Hello Operator: Learning to be a Receptionist
As the weeks go by (quickly) at my internship, I am learning to do more things around the office. I have started my fill-in position as an Advertising Associate, and I'm also filling in for the receptionist of Brant Publications during her lunch break.
I have some experience answering phones, since I worked at my step-father's landscaping business during my high school summers. "Good morning, Oliver Nurseries" has been permanently etched into my consciousness. So, when one of my bosses, Kristina, asked if I was interested in getting trained to answer phones during the receptionist's lunch break, I didn't hesitate. The other intern, Brittany, explained that she was too nervous to answer phones because she doesn't like talking to people that she knows on the phone. I am the opposite. I don't like having conversations with people I know on the phone. If you keep it formal and business-like, it is very easy to operate the phones.
I think people underestimate the responsibilities of receptionists or secretaries because they actually are responsible for many of the small things that keeps a business going smoothly. If there wasn't someone to coordinate appointments, transfer calls, take messages, and keep everything organized, then none of the higher-ups in the business would be able to get in touch with anyone. Annie is the receptionist for Brant Publications, and she kindly showed me how to be a polite and efficient receptionist. Without divulging too much information about the personalities about certain members of the Brant Publications staff, there are a lot of rules on how to answer phones and transfer calls. Things like not letting the call EVER go to voicemail, how to juggle multiple callers at once, who should get calls transferred to their assistants, how to take messages for certain people, etc. It is a very complex system requiring you to understand certain personalities and their demands.
So every Wednesday, I sit at the front desk, which is in the main lobby of the office, and I man the phones. I actually enjoy it because it seems like I am getting in touch with the outside world and at the same time, I get to learn who certain people are in the office that I wouldn't get to know otherwise. As an advertising intern, there isn't much contact with people outside of the Advertising department. So answering phones and being in a different part of the office for a little while is a great change of pace.
As far as what I am doing as the Advertising Associate, it is not much different from what I get to do as an intern because all the major responsibilities that the job entails have been suspended for the next couple of weeks. The day to day is quite similar except I get to sit at someone's desk. There are occasional phone calls and emails, and I get to go and compile things on my own without having it being assigned to me. There is more independence because I get to navigate the office and accomplish things on my own accord, and I am also responsible to for compiling an entire project for Renata (who has all the watch and jewelry accounts for Interview). Basically what I am doing with that is running searches on this advertising database called MagAdvisor. I am searching for certain companies, for example Chanel Watch & Jewelry, and where they have advertised for 2007. So in what magazines have they advertised, how many pages they've advertised on, and how much the ad cost to run in a magazine. Running searches over and over tends to get robotic, but I actually enjoy it because I get to learn more about how the prices and numbers matter to a magazine's advertising department.
So far so good on the internship front. The most valuable thing about this internship for me is it is just further solidifying my desire to work at a publication when I graduate from Conn. Although I may not exactly want to enter the advertising field (it is a little too business-like for me), getting exposed to the other aspects of the publication world is totally worthwhile.