Q&A with Summer Interns.

This year we hosted 55 interns across 10 markets. Our program includes:

•   On-The-Job Experience
•   Formal Learning
•   Social Learning

While this Q&A is from interns, you can probably see how these responses can benefit you too, wherever you are on your career journey!

Meet Dawson.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Commerce?
A: My favorite thing about Commerce is the access to everyone in the bank, across the entire footprint. From entry level employees all the way up to Senior Leaders, everyone is willing to meet you and give you 30 minutes of their time.

Q: What’s something you thought mattered in your first year … that actually didn’t?
A: Trying to be perfect with whatever I was working on. You will make mistakes, that’s OK. It’s not expected to be perfect, and you aren’t expected to know everything. It’s all about not making the same mistake repeatedly and asking lots of questions.

Q: Tell us about a mistake you made during your internship — and how you recovered.
A: I was extremely underprepared for a meeting. We were supposed to be doing a practice run of a presentation and I didn’t know they expected us to be presenting, I thought it was more just talking through it. I had some negative feedback from that experience but I didn’t let that define me, so I worked hard to prepare for the actual presentation and did really well.

Q: What’s the biggest “unwritten rule” you’ve learned about working in a corporate environment?
A: Not much of a rule but just know people will talk behind your back in the office -- good or bad, but more so when it’s bad. So do your best to always be on point, if you’re meeting someone new that day wear a nice outfit and do your best to make a solid first impression.

Q: What helped you go from ‘just doing your job’ to standing out?
A: You’ll hear it a lot but networking. If you get to know people at a personal level, it will really help you when working with them and they’ll be more willing to help.

Meet Jake.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Commerce?
A: In my short time here, the atmosphere at Commerce has really stood out. The community here is notably welcoming and personable, and management clearly prioritizes maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It truly feels like an environment where everyone is invested in one another’s success. I have not experienced any sense of competitiveness among my coworkers and peers, which is something that isn’t uncommon for entry-level roles in my field. I think my experience is a testament to the culture and values that Commerce emphasizes.

Q: What’s something you thought mattered in your first year … that actually didn’t?
A: I thought I needed to be perfect when I first started. I worried that I would be tested on everything I was expected to know from my undergraduate studies, and that any gaps in my knowledge would cause me to be viewed as a fraud. Although I knew the concept of imposter syndrome, I had never really experienced It until then.
What I learned from my internship, and continue to learn, is that people don’t expect perfection. Instead, there’s an emphasis on being willing to learn and grow. If you can demonstrate to others that you’re teachable and not too proud to ask for help, you’ll be much more valuable than if you were to try to memorize every equation or vocabulary term from college.

Q: Tell us about a mistake you made during your internship — and how you recovered.
A: While there isn’t a single mistake that stands out, I learned a valuable lesson from several smaller, admittedly awkward moments. Early on, I realized I wasn’t always as intentional as I should have been when meeting new people, especially those I was likely to see again. This made for a couple embarrassing interactions with coworkers! Remembering names and faces has always been a challenge for me, and I came to realize that saying “I’m bad with names” often sounded like an excuse rather than an explanation.

To address this, I made a conscious effort to improve. I began actively repeating people’s names in my head when I first met them, associating them with a memorable detail, or, when appropriate, writing them down somewhere. This little bit of extra effort made a meaningful difference, both in my confidence and in building stronger connections. I like it when people remember my name, so it’s only fair that I return the courtesy. In a broader scope, I realized that putting in the extra effort for little things like this can go a long way in making lasting impacts.

Q: What’s the biggest “unwritten rule” you’ve learned about working in a corporate environment?
A: There are lots of nuances to how the corporate world works, especially when it comes to meetings and day-to-day communication.
One example is the importance of coming prepared. One of the quickest ways to frustrate your coworkers is to schedule a meeting without a clear purpose and expect others to fill the time. To avoid this, it’s best to have at least a simple agenda or a few talking points. This applies to formal meetings, coffee chats, and even messaging on platforms like Teams or Outlook. If you initiate conversation, it’s generally expected that you help guide it.

Respecting others’ time is equally important. This includes being mindful when you schedule meetings. Avoid inconvenient times like early Monday mornings, late Friday afternoons, or the only small opening in someone’s day. It also means being thoughtful about whether a meeting is necessary at all. No one enjoys a “this could have been an email” meeting, and being able to choose the right communication method makes a difference, whether that’s a message, a quick call or a scheduled meeting.

While these may seem like small details, paying attention to things like this helps facilitate better collaboration and build stronger professional relationships. Learning to navigate these nuances has made my transition into the corporate world smoother.

Q: What helped you go from ‘just doing your job’ to standing out?
A: One thing that I think has helped me stand out is focusing on understanding the how and why behind my work, rather than simply doing what it takes to complete a task. It’s easy to treat tasks as items to check off a list, and often that is all that’s required (provided that your solution is correct and effective).

However, by taking the extra step to understand why something is done a certain way or how it fits into the broader business model, I’m able to demonstrate my value as a problem solver and my commitment to understanding the organization. This approach has also benefited me personally. Developing a deeper understanding of the systems I work with daily has made me more effective in my role, and problems that once felt complex or confusing have become more manageable over time.

This mindset goes hand in hand with my previous points of being teachable and putting in extra effort. These habits help you stand out, and they continuously grow your skill set and prepare you to take on new tasks and challenges with more confidence.

Final thought.
Take the opportunity to learn more about who we are, what we do and how we onboard new team members at Commerce. We can’t wait for you to grow with us, too!