Cisco hosted 1700 hundred interns this summer time as a part of its dedication to growing rising expertise that may in the future work at Cisco. The intern program has been round for many years, which Chris Harrison is aware of very properly. He began as an intern and is in his twenty sixth yr at Cisco. We celebrated Nationwide Intern Day by sharing his story.
Deal with the Total Internship as an Interview
As Program Supervisor, Position Technique and Enablement, Chris Harrison manages instruments and applications to assist workers leverage the talents that they’ve. It’s a becoming function for somebody who received his begin due to pure curiosity, a capability to attach the dots between jobs and take dangers to study new issues.
Born and raised in New York Metropolis, Chris studied electrical engineering expertise at Rochester Institute of Know-how in New York the place college students have been required to finish co-ops (internships) as part of their sophomore/junior and junior/senior years. His first internship was with Motorola.
“At Motorola, I used to be turned on to Cisco as a result of I used to be within the buyer assist group trouble-shooting their modems, and each name I received was, ‘I’ve a Motorola modem related to a Cisco router’ so I wished to study extra about how this Cisco router labored with the Motorola modem,” mentioned Chris.
How Chris Selected Cisco and Vice Versa
Recruiters got here to Chris’ faculty campus on the lookout for interns. Chris interviewed with Cisco after his curiosity was sparked interning at Motorola. Quickly after, Chris was flown to San Jose to satisfy the hiring supervisor and three check engineers who drew on the whiteboard and requested how he would remedy totally different conditions.
“After I landed [in New York], I already had a voice message saying, ‘Congratulations, you’ve been chosen for this internship,’” says Chris. The intern place was a check engineer on Cisco’s Restore Operations workforce. Chris had the chance to return to Motorola, however he was impressed that Cisco flew him to San Jose for an interview and nonetheless remembers the totally stocked break rooms with free drinks, popcorn, and sweet – totally different from something he’d skilled on the East Coast. It appeared well worth the danger to strive one thing new quite than going again to Motorola.
“Folks have been strolling round in shorts and flip-flops,” mentioned Chris. “In my thoughts, this was so California, slightly laid again. Northern California and Silicon Valley within the 90s had a distinct vibe, and that was one thing I used to be concerned about.” He moved to San Jose and lived within the dorms at San Jose State College for the summer time.
Connecting the Dots Between Work and the Classroom
The Cisco internship was completely hands-on. The Restore Operations workforce needed to handle gadgets in for restore from the second they arrived till they have been shipped again out. “Earlier than, I sat within the cubicle,” mentioned Chris. “With this job, I went to the manufacturing unit ground.”
They have been liable for the move, the check scripts to ensure issues have been working appropriately, and for updates. Chris would rotate each two weeks to study totally different components of the method. In addition they developed a check line on the manufacturing ground and typically simulated a failure and requested the place the issue was.
“Studying easy methods to discover the place issues have been damaged helped me learn the way they labored, and my internship expertise was superb,” says Chris.
Chris rapidly made the connection between the restore work he was doing at Cisco and the technical assist work from his Motorola expertise and tied all of it again to what he was studying for his Electrical Engineering Know-how diploma. All of it got here collectively, and he may additionally apply what he discovered on the job to the speculation he was finding out at school.
Shock on the Job
One Saturday, Chris shocked his boss. “It was Saturday, all my pals have been, out and I had nothing to do, so I made a decision to go to Cisco, go to the lab and do some work,” he mentioned. “I
put collectively some check racks to take to the manufacturing unit, blasted the music, and closed the doorways behind me. Then impulsively, the music stops,” mentioned Chris.
It was his supervisor, who checked out him and requested, “What are you doing right here?” Chris defined after which requested his supervisor the identical query. His supervisor mentioned his household was away tenting and invited Chris to the films after which dinner. It was an sudden second that left an impression on each of them.
Chris returned to high school across the Thanksgiving vacation. Weeks handed. Then, on January 5, Cisco’s recruiter phoned Chris. “How’d you want to come back to Cisco full-time once you graduate?” requested the recruiter.
Chris was shocked at how early the supply arrived, as full-time presents are normally made within the spring. In response to his supervisor, “Any 20-year-old prepared to come back in on a Saturday is somebody I’d like to have on the workforce.”
Chris doubts that this one incident was liable for his touchdown the job however insists that it was the serendipity of this occasion and the optimistic impression he made with workforce members as somebody straightforward to work with that contributed to this end result.
Twenty-six years and plenty of roles later, Chris continues to be having fun with the alternatives at Cisco, and far of his work as we speak includes leaving a legacy for future generations to develop and develop satisfying careers.
He attributes longevity at Cisco to the flexibility to have a number of alternatives and totally different careers and the assist of leaders and mentors all through the corporate.
“It was life-changing for me to return to varsity after the internship,” says Chris. “It was plenty of work, however I didn’t consider it as a job. It’s all the time been about enjoyable and studying. For this reason I’ve stayed so long as I’ve.”
His recommendation for these in search of internships and job alternatives?
“Whenever you’re right here [in the job or internship] it’s all the time an interview, even once you don’t suppose others are paying consideration. The chance to make impression isn’t once you get the internship. It occurs the minute you stroll by way of the door.”
Consider your entire expertise as an interview, since you’re not simply interacting along with your workforce and different groups.
Chris says this expertise gave him his first glimpse into what professionalism meant, how individuals interacted and engaged, and helped him mature in his profession as he returned to varsity.
“Even should you’re there for 3 months, you don’t know what [others] will suppose,” says Chris. “Though you could be categorized as an intern, consider it as an interview to see how you’re employed in that setting.”
Chris’ Recommendation for Interns
-Don’t be afraid of the chance; the employer doesn’t anticipate you to know the whole lot.
-Employers need contemporary views from a university pupil – contemporary concepts and new set of eyes.
-Don’t be afraid to interact and meet new individuals inside new organizations and this will likely increase your community inside that group together with along with your friends. (Chris continues to be pals with members of his co-op group from faculty, lots of whom are actually administrators and VPs at different firms.)
-Networking is essential with group and along with your friends as properly. Study as a lot as you’ll be able to throughout and after the internship.
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