Intern at Marketing Partners? The Inside Truth

[1] last week, and in the cartoon section was a comic strip about the working conditions experienced by a student intern from Duke University. The humor is in the ever-so-slight(?) exaggeration of the intern experience.

Expectations

I was an intern at Marketing Partners in Burlington for four months. This was my first internship, so I had no idea what to expect. Actually, I had no expectations from personal experience, but I did anticipate my time in the office would be filled with menial tasks and a sense of worthlessness based on internship experiences of friends and family members. The perception of interns in comic strips such as the one mentioned above only added to my apprehension.

Straight Shooter

I like to give my honest opinion, and I am not one to sugarcoat my true feelings. Fortunately, I have nothing critical to say about my experience at Marketing Partners; it was a fantastic internship! From the beginning, I was tasked with a variety of projects that required creativity, intellect, and critical thinking. My supervisors, Nicole and Pam, gave me enough responsibility to make me feel like an important part of the team, but never to the point of anxiety or stress.

The Work

During my internship, I have edited and written news releases for clients, researched an array of client-related issues and topics, and learned how to write effective social media posts. I was also taught how to use and understand the media monitoring software, BurrellesLuce, the press release distribution service, PRWeb, and the public relations software, Vocus. One of my favorite features of Vocus was its live chat feature, which enabled me to talk to an agent via an online chat window so I could get help easily if I needed it.

The Smile and Nod

Before I started this internship, a close friend offered me some advice. He graduated from Stanford University last year with a degree in both Economics and International Relations and had had three internships under his belt. He advised me to, whenever someone was explaining something to me, feign comprehension and understanding by doing the “smile and nod”. Otherwise, he warned, I’d be viewed as inept and maladroit. However, I’m happy to say that I never had to use the “smile and nod” at Marketing Partners because everyone with whom I worked was very patient and never made me feel dumb or incompetent for making a mistake or not understanding something right away. The friendly atmosphere at Marketing Partners enabled me to be honest about what I didn’t know.

No Coffee Runs

Contrary to my preconceived expectations, my internship at Marketing Partners turned out to be a great experience; I learned a lot, everybody treated me as an equal, and I never once had to go on a coffee run. Thank you to those I worked most closely with — Pat, Nicole, Pam, Alec, Steve, and Dave!