Embarking on an internship can be a transformative journey filled with learning and growth, but also presents unique challenges. In this blog post, I will share my experiences as a Talent Operations Intern at Coupa, focusing on my challenges and how I overcame them. This narrative will be particularly relevant to interns navigating similar paths. These experiences are not only about personal growth but also about making substantial contributions to your team and advancing in your career
Embracing the internship challenge
When I started interviewing for Coupa, I was excited and nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I was enrolled in a Master's in HRM at the time and wasn't sure if I could manage both work and studies simultaneously.
However, I kept going, and landing the internship was huge. Coming from Pakistan and being the first one amongst my classmates to land an internship seemed enormous to me.
I knew my passion for HR and was ready to invest my time and effort into learning about the Talent Operations Intern role and its ins and outs. Back home, my parents were overjoyed seeing me managing work and studies in a foreign country alone; they couldn’t have been more proud.
Without second thoughts, I accepted the opportunity and had the chance to work with amazing, talented people who were so supportive and kind. I couldn’t have felt luckier.
Of course, being in a new role meant I would make mistakes, and yes, I did. But the way my manager handled it and helped me learn from those, without making me feel bad about it, meant a lot to me. It spoke volumes about Coupa culture and the culture of learning and growing as we go. Coupa amazed me when I was exposed to various projects, even outside of my domain - it ensured I experienced all aspects of HR and recruitment to decide where I wanted to go next. Having a mentor as your manager is a blessing; I was blessed in that sense.
During the first few weeks, I was exposed to different aspects of HR (including interview coordination, sourcing, etc.) and given complete responsibility for scheduling interviews. I realized the importance of trust in our workplace, especially within my team. Gradually, I became involved in creating how-to documents and processes and updating global playbooks. I would not say no to any opportunity to learn, and I felt ready to take on anything that helped me grow professionally and personally and add value to my team.
Before I knew it, I was taking on more and more and was asked by US colleagues to help them with data visualization tasks. All this was possible due to a supportive manager/mentor.
Of course, there were challenges of not being able to work with my team in person as it was a remote internship, and not being specific about what was next regarding my career and not having that clarity. With time, it made sense to me that Coupa is where I belong, and this is just the beginning… soon I was a full-time employee as soon as I graduated from my university. The journey until now was smooth; obstacles hit when my manager left, and I was the only one in my region looking after talent operations. I stepped up, taking more responsibilities to ensure we move forward and nothing gets missed. The rest of my team seemed extraordinarily supportive and gave me the space to learn and make mistakes along the way. This boosted my confidence because it gave me a sense of accomplishment and encouragement to move forward.
It's been three years since I started working at Coupa, and it has been a journey full of ups and downs; however, I am grateful for the internship experience, which led me to meet exceptionally talented, kind individuals who genuinely want you to grow!