Cisco hosted 1700 hundred interns this summer season as a part of its dedication to growing rising expertise which 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, Function Technique and Enablement, Chris Harrison manages instruments and applications to assist workers leverage the abilities 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 be taught new issues.
Born and raised in New York Metropolis, Chris studied electrical engineering know-how at Rochester Institute of Expertise 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 help group trouble-shooting their modems, and each name I received was, ‘I’ve a Motorola modem linked to a Cisco router’ so I wished to be taught 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 resolve 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 staff. 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 definitely worth the threat to attempt one thing new reasonably than going again to Motorola.
“Individuals have been strolling round in shorts and flip-flops,” mentioned Chris. “In my thoughts, this was so California, a bit laid again. Northern California and Silicon Valley within the 90s had a distinct vibe, and that was one thing I used to be all for.” He moved to San Jose and lived within the dorms at San Jose State College for the summer season.
Connecting the Dots Between Work and the Classroom
The Cisco internship was completely hands-on. The Restore Operations staff 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 facility ground.”
They have been liable for the circulation, the check scripts to ensure issues have been working accurately, and for updates. Chris would rotate each two weeks to be taught totally different elements of the method. Additionally they developed a check line on the manufacturing ground and generally simulated a failure and requested the place the issue was.
“Studying discover the place issues have been damaged helped me find out how they labored, and my internship expertise was superb,” says Chris.
Chris shortly made the connection between the restore work he was doing at Cisco and the technical help work from his Motorola expertise and tied all of it again to what he was studying for his Electrical Engineering Expertise diploma. All of it got here collectively, and he might additionally apply what he discovered on the job to the speculation he was learning in class.
Shock on the Job
One Saturday, Chris shocked his boss. “It was Saturday, all my mates 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 facility, blasted the music, and closed the doorways behind me. Then rapidly, 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 flicks after which dinner. It was an surprising second that left an impression on each of them.
Chris returned to highschool across the Thanksgiving vacation. Weeks handed. Then, on January 5, Cisco’s recruiter phoned Chris. “How’d you want to return to Cisco full-time if you graduate?” requested the recruiter.
Chris was shocked at how early the provide arrived, as full-time gives are normally made within the spring. In accordance with his supervisor, “Any 20-year-old keen to return in on a Saturday is somebody I’d like to have on the staff.”
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 constructive impression he made with staff members as somebody straightforward to work with that contributed to this consequence.
Twenty-six years and plenty of roles later, Chris remains to be having fun with the alternatives at Cisco, and far of his work right this moment includes leaving a legacy for future generations to develop and develop satisfying careers.
He attributes longevity at Cisco to the power to have a number of alternatives and totally different careers and the help of leaders and mentors all through the corporate.
“It was life-changing for me to return to school after the internship,” says Chris. “It was numerous work, however I didn’t consider it as a job. It’s all the time been about enjoyable and studying. That is why I’ve stayed so long as I’ve.”
His recommendation for these in search of internships and job alternatives?
“If you’re right here [in the job or internship] it’s all the time an interview, even if you don’t suppose others are paying consideration. The chance to make impression isn’t if you get the internship. It occurs the minute you stroll by means of the door.”
Consider the complete expertise as an interview, since you’re not simply interacting along with your staff and different groups.
Chris says this expertise gave him his first glimpse into what professionalism meant, how folks interacted and engaged, and helped him mature in his profession as he returned to school.
“Even if you happen to’re there for 3 months, you don’t know what [others] will suppose,” says Chris. “Despite the fact that it’s possible you’ll be categorised as an intern, consider it as an interview to see how you’re employed in that surroundings.”
Chris’ Recommendation for Interns
-Don’t be afraid of the chance; the employer doesn’t count on you to know every little thing.
-Employers need contemporary views from a school scholar – contemporary concepts and new set of eyes.
-Don’t be afraid to have interaction and meet new folks inside new organizations and this will develop your community inside that group together with along with your friends. (Chris remains to be mates with members of his co-op group from faculty, lots of whom are actually administrators and VPs at different corporations.)
-Networking is essential with group and along with your friends as properly. Study as a lot as you possibly can throughout and after the internship.
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