What I Learned from My Internships

First day of school is fast approaching and as I was looking at the schedule for the first year’s orientation, I realized that there is one thing that the incoming class will hear about besides “network, network, network” and that is “it is never too early to start looking for your internship”. As early as it seems to start thinking about internships in August, trust me, it is not! Now, that does not mean that you have to start interviewing right away. It just means that you should start thinking about what kind of internship you would like to land and start zeroing in on the company and a way to get your resume in front of the right people.

My goal this summer was to get as much meaningful marketing experience as possible, so I interned with three different companies – Pepperdine University, The Step Up Women’s Network, and Coca-Cola - learning about market research, online marketing, and business analysis. Based on my experience and search for the right internship, I came up with a list of ten things I learned in the process.

10) It is important to know what you want to get out of an internship before you start looking for one. I wanted a very structured internship that would allow me to get a lot of hands-on experience in different aspects of marketing and to have exposure to experienced marketers from whom to learn.

9) Talk to you friends, family, and your professional network about what you are looking for. I got two of my internships through friends and my professional network. The other one, I just contacted the company directly.

8) Tailor your resume to the position you are applying for and include relevant examples or work samples.

7) Set up informational interviews with people that are in the industry or the position you are looking for. These people will help you understand what skills you need and what exactly the position entails. And if they like you, they will become good contacts. A referral can go a long way!

6) Have the occasional introspective and honest conversation with yourself. Revisit your goals and assess where you are right now, then look at what you need to do to get to where you want to be and make it happen. Goals and views change over time and especially in business school when you become exposed to so many things. It is perfectly acceptable to change your mind and direction. That is what your time in school is for. Explore and find out what you like and want! It is better to do this while in school, rather than once you are finished or even worse, once you got a job.

5) Be open to learning new skills. The more you can do, the more valuable you become. A year ago, I knew very little about websites. Working with NAWMBA National as their VP of Website Development taught me a lot about html and content management systems, and that experience got me the internship with Step Up.

4) Think about what is more important for you: a big name on the resume, a good work environment, a meaningful experience? And make sure you pay attention to all that when you go in for an interview. Talk to people at that company and see if it is a good fit for you. More often than not, interns get full-time offers at the end of their internship, so make sure you understand how you fit in with the company and the position.

3) You never know what you do not know. Keep your eyes and ears open and you will learn a lot. People love to talk about themselves and about their experiences. Some do it because they just love to talk, but most people genuinely care and want to teach you. And that is great! Because that is when you learn the most. Why make the original mistake when you can learn from somebody else’s? And this takes me to number 2…

2) Find mentors that can guide you through the process of finding an internship, a job, or through life in general. I do not know how to tell you to find mentors, because so far for me, it just worked out. I have met people that I just clicked with and then they gradually became my mentors. The mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way street. Yes, usually mentors like to be able to offer guidance, but remember to be thoughtful and appreciative of their time and effort. It is a give and take.

1) Become a master of time management. You can pretty much do whatever you set your mind to do if you manage your time right. You will not be able to be the perfect best friend, partner, son or daughter while in school. But you will be able to balance all of that - even though it may be in a smaller proportion - if you set time aside for everything.

This is what I have got for you. In no way does this mean that I have everything figured out. But I am getting there! And if at least one of the points above will help you start figuring out what you want, then I am very happy. It will be a labor intensive process, but in the end very rewarding. Good luck!