Rise Up To New Opportunities

Sometimes when one door closes, another one opens to a new opportunity.  I was originally going to work for Earlybird Feed and Nutrition, but things changed at the last minute.  April came around and I was without a summer internship.  Through local connections, I learned that a Pontiac car dealership was looking for a summer intern to help in the Parts Department.  I never thought that I would have worked for a car dealership, but I went outside of my comfort zone to get experience working for another industry.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work for Heller Motors a family-owned car dealership in Pontiac, Illinois.  They have been in business for over 60 years and also have a Ford dealership in El Paso, Illinois.  I worked in the Parts Department where I stocked shelves with parts, located parts technicians needed, billed parts on customer invoices, and picked up/delivered parts to other dealerships. 

My internship began on May 13th, and I spent the first few days training and understanding the computer system I would be using throughout the summer.  I shadowed full-time employees when they would look up parts for cars to familiarize myself when doing tasks on my own.  I quickly learned within the first few days that there is no normal day when working in the Parts Department.  There were days when we would be looking up parts, ordering parts, and talking with customers on the phone and then the next day we would be looking for things to do to stay busy. 

I learned so much in the short amount of time I worked for Heller Motors.  I came in with no prior experience working with car parts and did not take any auto classes in high school.  I quickly caught on to everything that I was asked to do and enjoyed working with the three other employees in the department.  I am at a loss of words and cannot thank the employees enough for helping me whenever I had a question and being patient with me especially during the first few weeks of my internship.

In conclusion, I learned so many important skills that will benefit me in my future endeavors.  Communication is very important when speaking with customers on the phone about ordering parts for their car and letting them know when their parts came in.  I quickly figured out that organization is critical in the Parts Department making sure you can find oil filters, air filters, and brake pads in a timely manner for technicians when they need them.  Service is key when it comes to working for a car dealership and pleasing customers.