A Day in the Life as an Intern at StyleScriptTM
A blog by: Julia M Reidbord 11605103
February 26th
Interns are often portrayed as youngsters, begging for experience in a field of their personal interest. Some start at the bottom with a lush dream of working hard and long enough to make their way to the top, being promoted to their dream job position and eventually (and ideally) sip their morning coffee as they comfortably stare out the window of their gorgeous all-glass office building with a stunning view of whatever city the office is located. Other interns, also starting at the bottom, do not have such luxuries, and unfortunately remain stuck at the bottom. They are given tedious tasks such as buying paper for the printer or fetching coffee for the whole team– and if they’re lucky, they get to listen in on meetings with new partners or distantly watch an exciting presentation by the new head of marketing!
But if you are like me— and consider yourself neither of the two mentioned above— being an intern means learning so much more than what the internship organization has to offer. Of course, I did learn quite a bit: I wrote a business plan, gave live and pre-recorded demo sessions, connected with new clients, and used my research skills and foundational knowledge in the communication science realm to help StyleScript redirect from B2B to B2C. But besides the numerous tasks and activities I was given and assigned to, I acquired a number of additional skills that I know (and can proudly admit) I will take with me along my career as a communication scientist and working woman.
Of course, presentation skills are always valuable, but I was blessed with a theatrical natural tendency and colorful personality (alongside my absolute lack of fear of public speaking or meeting new people). But adaptability, learning to take constructive criticism, and thinking quick-on-my-feet, are some skills I definitely acquired during my time at StyleScript.
Sometimes, things simply do not go as planned! And no matter how frustrating that may be, this should never discourage you from trying again. In fact, use it as fuel to do even better the next time around! During meetings with my boss and supervisor, we would often brainstorm new ideas we came up with in our own time and see how to best apply them to StyleScript’s new business plan model. Some weeks were better than others; one week, I had the most brilliant idea, other weeks I simply could not think of anything! Some weeks my boss loved the ideas, and other weeks he would tell me to go back and look into X, Y, and Z and come back the following week with a new-and-improved brainstorm. I sometimes took this as defeat, but the more he and I discussed, the more I learned to take his criticism constructively! Simply because he did not agree with the idea never meant the idea was poor! It just wasn’t a good fit, and you have to think what is best for the company! Not only that, but if I spent hours thinking of an idea for a brainstorm meeting, only to hear that it was not along the lines of his vision, I learned to quickly adapt and change my idea (without discarding it entirely) to better fit his!
Everyone can bring value to the table, even an intern! By simply accomplishing your tasks on time, maintaining professionalism, and consistently communicating with your authorities while reminding yourself to still have a bit of fun here and there, I can assure you that your time as an intern will not only be educational but memorable too.
Best of luck, and perhaps I’ll see you in the all-glass office, coffee in hand– although I must admit, I prefer tea anyways 😉