Every day life at the office

(Elke Gutekunst, Germany, 1995; updated 1996 by Christoph Jans)

What will work with HP in the US be like and what will people expect from me?

This question probably came into your mind - don't worry here's the canned information about the work of EuroStudents. Our experiences can be roughly summed up to some essential points:

• People at work are very friendly. Even though most of them are quite busy you can always just go to their desk and ask them for help if you've got a question. It is sometimes hard to reach somebody on the phone and you are encouraged to leave a voice mail message.
• EuroStudents have to work independently and are given a lot of responsiblity. But as mentioned above, you can always approach your teammates with a problem.
• EuroStudents are expected to contribute to projects of the company and the results of their work are really needed and can affect HP's Corporate Objectives.
• Meetings, meetings, meetings!
• There's always a lot of meetings because teamwork is a big issue at HP and requires a lot of communication.
• The whole atmosphere at the office is relaxed and informal and so is the dress code. You might just have to watch out for objects being thrown into your cubicle by other members of the department.
• Last but not least there's the nice habit of having events like beer busts in the HP owned picnic areas, free snacks and beverages at coffee talks and a department lunch from time to time.

Please note regarding the above: "your mileage may vary", eg, the quality of the job you will get and its degree of matching with your expectations may vary greatly with the HP division you are staying at, the people you work with, how well you selected your job and, of course, with your expectations.

You may find yourself in the job of a lifetime or ... well, not the job of a lifetime. There may be great differences in the degree of happiness with one's job between the euros of the same year. Also, be aware that, because you will need a while to get used to how things work at HP and in the US and things (such as computers, cubicles, office supplies) may need a while to be set up for you, for the first few days or weeks, you probably will find yourself not actually doing what you agreed to in your job description. Don't be scared away by that, it's normal and happened to almost all of us.

Also, if you really don't like your job or feel bad about it, talk to your manager (depending on how busy he or she is, you may need several attempts to get your message across). The people at HP usually are very open towards your concerns and willing to help you. Just don't be too shy and make them notice your problems, concerns and questions. The three months will be over much quicker than you think, so use them as good as you can.