Tim Beach, a senior finance major completed his internship at DFS Galleria in San Francisco.

Having done another corporate retail internship, I had a good basis for comparison and definitely came into DFS with some preconceived notions of what to expect. Based on that, this internship program has far exceeded my expectations.

One specific highlight includes regular training sessions throughout the internship program. I believe this great investment into the interns shows that DFS is a company that values their employees' loyalty and wants to see their careers progress.

Another great attribute of the program is the regular plus/delta meeting we had with Laz Martinez, Manager Human Resources. It has been my experience that often companies will only monitor progress once or twice during the course, which naturally begs the question of whom the evaluations are helping – the employee or the firm. With the regular sessions that Laz facilitated, I felt that the values of DFS were clearly reflected as a company that is willing to give and take in terms of what it takes to maintain its employees' satisfaction.

Based on my work style, I tend to take on a lot of material and want to complete it as fast and efficiently as possible. As a result, I tend to be a workaholic, often putting in hours of overtime. I knew this internship would not necessarily allow me a great deal of overtime work, but I did feel somewhat constrained working no more than 7.5 hours a day. On the flip side, however, it did teach me how to prioritize what I needed to get done that day and what could be set aside for the next day an excellent time management skill that I did not have before.

Also, I was very impressed that DFS offered diversity training. I believe that employees in today's society need to be aware of different cultures and work styles and to be sensitive to those variances. It shows that DFS clearly values its employees and is aware of the markets in which it operates.

I also appreciated the openness I was able to establish with Leanne Hill (my direct supervisor). At first, it was somewhat difficult to get myself established and plan out strategically what tasks had priority, but Leanne smoothed the transition quite well. If I ever encountered a problem or hit a stumbling block, I knew I could ask her for more clarification.

Leanne's willingness to explain all of my projects clearly and how they directly benefited the company and the distribution group made the internship a true learning experience. One of the projects in particular was a verification process of the E3 distribution system in which each region was sent a sheet of delivery paths to confirm. I worked with one of the team leads, Lionel Luu, and we went through and calculated the lead times and order cycles to ensure more accurate and consistent product levels at the stores.

Leanne also took me on a tour of the Union Square and SFO stores with the North America distribution team. It was a great hands-on opportunity to learn about how product gets to the stores and the challenges each store faces, such as their product assortments.

That serving as an example, Leanne also allowed me to have full interaction with her entire team. This included contacting and meeting with every team lead to have questions answered on some of my projects.

The DFS internship has been undoubtedly the greatest work experience I have ever had. I believe that the quality of any internship program should be judged by the amount of experience and knowledge with which one could walk away. Clearly, DFS ensured that this program would be as open as possible to offer all the interns ample opportunity to walk away with a very clear understanding of retailing in general, the dynamics of the company, and the corporate culture associated with DFS.

Speaking to the specifics of the company, one employee told me that she believed once a person understands DFS, they can apply that knowledge in any retail environment and fit in just fine. DFS is by far the most unique company I have worked for, especially in terms of its global exposure and willingness to adapt to changes. I believe it is every company's implicit goal to get their employees to be open to change and DFS has mastered this.

In conclusion, I will surely encourage anyone that is interested in an internship to look into one at DFS. I cannot think of a better complementary internship program to accompany my minor in retail management.

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