During the summer of 2011, I worked as an intern in the Global Sourcing department at AutoZone. During this internship, I had two main jobs: analyzing freight rates and translating Mexican legal documents. These two tasks are very different, and  as such, they require different skills and ways of thinking.  My internship at AutoZone taught me that in order to be a successful employee, I need to be willing to augment my work style with new skills and new ways of thinking.

Data Analyst

Prior to working at AutoZone, I had very little experience with Excel or data analysis. However, I quickly learned how to manipulate the software and was tasked with creating spreadsheets that analyzed the cost of shipping the company's goods from China. In addition to the initial creation of the spreadsheet, I was also in charge of maintaining the spreadsheet and entering new information on a regular basis.

Translator

A large portion of AutoZone's business involves foreign countries. AutoZone regularly deals with Mexico as a means of providing cost-effective products to its customers. The summer that I interned there, the Mexican government made several changes to a law that affected how AutoZone could do business with Mexico. Because I speak Spanish, I was tasked with compiling a list of the changes. This required going through dozens of Mexican news reports as well as a lengthy and complicated Mexican legal document, all of which I eventually translated from Spanish into English.