The Excitement of Weekly Reports
Making the most out of my BCG summer internship experience :)
Whoa, we’re back!
This post is gonna look slightly different than normal because it’s not a traditional blog post, but rather something exciting I’ve been doing recently.
Basically, at the end of each week of my summer internship at BCG, I write a weekly report to my managers and the other interns to keep things fun and interesting. They’ve become surprisingly popular, with people hearing about them from colleagues and requesting to be added to the mailing list.
I figured I’d share them here for y’all to enjoy as well, and maybe even inspire y’all to write your own!
Note: Information that could identify my teammates, client, or project has been redacted for confidentiality reasons. Pictures included in this post were attached to the relevant weekly emails. Enjoy!
Subject: Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report: 6/17 - 6/21
Hello [manager name],
This is Dennis, your Summer Associate intern for the next 2 months. So wonderful to meet you!
To keep you and everyone else on our team updated, I figured I'd write a report at the end of each week discussing what I did and learned. I'll also include a few interesting things I did outside of work! Not only will it help us stay informed about what I'm doing, it'll help me track how I've learned and grown over the summer.
What I did:
Thoroughly read and studied all materials you sent to me over the weekend.
Analyzed [some confidential information].
Prepared a preliminary deck with initial findings and ideas around definitions, archetypes, and next steps for the project.
What I learned:
[Information related to my project].
[Information related to my project].
How to efficiently handle data in Excel and build pivot tables quickly.
Outside of BCG:
Went on a bike ride around Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington (60 miles!), where I checked out the Microsoft HQ.
Saw the Fremont Troll (on another bike ride), see the attached picture.
Enrolled in my first two classes for fall quarter at UCLA (Computer Vision & Intro to Linguistics).
Have a great weekend, [manager name]! Excited to start working with you next week.
Best,
Dennis
Subject: Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report: 6/24 - 6/28
Hello [manager name],
It's Dennis, back with another Week In Review. Hooray!!
For those that are CC'ed for the first time, welcome to the show. In these weekly reports, I discuss what I did inside and outside of work and some interesting things I learned along the way. Not only will it help us stay informed about what I'm doing, it'll help me track how I've learned and grown over the summer.
Most importantly, they'll (hopefully) be entertaining as well. Let's dive in!
What I did:
[Information related to my project].
Coffee chatted with three people in the office
Walked down the entire stairwell (from floor 54 to the Lobby) to pick up lunch
Time to beat: 7 minutes, 49 seconds
What I learned:
How to use [a cool digital tool]. My mind is BLOWN!
The difference between acre and hectare.
The following words and phrases:
Tummy rumble - something that make you a little nervous, wakes you up in the middle of the night, and/or causes anxious ticks
e.g. We're not sure when the conference will be, and that lack of clarity is giving me a tummy rumble.
Tilting at windmills - wasting your energy on something pointless
Comes from the book Don Quixote, where the protagonist mistakes windmills for giants and charges at them with his jousting lance, only to be swept off his horse (lol)
Related to the phrase "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that, which should not be done at all."
e.g. Trying to convince our professor to excuse your absence is like tilting at windmills. She's already made up her mind.
First, second, and third order questions - the different levels of analysis and thought behind a question, which can be used to determine the asker's level of genius
e.g. Bill Gates is so smart that he was asking third order questions about a topic he just learned.
Poached - taking someone from one organization (or part of an organization) to another because they're so good at their job
e.g. She was such a good manager, she was poached to another division at the company.
Dog's Breakfast - something that is poorly organized, haphazardly done, or chaotic in nature
e.g. The charity event was a dog's breakfast. The schedule was confusing, half of the volunteers didn't show up, and there wasn't enough food for everyone.
e.g. Yesterday's meeting was a dog's breakfast. No one had a clear agenda, and we ended up discussing unrelated topics for most of the time.
Outside of BCG:
Gutted all the old planter boxes in the front yard of my co-op house, and built three new, shiny ones with my friend Jackson! My main side project this summer is to redo the front yard of the co-op house I live in.
Built a lending library house to go in the front yard, stained it thrice (we're painting it altogether as a house on Sunday!)
Discovered that my co-op house has a 16-pound bucket of peanut butter, free for public consumption. A BUCKET! 16 pounds! Oh my!
And that's it for this week. Have a great weekend, [manager name]!
