From Intern to Insider: The Atmus Culture of Empowerment

My internship with Atmus came at an exciting time: the same week as the company’s initial public offering! As a college student preparing for a career in HR, I had opportunities to intern with multiple companies. I chose Atmus because I saw space for my work to be more important and relevant there.

I had meaningful projects from Day 1. I supported the talent acquisition team, helping them develop strategy, researching schools for ideal partnerships, and developing an onboarding experience for new hires.

A few weeks after I completed my internship, my manager called me and extended a full-time offer. It was a big choice — all the people close to me were in upstate New York. But Lea, my manager, made me feel safe, supported and excited about the role I would be stepping into.

Valued and Rewarded From Day One

When I came back to work for Atmus full-time, Renee Swan, our Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, had lunch with me during my first week. That was incredible. One of the first things she told me was to operate in the way that worked best for me. Immediately I felt there was a strong sense of trust and autonomy in how work was managed at Atmus. While I knew the workload was going to be significant, often involving coordinating with global teams across time zones, Renee made sure I understood that I had the flexibility to structure my day in a way that best supported productivity.

I immediately dove into important work that was going to impact the company around the globe. That was a little scary because it seemed like a huge responsibility, and I had just graduated from college. I remember thinking: “This is a lot of trust — maybe too much. Are you guys sure?”

Thankfully, I wasn’t on my own. We had an HR consultant who was incredibly helpful and a great mentor. Her coaching, attention and generosity with her valuable time helped me learn to manage projects effectively. That made me feel like my development was important to the team, which helped me grow in confidence about the work I was doing. Another, less tangible resource was everyone’s willingness to connect and work together, including other leaders and stakeholders.

As I proved I could do good work, I was trusted with greater responsibilities for larger projects. I could trust my team, too, because I knew I wasn’t being set up for failure. Even if my manager was busy, she was backing me up by providing the resources I needed to thrive.

Inspiration Comes From the Top

It’s important for interns and new hires to feel guided and enabled by key leaders. Shortly after Atmus’ IPO, we organized a speaker series just for interns with three of our eight top executives. Those conversations were inspiring.

Renee also had a consistent approach of checking in. She regularly asked how I was doing, how I was adapting, and if I was excited about the work I was given. She was always willing to step in or connect me with the right resource if I was feeling lost or confused.

Work That Matters

At Atmus, interns are given meaningful work. They aren’t just brought in to “shadow” and pick up tasks full-time people don’t want to do. They’re part of worthwhile projects that provide opportunities to apply strategic thinking and analysis. That’s an amazing experience from an early career perspective.

I recently completed my one-year anniversary as a full-time employee with Atmus. The support and value I felt on my first day as an intern still exist today. I’ve been trusted to carry out relationships with vendors, including reviewing and signing legal contracts, preparing development programs and training for frontline managers, setting up worldwide survey-gathering, and project-managing other global initiatives. At the same time, I’m seeing interns and new hires grow and progress as I did, and I’m now part of supporting personal development experiences for others.

Atmus has taught me that I can handle big responsibilities. But I’m also close enough with my team, my manager and her manager to speak up in moments when I feel like I’m taking on too much.

Most of all, I truly feel that my work makes a difference. Everyone at Atmus has an important role, meaningful work and things that need to get done. The ways we trust, support and work with one another encourage the empowered culture that allows every Atmus team member to thrive.