Written by Banseok Koo
What I learned during my internship at EAAFP is how to communicate within the office and people outside the office. First is how to communicate within the office. When I was overwhelmed with tasks, I merely thought I should reply to task requesting emails when I am done with the task. However, even though I am not complete, I realized It is better to report my honest situation rather than making my supervisors wait for my reply. I learned it better to say no than to say nothing. It is important for a supervisor to keep track of their requested task and they understand my situation. I shouldn’t be afraid of explaining my situation of not being able to complete the task. It is one of the valuable lessons to take from EAAFP that my supervisors let me know.
Figure 1 WMBD Reception EAAFP lovely staff group photo
I also learned to communicate with people outside our office. I fortunately had a chance to be in a critical position when making a contract with IT companies while changing a service provider. The process was complicated and caused some delay than our expected timeline. During the process, I learned from my supervisors how to communicate with people without unnecessary conflict while getting things done. First, it is wise to ask for the exact deadline. It gives people a motivation and we can legitimately complain about the past deadline if the work is not done by the deadline. It is also important to ask for a written form of promise after a verbal talk. So, I always asked for an email to be written to me summarizing the promise the company made after a phone call. That way, I could track process and use the email as a verification for complaint when the promise was not kept.
Figure 2 Field Trip to Seocheon for the International Biodiversity Day Event
There were uncountable lessons that I learned during my 5-month internship which I didn’t mention but communication within and outside the office was the most memorable and valuable ones. I really thank everyone in my office to let me grow as a more effective worker.
Photos credit to EAAFP Secretariat