Best,
Dennis
Subject: Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report: 7/1 - 7/5
Hello everyone,
It's time for the dearly beloved, much anticipated Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report. Hooray!
For those that are CC'ed for the first time, welcome to the show! In these weekly reports, I discuss what I did inside and outside of work and some interesting things I learned along the way. Not only will it help us stay informed about what I'm doing, it'll help me track how I've learned and grown over the summer.
Most importantly, they'll (hopefully) be entertaining as well. Let's dive in!
What I did:
Started ramping-up on my summer project for [client name].
Got even better at using [an online tool related to my project work].
Showed my UCLA friend around the office. They loved the views! (picture attached)
What I learned:
Some more idioms, specifically "A bug in the ear", which refers to a whisper in your ear for what to do next. Interesting stuff.
The best way to get Cheez-Itz out of the 54 Kitchen dispenser. Don't turn just one direction, but rather alternate turning 90 degrees clockwise, then 90 degrees counterclockwise. They come out much faster this way!
That if you're deployed on a US aircraft carrier, you might not see the sun for weeks at a time.
Outside of BCG:
Went to the Gum Wall. The fact that there's a restaurant doorway surrounded by gum is quite chucklesome to me.
Dug a trench in the front yard of the house I live in, all in preparation for building a retaining wall there this weekend. Hope that goes well...
Checked out the Gates Foundation Museum and learned all about their projects for improve global sanitation. So cool! (picture attached)
And that's it for this week. Have a great weekend and 4th of July, y'all!
Best,
Dennis
Subject: Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report: 7/8 - 7/12
*dramatic gasp*
Is it that time already?
Why yes, yes, it is!
It's time for the dearly beloved, much anticipated Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report. Hooray!
For those that are CC'ed for the first time, welcome to the show! In these weekly reports, I discuss what I did inside and outside of work and some interesting things I learned along the way. Not only will it help us stay informed about what I'm doing, it'll help me track how I've learned and grown over the summer.
Most importantly, they'll (hopefully) be entertaining as well. Let's dive in!
What I did:
Officially started my case for [client name]. I'm already learning a ton.
Enjoyed the intern sailing event on Friday. Awesome!
Walked home from work. It was five miles back to the University District, and it was a wonderful time!
What I learned:
That ChatGPT is really good at combining a bunch of spreadsheets into one, aggregated one. It saves a ton of time!
That people have really been enjoying these weekly emails. Thanks to all my fans!
That the sunsets from the Seattle office are so beautiful. Wow!
Outside of BCG:
Read a rom-com in one 3-hour sitting. Yes, I enjoyed it. No, I didn't expect to.
Went camping with my sister and UCLA friend (pictured) at Mt. Rainier National Park. The hike we went on had some of the most insane views I've ever seen.
Fed ostriches at Ostrichland USA in Solvang, CA. I love birds!
And that's it for this week. See y'all soon!
Best,
Dennis
Subject: Dennis Gavrilenko Weekly Report: 7/15 - 7/19
There are a few things that are regularly wonderfully, tremendously great, and deeply beloved by all.
The sound of a perfect basketball swish. Perfectly plugging the charger into your phone on the first try. Unexpectedly finding a $5 bill in the pocket of pants you haven't worn in a while.
I propose we add this weekly report to that list. I can feel your smiles on the other end of this screen already!
Alright, let's dive into the weekly report:
What I did:
Co-located with my case team in LA and met them in person for the first time. Turns out they're not only 2D, but 3D!
Toured the HQ of the [client name].
Successfully sat through 14 individual 1-hour Zoom interviews, then wrote the key takeaways for each one. That was crazy
What I learned:
That the LA office has its own custom mug. So cool!
That my team is extremely tall. The people on the working team + the expert partner are [team heights]. Maybe we're the tallest average BCG team... EVER???
Not to eat Goldfish during a Zoom call. Rookie mistake!
Outside of BCG:
Ate some delicious KBBQ with my girlfriend in LA's K-town. Check out Meat Love if you get the chance.
Ate 3 In-N-Out burgers. I was born and raised in CA and have missed my beloved In-N-Out so so much while in Seattle.
Jumped into my friend's apartment pool from the roof. The cannonball splash was 8 feet tall!
And that's it for this week! I'll be back before you even know it 🙂
Best,
Dennis