Starting the Internship: The Intern Series

It’s no secret that employers love seeing internships on a resume. Outside of showing the obvious — you have relevant work experience — it also demonstrates your drive and passion for the field. Nowadays, finding an internship is all but expected for college graduates, but it’s having the right  internship that’s really key. Our interns, Olivia and Sofia, are here to chat about their internship with Be Social and how it’s prepared them for life outside the classroom. Olivia is a junior at the University of Colorado Boulder (studying Strategic Communication with an emphasis on Public Relations and a minor in journalism) and Sofia is a sophomore at Loyola Marymount University (double majoring in Communication Studies and Journalism with a minor in Public Relations).  

See part one of our Intern Series (How I Got The Internship) here.

What teams have you been working on and what has been your favorite project so far?

• Sofia: I have been working on the talent management team my entire time here. My favorite project was working on Becca Tilley and Witney Carson’s blog posts. It was so fun to research about what the two have been up to in their daily life and collect pictures from the event and share it with the public. I got to use my own creative ideas and put them into life with all the blog posts I created. There are so many variables that go into blog posts for influencers’ and it was fun to be behind the scenes and see everything that goes behind them. 
• Olivia: I have been working on both the digital team and the influencer team. For the digital team, my favorite project has been helping with the Sensationail summer campaign and preparing for the launch on Instagram. I’ve enjoyed creating the posting grids and learning about the process of social media launches as well. For the influencer team, I enjoyed helping with the planning of a retreat that a brand planned for their brand ambassadors. It was super cool to learn about what goes into these types of events and how it all comes together.  

Has there been any surprises during your internship?

• Sofia: As an intern, I thought I would be given “busy work” to start on, but I was incredibly surprised about how much real work I was given off the bat. They let me take authority; before long, I was personally reaching out to brands for collabs with influencers. I would research intel for my team for new talent as well. It was just incredible to see that the work I was doing mattered, and was beneficial to the rest of my team. 
• Olivia: I was most surprised to see how much responsibility and real work I was given, especially in an intern position. It came as a positive surprise because, in some internship positions, the interns don’t get as much exposure as they’d like but I’ve been extremely fortunate to get a great experience and responsibility.  

What has been your most valuable learning experience? 

• Sofia: The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to proofread everything you send. Not once, not twice, but three times. You are representing your company and taking a few minutes before you hit send can save some big errors down the road. When in doubt, you can always have someone else check your work.
• Olivia: I’ve learned to really pay attention to the details. Especially when doing community management, it is easy to miss a negative comment or forget to comment back. I’ve learned that social media presence is extremely important for brands and if they aren’t active or if they aren’t engaging with their followers, it can be bad for the brand. I’ve also learned that it doesn’t hurt to ask questions! Asking questions allows you to learn more and get the most out of your work. 

What has helped you succeed in your internship?

• Sofia: What has helped me succeed in my internship is being eager to do more. I never like to just sit at my desk and stare at the wall so I always ask my team what else I can do to help them in any way possible. I strive to get all my tasks done by the end of the day and be efficient when using my time here at the company. 
• Olivia: What has helped me succeed in my internship has been my want for the experience. I originally started with the digital team but felt like I wanted to gain more experience in other areas as well. I asked if I could expand across teams and I worked within the influencer team as well which has really benefited me throughout the whole internship. 

What’s something you didn’t expect? 

• Sofia: Something that I didn’t realize was all the work that goes behind an influencer’s brand. They are constantly collaborating with brands, planning out details for a trip (it’s not all glitz and glamour), editing blog posts, and planning out content for social media, and etc. They can’t do it alone — so that’s where we come in, to maximize their talent and reach 
• Olivia: I didn’t expect how much time and effort it takes to be on the digital side. It can be a lot harder when dealing with followers and people on social media since you are behind a screen and it isn’t face to face interactions. I’ve learned that the digital portion of brands and branding is extremely important and valuable to a brand’s development on social media platforms. 

Image by @privacypls