincinnati (my hometown). I’ve been working behind the scenes since the beginning of June, and even though it’s only been about a month since I’ve started, I feel like I’ve learned a year’s worth of new things.
When I began I didn’t know what to expect from a virtual internship, and I have to say working long distance is unlike any working experience I’ve ever had.
During the week, Brianne, IWHJ’s founder, and I are constantly shooting emails back and forth to each other — often late into the night. The time difference may only be three hours, but it makes a difference at 1 a.m.! Near the end of the week, Brianne will send me a chunk of assignments (interviews to format and edit in WordPress, potential leading ladies to research, and requests for campaign ideas) with due dates spread out for the course of the next two weeks.
Brianne has done an amazing job of explaining my tasks during our weekly Skype meetings or over the phone and providing me with guidelines on how to do things — but a bulk of what I’ve learned this month has to do with time management.
At first, working virtually, and at my own pace, (but within the set deadlines) proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I am used to showing up to class or work each day, sitting down and hitting my to-do list. When there is no work to “go” to it’s tempting to procrastinate little things like scheduling our daily tweets or tracking down the contact info of potential leading ladies, but I quickly learned (after having to devote a Saturday or two to catching up) that working virtually is all about self-discipline.
Although Brianne is never more than an email or phone call away, she isn’t with me in the office (or, err, my kitchen) every morning to keep me on track. This month I’ve made a point to start every day with a cup of coffee and I Want Her Job. I check on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, reply to messages from our community members (by the way, if you haven’t you should follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook), schedule the daily quote and tackle a few assignments.
I love the IWHJ community, and working with and getting to know the women behind it, is both rewarding and exciting. Check back next month for another update from me! In the meantime I look forward to interacting with you all via Facebook and Twitter. And feel free to reach out to me directly at katrina[at]iwantherjob[dot]com or on Twitter @katrinaball.