What’s it like to work for an innovative, employee-focused, dynamic supply chain software company? Read on to find out what our current Co-Op/Intern students have to say!
Kinaxis employs a variety of Co-Op/Intern students and each student has their own situations and experiences. I spoke with a cross-section of Kinaxis Co-Op/Interns to share some stories from their placements.
Haaruni Venkatesh Babu
Haaruni has worked multiple Intern placements in the HR team. She has worked both PT and FT placements to fit her specific school schedule.
How would you describe the culture at Kinaxis? Kinaxis' culture is not limited to traditional work relationships. Teams frequently collaborate, with an emphasis on brainstorming, exchanging feedback, and pushing the boundaries. As a result, everyone is extremely committed to the company's success as well as the success of each other, demonstrating the company's core value on the importance of people. Overall, it is a motivating environment with numerous learning opportunities for employee development.
What have you learned in your time at Kinaxis? Problem-solving, communication, and time management have been the three most important lessons I have learned during my time at Kinaxis. Being able to effectively communicate my ideas, suggesting alternative ways to existing procedures, while recognizing priorities and productively pacing myself, with the help of team members who acknowledge me, have all contributed to me acquiring the three skills mentioned above.
What are some of the highlights of your experience at Kinaxis? A few highlights of working at Kinaxis include the relaxed work environment, as well as the mentorship program and workshops that help me develop my skills and knowledge. The culture established here makes it welcoming and easy for student interns to feel safe and enjoy their experiences.
What are some of the projects that you have worked on during your placement? Exciting projects I have worked on include open enrollment for our US employees, learning about salary structures through job matches and external salary surveys, and researching co-op/internship programs in APAC and European countries.
What advice would you give to an incoming Co-Op/Intern? One piece of advice I would give to incoming Co-Op/Intern students is to not be afraid to reach out to your manager with questions and to connect with your peers. Even though it is difficult to be social virtually, everyone is eager to connect and form friendships.
Isabella Carias Melendez
Isabella started at Kinaxis working in our Machine Learning department. She returned to school for a semester and has now returned to Kinaxis to work in out Product department.
How would you describe the culture at Kinaxis? The culture at Kinaxis is amazing – that was a huge factor when I considered returning for another Co-Op term. My teammates are approachable, friendly, and super knowledgeable. I am learning a lot from them every day.
What have you learned in your time at Kinaxis? Currently I am working on the MLaaS platform which is mostly backend and also working through a Kubernetes course to earn a certification.
What are some of the highlights of your experience at Kinaxis? Being mentored by my teammates and taking part in such an interesting project.
What are some of the projects that you have worked on during your placement? AI Platform!
What advice would you give to an incoming Co-Op/Intern? Don’t be shy and ask for mentorship – it makes all the difference.
Stephanie Wu
Stephanie was working as an Intern in our Strategic Services department and earlier this year was hired as a full-time employee.
How would you describe the culture at Kinaxis? The culture at Kinaxis is supportive. When I was an intern, my mentor, buddy and manager were all very open to discussion (answered all of my many questions) and made sure that what I was doing was engaging to me and actually valuable to projects they were working on.
What have you learned in your time at Kinaxis? When I was an intern, I learned a lot about the product, RapidResponse, as well as how to handle tough situations with clients through shadowing my mentor (consulting soft skills).
I also underwent consulting soft skills training, so I have learned a lot more about conflict management and managing expectations/clear communication skills used in client facing projects.
What are some of the highlights in your experience at Kinaxis? Some highlights of my work were definitely working on deliverables (presentation and document) to the client, and meeting other people in my team/service. Some of my previous internships did not really give me meaningful work to do, and by the end, I don’t think my supervisors used my work extensively afterwards (so it was not too engaging for me personally), but during my internship here, I did contribute valuable work that the clients will (or are) using, which I find great.
What are some of the projects that you have worked on during your placement? During my internship I worked on a project that was essentially clarifying details of MLS to a global pharmaceutical company (and its implementation company). As part of the project, I created a pitch deck intended for the pharmaceutical company’s top management team, as well as a final guideline document regarding MLS (Multi-Level Search which is part of RapidResponse).
I also worked on training materials with company partners (communicating details, developing a training program).
What advice would you give to an incoming Co-Op/Intern? Communicate your needs clearly: if you have questions about the task you were assigned, don’t hesitate to ask clarifying details like: what exactly do you want me to do and by when/how? What should the final deliverable look like? This one is important since you don’t want to do anything wrong and waste everyone’s time trying to redo everything. I’ve had a friend at a previous internship who didn’t ask questions, and worked on a project for three weeks, which turned out to be not what the stakeholder wanted; so, save time, and ask questions at the beginning!
Similarly, if you are doing something new, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you are afraid, make a rough draft of the task and get your supervisor/manager to check at every step. That way you can get validation as you go (and make sure you’re on the right path).
If you see inefficiencies on how to do something (if you’ve had experience with it previously), don’t hesitate to bring new ideas on how to resolve them. Or if you think some things can be better organized/presented, bring it up with your team and discuss it.
Make a note of your achievements as you proceed with the internship for future reference. Don’t forget to have fun and celebrate!
Rod McDonald
Rod started his career at Kinaxis as a Co-Op/Intern student and now with 20 years of experience at Kinaxis, he is currently the Director, Center of Excellence.
How would you describe the culture at Kinaxis? Having now worked here at Kinaxis for over 20 years, I truly believe the culture here is that of people and opportunities. I’ve worked with some great people here at Kinaxis, and everyone along the way was more than willing to help in any capacity. The support I received along the way allowed me to further my career here and has led to many opportunities, including working in different departments, from Product, Professional Services, and GCC.
What have you learned in your time at Kinaxis? I came to Kinaxis knowing little about supply chain. Working with the product, and then implementing it with our customers, I’ve learned a great deal about what our product does to help our customers and how we help them overcome everyday challenges that life throws at us.
What are some of the highlights in your experience at Kinaxis? It’s a long list, so bear with me, I’ve now gone through moving into two new buildings while working here at Kinaxis, and am really impressed with the new office space. Being a former Integration Consultant, a major highlight was every time we successfully finished a successful deployment with a customer, and being able to travel the world helping our customers in the RapidResponse journey. Also, as an avid sports fan, being able to play on the Kinaxis Hockey and Soccer teams over the years, was a lot of fun, and had great time with teammates outside of work.
What are some of the projects that you have worked on during your placement? Too many projects to count over the last 20 years, but since joining the Center of Excellence team six years ago, working with a great group of highly skilled and experienced team members has helped us grow and expand as Kinaxis continue to onboard new customers into our eco-system every year.
What advice would you give to an incoming Co-Op/Intern? There’s never a dull day here at Kinaxis. I still learn something new everyday, and continue to look forward to see what the next day will bring. There’s so much opportunity here to have a positive impact the lives of our customers, partners, co-workers and yourself, so take the time to continue to learn and build your experiences towards a successful career, (hopefully at Kinaxis).
Ready to apply? Here’s how!
If these personal insights sound like the kind of professional experience you’re looking for, be sure to check out our current Co-Op/Intern opportunities right now. Check back often, as more roles will be posted soon!
All of Kinaxis’ Co-Op/Intern role are posted on our Kinaxis Careers page: https://www.kinaxis.com/en/open-positions
To learn more about the Kinaxis Co-Op/Intern program, please contact me at: jhisko@kinaxis.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Leave a Reply