I recently started working as an intern in a small travel company. While I have more experience than what's typically required for an intern, I still lack some qualifications to be a marketing specialist. Nevertheless, I enjoy this job because of my strong travel history and knowledge. I directly report to the team leader, who holds the executive position. Honestly, I feel that I'm more competent than her in the team, and I may have a competitive mindset or aspirations for career growth.
Based on my observations since joining the company, here are a few things I've noticed:
- Team meetings tend to be unnecessarily long, ranging from 1 to 2.5 hours. I believe these meetings could easily be completed within 15 to 30 minutes. The leader tends to engage in personal discussions and chit-chat, prolonging the meetings unnecessarily.
- The team leader can come across as overly friendly, which sometimes feels insincere or like she's trying to please everyone. She often involves herself in gossip and interrupts conversations. For example, if a coworker is showing me photos of their recent trip, she would jump in and ask what we're looking at. It seems she struggles to respect others' privacy.
- It's evident that she is the boss's favorite employee. This is obvious by everyone in the office. The boss consistently values her opinions, and I dislike this situation because it means that whether I get fired or retain my position, it's ultimately her decision. I intend to stay with this company only until a better opportunity arises.
- I prefer to keep my personal life private. Although I have social media accounts due to the nature of my job, I rarely post anything. When I first started, my boss asked about my boyfriend, and I mentioned that I have one. Since then, in a team meeting with the three of us, she asked for his name and how to spell it. In response, I shared his name and spelled it out, suggesting she could look him up on social media if she wanted. I mentioned this because she had previously admitted to using the company's social media account to view coworkers' stories. This seemed to make her feel embarrassed, and she quickly clarified that she was only curious about his name and how it was spelled.