Keep it up, Intern

On the edge of the Second Ring Road in the southern part of the city, inside a towering building nearly eighty meters high, more than a dozen young faces, clutching folders, stood in line at the first-floor reception desk, registering their information with anticipation. Behind the registration desk, four large, artistic characters were inlaid on the marble wall—Guangxun Media.

After presenting their offer letters and signing in, the group of young men and women, led by the receptionist, took the elevator to the Human Resources Department on the sixteenth floor. There, they filled out onboarding forms, submitted copies of their educational and identification certificates, had their photos taken, fingerprints recorded, and completed the onboarding procedures. Afterwards, under the guidance of HR staff, they entered a meeting room to sign internship contracts and begin orientation.

“Today, we have sixteen new interns joining us. Three will be part of the Human Resources Department, seven in Marketing, and three each in Design and Planning. In a moment, when I call your name, please follow our staff to your designated department. First, the Marketing interns…”

As each name was called, a young man or woman, their faces a mix of innocence and uncertainty, would rise and follow the staff to their department by elevator.

There weren’t many departments assigned for this round of interns. In just a few minutes, only the newcomers to HR were left in the meeting room.

“Alright, those remaining here are all newcomers to our department. Let’s get to know each other,” Zhang Liling said, scanning the employee list in her hand and discreetly calling roll for the two remaining in the room.

“Yu Yi.”

“Here,” answered a short-haired girl in the front row, her voice both nervous and excited.

“Wu Mingkai.”

“Here!” replied a shy boy huddled in the corner.

Only one name remained. Zhang Liling’s pen paused on the last name listed under Human Resources—

“—Chen Ruowen.”

The meeting room fell silent.

Late on the very first day? Zhang Liling shook her head inwardly. Regardless of this person’s capability, such a casual attitude would never pass Guangxun’s famously rigorous internship evaluation.

“It seems one of our team members isn’t here yet, but that’s alright. Let me give you both a brief overview of our HR department structure.”

Zhang Liling brought up another PowerPoint file on the podium laptop and began introducing it to the two remaining interns.

“Our Human Resources Department is the core of Guangxun, responsible for every aspect of talent selection, training, deployment, retention, promotion, and evaluation. Currently, there are seven people in our department—”

She switched the slide to the department structure chart, clicking on the “Department Manager” button to display a profile photo of a capable woman in her forties.

“This is our manager, your future boss—Manager Yu Yan—who oversees all HR affairs at Guangxun.”

Next, she brought up a photo of a middle-aged man, reminding them, “This is Mr. Li, the head of Guangxun. You must memorize these two leaders’ faces. If you meet them in the company, always greet them politely. Never pretend you didn’t see them, or it will leave a poor impression.”

Yu Yi and Wu Mingkai quickly snapped photos of the projected images with their phones for future reference. Zhang Liling even gave them five minutes to review the pictures, highlighting how important it was to “recognize the leaders.”

“Now let’s meet the rest of the department,” she continued, clicking to reveal a row of images below the organizational chart.

“First is our department’s only other man, Liu Shaopeng, who’s in charge of recruitment. He’s quite the character—you’ll meet him soon.” She glanced at Wu Mingkai with a smile. “But now that Mingkai has joined us, Liu’s title as the department’s only guy is under threat!”

Wu Mingkai chuckled sheepishly.

“Next is Fang Jing, or Sister Jingjing, who handles training. She’s the most senior in the department after the manager. She was the one who just led your orientation session.”

“The third is Yang Xiao Jun, responsible for the company’s KPI calculations—a lively, energetic young lady who’s already handling our performance appraisal module on her own, just two years out of university.”

“Fourth is Pang Qi, or Sister Qiqi, who handles payroll. Everyone knows that calculating salaries requires patience and meticulousness, and Sister Qiqi is indeed very quiet and careful.”

“Lastly, there’s me. I’m in charge of onboarding, offboarding, and social insurance and housing fund procedures. If you ever have questions in these areas, feel free to ask me. Here’s my WeChat…”

Zhang Liling paused, glancing at the PowerPoint as if suddenly recalling something, then smiled apologetically.

“My apologies, I almost forgot—there’s also Miss Li Zichun. She doesn’t manage a particular module but mainly handles coordination between HR and other departments, and helps out when the rest of us are busy. You could think of her as the department’s assistant.”

With that, she clicked the mouse, and a large QR code appeared on the projection screen.

“Add me on WeChat, please. If you have any questions later on, you can always reach out.”

Yu Yi and Wu Mingkai quickly followed instructions, adding her as a contact. Zhang Liling swiftly created a group chat for herself, the two newcomers, and only Li Zichun.

“If you have questions, just post them in the group—we’ll get back to you as soon as we see them.”

With the introductions complete, Zhang Liling shut down the projection and stowed her laptop. Noticing this, Yu Yi quickly rushed over to help her pack the laptop bag, while Wu Mingkai, though a step behind, soon caught on and helped carry the bag as well.

Zhang Liling smiled at their initiative and led them toward the department.

Meanwhile, at the corner outside the meeting room in the corridor, the elevator that led directly to the General Manager’s office on the eighteenth floor suddenly lit up. Zhang Liling quickly stopped the two new hires, who were still looking around uncertainly, and the three of them waited where they were.

“This is the elevator reserved for the General Office—only Mr. Li, his assistant, and Manager Zhou from the General Office can use it. If you see this elevator light up, always stop and wait. If it doesn’t stop on the sixteenth floor, you can go ahead. But if it does, no matter who steps out—Mr. Li or Manager Zhou—you must greet them.”

Seeing that the two new hires were clever enough, Zhang Liling kindly lowered her voice to remind them. As for the newcomer who hadn’t shown up for the orientation… Zhang Liling shook her head.

The workplace can be merciless. If no one guides you, a newcomer might not even realize what went wrong before it’s too late.