At ITW Performance Polymers, we invest in the hiring quality interns and Co-op students as part of our business model. The investment it takes to bring new workers into our daily functions and tasks is a valuable way to cultivate strong relationships, bring necessary projects to completion and tackle goals that help each department achieve difficult to get to projects. As a growing company, it’s rewarding to see our interns return or continue with us on a full-time basis. It’s a strong statement and honoring when they choose to work for ITW Performance Polymers as a permanent employee.
Because several of our college interns have graduated and are just starting into our corporate world, there’s some great insight available to help prepare yourself for entering the workplace. Read about the edifying, intern to employee journey for Zachary Day, to see his advice for new interns or those entering the workforce. Another source is our Finance intern, Samantha Pelletier, returning as a new, full-time employee, where she was able to leverage skills learned from her internship focusing on Accounts Receivable projects at our Danvers location. Sam is now the newest member of our team as an “Account Receivable Specialist.”
Samantha is a recent graduate of Stonehill College, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, majoring in Finance and a minor in Data Analytics. During her time at school, she also acted as Treasurer of the Business Sales Club, which involved managing the club budgets and hosting recurring guest speakers.
When we interviewed Samantha, we received valuable feedback to share with anyone interested in exploring a career with ITW Performance Polymers and insight into the new employee mindset:
First of all, you mentioned in your last interview with us that you wanted to go to Nashville. Did you get there and how was it?
Samantha: Yes, I went with a friend last summer. It was really fun to go for just a few days to experience the night life, country bars, and country music. It’s super busy but going honky tonking was a blast. We went to Luke Bryan’s bar and checked out all my favorite country singers and even toured the Grand Ole Opry.
Did you know you wanted to return to ITW Performance Polymers for a permanent role here?
Samantha: As I went through the summer internship experience, I did. I realized that I not only enjoyed it here, but that I enjoyed working with the team and liked what I was doing so I think that slowly I became more and more interested in getting a full-time role.
When asked about how she transitioned her internship into a full-time role and what advice she would give to her peers:
Samantha: I feel like just being open with communication goes far. For example, I was always open to the Finance team, telling them I wanted to continue to work here. They had that on their radar. In terms of work, staying on top of your work, showing the team that you’re willing and able to do your work was critical. In the end, when you work really well with your team, you’re that much more likely to land a full-time role here.
In your last group interview, you mentioned that you expected to gain a lot of new technical skills, during your internship. Did they come in handy at school and did you happen to acquire more skills in your coursework that will help you in your new financial role?
Samantha: Yeah, mainly computer skills here and the same for school. For example, I’ve learned Power BI and SQL like computer programming. I can transfer that experience to what I do here, which is nice because I just had a full course on these. I also worked in Excel all last summer during my internship, so I’ll continue to do that here as well tracking reports and such. These types of computer technical skills have been really helpful. Having a good baseline is good foundational experience along with skills that will directly correlate to my job.
You’ve mentioned the community here being close-knit. Would you say relationships developed here were helpful?
Samantha: Definitely! Having my supervisor, Shannon, last summer was awesome because she was really fun to work with and made work more interesting. She was my supervisor and acted as a mentor who was just simply always there in case I needed to ask questions.
Now that you’re a well-seasoned intern in your new role, what are your expectations?
Samantha: Well, my expectations coming into the internship were just to learn as much as possible and just be able to help the company in any way I could. I think that that’s exactly what happened and now I expect that I’ll work hard, be dedicated to my work, and help the Finance team as much as possible. Hard work pays off so I think that’s my ultimate goal right now.
Do you think this kind of thinking helped you to land a full-time, permanent role?
Samantha: Yes, remaining on top of my work and not just sitting behind the desk all day. I would ask the team if they needed any additional help. Asking the group if I could aid them in anything else. Also, coming to work with a positive attitude. You know it’s easy to just be mad that you’re at work all day in an office but if you put forward a good attitude then you’ll end up getting good out of it.
When we interviewed Zachary Day, he was an intern transitioning to a full-time employee and he said setting expectations and taking initiative were his big takeaways. Would you agree?
Samantha: I would agree as taking initiative is always important in any role. Asking if someone needs any additional help and not just doing what you’re assigned. Taking initiative and going beyond is definitely important so yeah, I agree with those.
Any other advice you would give to someone interning or looking for an internship that could lead to a permanent role?
Samantha: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Sometimes, I try to figure things out on my own instead of asking questions, so I don’t sound dumb, but there really is no dumb question. If you’re asking questions…it’s better to just get it done right than to make a mistake and then go back and fix it. Being open with your team(s) is super important and I’m excited to be here!
Join former interns Zachary and Samantha when you search for your next work home. Whether it’s an immersive internship or a staff role with ITW Performance Polymers, check out these job opportunities.
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ITW Performance Polymers is an international leader in structural adhesives, grouting and chocking compounds, and wear-resistant coatings and repair products. Contact us to learn more about these products and their applications.