Author: Allison Lyew
My name is Allison Lyew. I am a 3rd year student at the University Toronto, and an Operations Intern on Flipp’s Strategic Operations team. In my role, I am primarily responsible for supporting the different Operations functions. This includes quality checking campaign flyers before they go live, managing urgent vendor requests, and conducting weekly refreshes in our internal system, to ensure the platform is up to date. Moreover, I will be continuing the second half of my 8-month journey on the Content Production team. As I transition into my new role, I want to share my experience as an intern at Flipp thus far, with the goal of encouraging future interns to embrace this learning and growth experience to the fullest!
I chose to work at Flipp, because I was confident that the company would provide me with the support and resources I needed for success. As someone hoping to pursue a career in Human Resources, it was crucial for me to work for a company that demonstrates a dedication to its People & Culture — something that Flipp is well known for. Hence why, this was a major deciding factor in my decision to take on the role as an Operations Intern! Despite Operations not being the exact industry I aim for, I believe that no career journey is linear, especially this early on in my career.
Fortunately, I made the right choice because Flipp was everything I hoped it to be — from the onboarding process, to learning shares, monthly lunches, and regular 1:1s with my coach. Even before I was onboarded, it was clear that a lot of thought was put into maximizing the co-op experience. From my tech being delivered prior to my start date, to the first day where we were introduced to our teams. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to meet their newest member, dissolving any doubts or stresses I had about working in a remote environment.
I quickly discovered that even though we may all work from different locations, the utmost support was just one Slack message away. This became more prevalent over the coming weeks, with how thorough and coordinated the onboarding process was. From assigned training on established programs such as Juno Journey, accessible training resources on Confluence, to attending shadowing sessions, it was evident that Flipp was prepared to bring interns along every step of the process. I also appreciate the People team, who were very helpful in answering any questions I had regarding payroll, Flipp’s “working from anywhere” policy, etc. I had a team who was clear about their expectations while providing a high level of flexibility, making me feel just as valued as a permanent employee. Overall, I could not have asked for a smoother co-op experience!
With that being said, this level of autonomy may be perceived in the eyes of some as intimidating, especially in a remote setting. As interns, we might feel afraid to reach out to others due to ‘fear of the unknown’ or are left to wait for tasks to be assigned to us. However, as someone who strongly believes that your experience is what you make of it, it’s only by putting yourself out there, that you are able to find opportunities that could pivot your learning and growth during your co-op. Fortunately for me, I had an incredible coach who provided guidance and encouragement, motivating me to find opportunities to achieve goals.
My manager suggested that I visit Flipp’s Confluence page and reach out to folks who I’m interested in having coffee chats with. In these coffee chats, I got the chance to discuss all kinds of career journeys, learn about projects, and receive valuable advice from different perspectives. This not only expanded my understanding of Flipp’s work culture but also what it takes to succeed in any role at any company. My communication skills were strengthened, to a point where I felt comfortable not only asking questions when confronted with a challenge, but also when advocating for what I wanted. In my case, what I wanted was to gain more exposure to the different HR functions at Flipp, and I was fortunate enough to be offered biweekly shadowing sessions from the People Team, who were more than willing to support my learning and growth!
Hence, it is important to understand that you should not feel confined and limited to the responsibilities expected of your role. An internship is all about finding out what you do and do not like! Only by trying out new things are you able to do so. Everyone here at Flipp (or any company you’re interning for) was once in the same shoes as you, career-wise, feeling anxious, yet eager to learn. That’s why, most people you speak to will be open to finding new ways you can add value to the company, and thus contribute to your overall success. Doing so requires you to step out of your comfort zone, take the initiative to locate resources and tools, and learn from people who can help you achieve your goals.
One resource I highly recommend is looking through the company’s organizational chart and identifying folks who have job titles similar to what you are hoping to pursue. From there, you can use Linkedin, blogs, and online courses (eg. Coursera, Linkedin Learning, Udemy), etc. to learn more about how to approach coffee chats, prepare interesting questions, and how to adapt to different communication styles, to form interesting and impactful conversations (which could lead to valuable collaborative work!). While this may be nerve-wracking at the start, I’m confident that you will eventually get the hang of it, and potentially make some lifelong connections! These connections will benefit your career long after your term has ended.
I’d like to end this by saying that you are in control of your future. Remember, work at your own pace, be open to trying new things, and utilize all the resources at your disposal. You never know what might happen just from reaching out and having a simple conversation. Good luck!
