How to nail a marketing internship
Interning at Marketing Eye is no easy task, but is often rewarding and highly valuable in the competitive job market - many of our superstar marketing and graphic design interns have ended up securing paid work for us.
While we've heard horror stories of other agencies taking advantage of their interns by making them fetch coffees or run personal errands, Marketing Eye invests time in our interns and arms them with requisite knowledge that will help them stand out of the crowd.
Want to nail your own marketing internship, or feeling nervous about starting a new one? Check out our pointers below.
While we've heard horror stories of other agencies taking advantage of their interns by making them fetch coffees or run personal errands, Marketing Eye invests time in our interns and arms them with requisite knowledge that will help them stand out of the crowd.
Want to nail your own marketing internship, or feeling nervous about starting a new one? Check out our pointers below.
Respect the organisation and its staff
It's important to follow the chain of command in your host organisation and recognise the formal and informal reporting structures within. The golden rule? Never go around, behind or over anyone. If you have a question, go to your direct supervisor first. Each staff member has been at the organisation for longer than you have, and has a greater understanding of their role and the company than you do. By respecting them and maintaining a pleasant demeanour, your colleagues can help you accomplish your goals if you make a good first impression. Don't be surprised if you don't get along with everyone in the office - remember that you and your fellow interns/co-workers don't have to be friends, just focus on building a strong working relationship.
Part of this respect also includes dressing the part. Marketing is such an eclectic industry; nailing the perfect outfit can often be tricky. Our tip: Dress professionally on your first day and check out what everyone else is wearing. If jeans seem to be kosher, then follow suit. But remember - no rips or tears, please!
Have realistic expectations
Some interns come in and are disappointed in the occasional amount of down time, thinking they would be meeting with clients or dealing directly with the media. As valuable as interns may be to a company, paid staff members are often busy and find it a challenge to delegate or train interns in their tasks - sometimes, it's just easier for us to do it ourselves. Be a self-starter and find something productive to do. If you've completed a task on time, create your own work and research the company, staff and its goals. Constantly asking your supervisor for things to do may show how keen you are, but could be disruptive if they have to stop their work to deal with you - why not look on industry-related publications/websites/blogs and surprise them with an informative article that they've never seen?
Set goals
Estabish a list of goals you want to achieve through your internship. This could be anything from writing a press release or helping set up/manage social media accounts for clients. In order make sure you work to your strengths, communicate with your supervisor and tell them what you want to get out of your internship. Work to your strengths or improve an area of weakness
Communicate with your supervisors
This goes both ways - if your supervisor gives you a task that you don't understand, just ask them to clarify. We've all been there and understand it may be scary or intimidating to ask what may seem like a silly question, but's it's always better to get the job done right the first time, instead of doing it wrong and having to redo it again.
─ Eliza Sum
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comments ( 11 )
Wayne Song
18 May 2017This was a great article to assist interns in understanding what they should to do in their positions, what they will expect to and what they may gain from an internship.
ReplyPerdie Bargh
30 Jul 2016I'm so happy I discovered this article. The need to be independent and self-motivated within the work place is such an important issue to highlight in regards to internships. In order for an internship to be successful the company ought to gain as much from the intern as the intern will gain from the company.
ReplyYildiz Gorkem
28 Jan 2016Very informative and helpful article, a great point was letting interns know the fact that sometimes consistently asking for tasks from their supervisor can work against them, and encouraging them to work autonomously in the right direction could be beneficial for their supervisor and in further developing themselves. Having this information would thoroughly aid interns throughout there internships.
ReplyAdriana
13 Mar 2013Incredibly helpful article! Attentive to detail which for someone like myself who can be quite paranoid with their work, really appreciates. I believe that for one to be successful they need to be surrounded by the right people and through setting goals it can definitely help with further growth.
ReplyMelinda
04 Mar 2013The internship application process can often be daunting as you have no idea what to expect, especially if there is little to no information specifically provided for new interns. This article was both reaffirming and enlightening, arming us with the basic to-dos at a new internship. I've learnt that being proactive and open to feedback are two key areas for making my own experience valuable and enjoyable.
ReplyMireille Kas-Hanna
03 Mar 2013Wow this article was fantastic!! The pointers are greater and I myself could utilise them in the future. Some notes mentioned are real eye openers for any future placement I am take on. Great work.
ReplyLuis Torres
01 Mar 2013It is true that the goals should be about what the intern wants to achieve, but to me this is a two way street. Interns can have place on a company not only because they want to learn and gain experience but because employers let them and expect something from them.
ReplyThen, I believe that supervisors and managers play in important role on setting the goals given their expertise on the area, being able to evaluate specificity and strategy, and state evaluation methods and deadline.
Melanie Gray
27 Feb 2013These are such good pointers. I strongly believe that good communication skills are essential for both cooperating within a team and also to establish good relationships with clients. Furthermore, I believe showing your own initiative shows not only dedication but that they fully understand their expectations and are aiming to make a good impression.
ReplyMark Bull
27 Feb 2013Very helpful article. An important part of self development and learning in an internship is seeking feedback and advice. Its important to be proactive not only in finding tasks to do and asking for help but also to seek advice from your supervisor and try and learn as much as possible from the people you work with.
Replymina arsala
26 Feb 2013im doing one at the moment at Marketing Eye and really enjoying it.
ReplyLong Do
26 Feb 2013I could not agree more with the article. I believe to be success in an internship, we need to be self-active. Other than asking for things to do, we also need to look for things that need to do ourself. We also need to make sure that we always observe others and put aside our ego to listen the their opinion to develop ourself.
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