Five months and five days ago, I wrote an entry called “My Fist Week: NetPlus Through an Intern’s Eyes”. Now, I am writing somewhat of a farewell. My time here at NetPlus Marketing has come to a close, and next Monday, I will resume the life of a regular college student. It will be strange not to wake up and come into the office on Monday morning to see the usual faces. A main reason why I chose NetPlus was because of the work environment here. The people are friendly and approachable. Over the past 5 months or so, I’ve come to get to know each of them, as more than mere coworkers. It was these people who taught me the most throughout my time here.
When I started out, I was afraid of a dog eat dog business world scenario, where the person didn’t matter so long as the deadline was met. It’s business after all, what else should you expect. That attitude, that specific American business idea, is one that I detest, but thought I would just have to live with. In the time I’ve spent here I have learned that you don’t have to sell out to succeed. Work and play can intermingle so long as all of the work gets done properly. At NetPlus it isn’t about a big bad competitive world, it’s about a team. At meetings we take time to pay thanks to people who had to work especially hard, who went above and beyond the call of duty. It’s not just about the next quarterly goal, it’s also about what is going on in each of our lives outside the office walls. This company has something the business world can often times lack, heart.
If I were to have to choose one lesson learned, it would be that even in the business world you can honor your heart and still make a profit. The people here are passionate about what they do. They thrive on the energy of the team, and even when clients have scrapped everything you’ve worked on two weeks before launch, everyone’s still excited. When there’s downtime, someone will always be around to talk to. Even the two women who founded this company have taken time out just to chat with me. They acted as bosses, mentors, and peers simultaneously. Each person in this office is treated with respect, and great concern is taken when misfortune touches anyone in the office.
I have learned link building, and every kind of social media. I have learned the ways of conference calls and quarterly meetings. I have been published to a blog and to client’s websites. I’ve played part in campaigns that touched countless lives after launch. This list could continue for a very long time. However, the commonality amongst it all is the quality of work produced each time, by the team of high caliber individuals that make up the NPM staff. At the end of the day, it’s not about what work you’re doing, it’s the manner in which you accomplish your goals. The way they go about working here, at NetPlus, is something I will always respect and admire. I learned more than just “the business” here, I learned what kind of business person I should be, and how those two terms, business and person, can co-mingle harmoniously.