Internship

Intro

My internship will be for the solar panel installation company SunRun but I’m going to work directly under one of the salesman, Truman Mak. For this internship I will mainly act as an assistant for Mr. Mak by taking calls, planning schedules and appointments, speaking with clients and taking calls. The premise of this learning experience is to acquire real world experience by conversing with clients on business matters about SunRun. By acting as Mr. Mak’s assistant, I’m able to get the learning experience I need for my future endeavors towards my career. I’m hoping to acquire new skills and experiences I haven't learned before as to advance my field of knowledge.

Week one

The schedule for the days I work that Mr. Mak planned for are Mondays and Wednesdays with a one hour and a half work day for each. My first week consists of answering calls, making appointments, addressing clients and directing them to Mr. Mak, and coffee runs. However I did get to do some important work later in the week which was going to the site and speaking with clients to see if they’re able to go solar, which is the term Mr. Mak uses if clients are able to have solar panels installed. I was assigned some homework to do which was research about solar designs.

Week two

For the duration of this week I did my usual assistant work but this time I got to go visit sites more and got to talk to more clients. When I was speaking with clients Mr. Mak told me to inform each client I speak with about solar designs and their orientation of the panels. Which was why I was assigned some research homework. I really enjoyed speaking with different clients because I felt I was expanding my social and speaking skills that I’ll need for my career. I didn’t do anything else that was interesting besides speak with clients and do my assistants work.

Week three

Closing report

In conclusion, this internship experience was very helpful and immersive for me because I was forced to communicate and interact in a business type manner with important representatives. From my internship with Mr. Mak from SunRun, I gained valuable information and experience on how I am supposed to talk and act when it comes to the real world. On a daily basis I acted as Mr. Mak’s personal assistance, helping him with calls, speaking with clients, looked at and studied designs for solar panels, provided clients with information about solar panels and the company SunRun. Occasionally I would go with Mr. Mak and check out some of the sites that want solar panels on their facilities and this is where I learned most of my business manners and etiquettes. I learned how I am supposed to introduce myself properly, how to talk to a representative of a big/important company, how I am supposed to dress, and basic manners that apply to a business type environment. I also learned a lot of facts about solar panels, how they should be oriented facing south so the panels can capture as much sunlight as possible, or how it will take a few years before the buyer can earn their money back from buying solar panels. One challenge I had to overcome was keeping track of all the clients of Mr. Mak, taking calls, and scheduling his appointments/meetings for him. It wasn’t so hard on the first day but after another day or two of doing this, everything started to pile up and it took me awhile before I got things under control. Initially before I began this internship I didn’t really know what to expect so I just came in with a fresh and clean perspective. After the second week of my internship, my impressions changed and I was happy with the internship I chose because I got to visit a lot of sites, meet new and important people, practice my social skills, develop a business manner even though I had to sit behind a desk most of the time. All in all I really enjoyed my internship with Mr. Mak at SunRun and attained valuable learning experience that I’ll remember for my future career and apply all that I learned to my line of work whatever it may be.