As my three months at REQ come to a close, I find myself grateful for such an unforgettable experience. Before I go, I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned during my time here, and hopefully provide a little insight to others who might be thinking about pursuing an internship.
You will get as much out of your internship as you put in.
You have probably heard this saying a million times, but it couldn’t ring truer. The more proactive and engaged you are, the more you’ll get out of your internship.
There are a few things you can do. Reach out to your manager and team members and ask to sit in on meetings. Set up a 1-on-1 with the executive that you wish you could get to know better. Don’t be afraid to ask your co-workers to challenge you.
In doing these things, I took a risk, and it paid off tremendously. I was able to discover an interest in brand strategy, found a mentor in a co-worker I would not have crossed paths with otherwise and was tasked with writing my very first press release.
No one knows what you want to do, what you are interested in, or what you truly want to get out of an internship experience besides YOU. The knowledge you will gain from these kinds of opportunities is invaluable, but the only way to attain them is to create them for yourself.
It’s less about your skills and more about your willingness to learn.
While your skills may get you in the door, your willingness to learn is what will keep you there.
Raise your hand to take on projects you have never done or stepped up to join a new client account in an industry that’s completely new to you. Those are the things that will make you the person that people want to keep around.
I will leave REQ with experience in running social media accounts, redesigning websites, developing messaging documents, producing newsletters, creating media briefings on reporters, writing blog posts, and many more hands-on skills. While I am excited about all of the new skills I have learned, I am more excited about the confidence I have gained in knowing that I can take on projects that I have never tackled before.
We are in the business of relationships.
There is no better way to learn than to form relationships with the people around you. Every person you meet has the potential to impact your life or career in a way you may not be able to foresee. The people around you have a wealth of information that is waiting to be discovered. It is up to you to go seek it out.
I have formed relationships at REQ that I know will go beyond the scope of my internship. This time next year, I will have graduated from college and will be in the early stages of my full-time career. Although I cannot see the future and where I will be or what I will be doing, I am very confident that I will carry everything that I have learned at REQ along with me in order to Own What’s Next.
