About 18 months ago, I was standing in my college dorm kitchen with my friends, who were stressing about finding internships for the summer. At the time, I hadn’t given an internship much thought. I had assumed I would get a decent job and was intimidated about the idea of getting an internship because I was constantly being told that freshmen do not get hired. But I thought, why not give it a try? Worst-case scenario: I get rejected, and I get a job somewhere else.
I reached out to Carla Briceno, CEO of Bixal, who I had run into a couple months prior. Back then, I told her about my major — international relations — and she encouraged me to reach out if I ever needed career help. I sat in my college dorm kitchen and called Carla to ask if she knew of any available internship positions. She immediately asked about my interests and told me that she would do her best to find me an internship at Bixal. I was so appreciative and surprised that someone would put so much trust into a first-year college student, much less be incredibly supportive of my goals and interests.
The COVID pandemic hit a few months later, and I was pretty sure my internship was lost. There was a lot of uncertainty, and plenty of my peers already had lost their positions. However, I reached out to Carla about the plan for my internship, she reassured me that my status with Bixal was still in place and that the company would be happy to have me. I was so relieved and felt lucky.
My summer months working as a communications and outreach intern at Bixal grew into a full year. I loved the job so much that I decided to continue part-time during the school year. During my time at Bixal, I was tasked with many exciting jobs. I completed research, helped create a marketing plan, worked on writing Bixal biographies, and crafted a strategy for social media engagement!
Of most interest, I supported Bixal’s blog transition here, to Medium.com, the blog platform intended for digital publishing. I functioned as blog coordinator and essentially led the blog development process, approvals and publishing.
As my internship comes to a close and I leave to pursue new challenges, I also walk away having learned these six key lessons to succeeding in an internship:
1. Find a healthy work environment.
I learned what it is like to work in a welcoming environment, in a culture where coworkers support each other and celebrate individual accomplishments. For example, Bixal celebrates new hires, birthdays and work-anniversaries in the shared Microsoft Teams channel. It is a small gesture, but one that makes me feel seen and appreciated. Furthermore, my supervisor did a great job of introducing me to coworkers and making sure they were aware of my role at Bixal. I became a presence and started to build a name and reputation for myself. I want to thank Bixal for allowing me to feel comfortable to do so.
2. Explore your capabilities.
I am now more aware of what I’m capable of because I was open to learning new things, even if they are not exactly what I am studying academically. For example, I became a marketing and communications intern even though I am an international relations major. I worked hard to learn the necessary skills for my position. Namely, in the first few weeks of my internship, I worked on reading the “One-Page Marketing Plan” by Allan Dib. By doing so, I was able to draft a marketing plan for Bixal that was implemented at scale. As long as you have a good writing sense, are self-starting and well organized, a lot of doors will open for you!
3. Apply learned skills to future jobs.
In a similar vein, I learned new things I had never heard of before, but proved to be beneficial for future job applications. For example, using Medium.com as a blogging platform helped me receive a job offer for a research assistant position at William & Mary. The research assistant position needed someone with blogging knowledge, and I had plenty of background with that working as a the de facto blog coordinator for Bixal during the internship. A career path isn’t always linear and the skills you develop today will help you land the job you want later. Experience, in any form, is invaluable!
4. Ask more questions!
I learned how valuable asking questions is — So don’t be afraid to ask questions! In fact, sometimes you may even be told to ask more questions. Sometimes it feels burdensome to pepper the higher-ups with questions. However, asking questions ensures you do your work correctly from the beginning, instead of beginning assignments only to realize halfway through that you misunderstood the instructions. Figure out what you can do on your own, but realize it is better to clear up confusion than to make a critical mistake. Asking questions means you’re intuitive, curious and detail-oriented, all of which are qualities companies are looking for in candidates.
5. Know that everyone is doing their best.
I learned that professional adults are trying to figure out life the same way interns are. Sure, we may have different concerns and priorities, but by speaking to and interviewing several coworkers, I realized everyone is simply just doing their best. I realized that many people get burned out by the back-to-back virtual meetings like I do. I realized everyone runs into technical difficulties. I even realized that other people have day-to-day problems, like not knowing what running shoe to wear. The moment you understand that everyone is simply trying to make it work, just like you are, the more you become comfortable talking to and writing emails to the leadership. This way, the job becomes less intimidating and creates a sense of confidence that you can channel into things outside of work.
6. Communicate your thoughts.
Finally, communicate what you like doing and what you don’t. Of course, interns often are tasked with mundane tasks and monotonous assignments. I had my fair share of those. However, iIt is important to recognize that each task serves a purpose. It is work that must get done for the organization to run properly. Sometimes you get assignments you enjoy, so ask for more of those! My supervisor at Bixal was incredibly accommodating and worked with me to help me find projects I liked doing and reassured me that they would find more work for me when I built that trust.
Overall, my time spent working at Bixal was a wonderful opportunity that allowed me to meet phenomenal people and expand my professional skill set. I learned lessons I will apply throughout my life and career.
Working with Bixal has given me a certain level of confidence that I know will help me succeed in future endeavors and I would recommend anyone curious about digital marketing and technology to reach out — they just might have something for you!
