Intern Series: Professional Advice Takeaways
As summer winds down and school begins again, our dedicated group of interns reflects on their experiences in the industry for the past several weeks. We at The AD Club have no doubts that this remarkable bunch has a very bright future ahead. Here’s what they’ve learned…
One piece of professional advice that I will carry with me is to create my personal brand and follow through with it. Put myself out there and don’t be afraid of trying something new or pushing the boundaries a bit, because that is what will make you stand out. – Jenny Gandhi, Senior at University of Maryland College Park, Internship with Verizon
The biggest piece of professional advice that I will carry with me from the AD Club is my ability to create my own niche. Even though no particular seminar focused on this completely, every lesson I learned involved making myself unique in the advertising world. I understand the importance of specializing myself in my own brand and am motivated to determine and develop this brand through my career. – Brian Finkelstein, Junior at University of Massachusetts Amherst, Internship with Havas Worldwide Strat Farm
At the beginning of the summer, my mentor told me to take advantage and make the best of every opportunity that comes my way this summer. As an AD Club intern, I had the chance to explore various options within the industry. Taking his advice, I tried to meet as many people as possible — not only at networking events, but also within my internship at Deutsch. I decided to put myself out there and schedule meetings with individuals in various departments throughout the summer — and even had a one-on-one with the CEO! This has not only allowed me to learn more about the industry in general, but also expand my network–which I will definitely carry with me as I approach post-grad life. – Julia Cohen, Senior at Brandeis University, Internship with Deutsch
One piece of professional advice that I will take away with me was given from EVP, Director of National Broadcast at Initiative, Kris Magel. One piece of advice he gave that resonated with me was: to be great at something. Magel identified the beginning years of any career are the times to explore different divisions and areas of focus within the industry. However, he strongly advised that one important goal, as a learning professional, should be to become an expert at one thing or one focus of your career. I greatly appreciated this idea because as he suggested, it is easy for people to remember and want to work with a person who is very well-versed in one specific field. He did not undermine the idea of being a well-rounded professional who is skillful in many ways, but did emphasize the importance of arriving at one specific focus that can be most concentrated on when growing as an employee. So as I graduate from this internship program, I will carry away this idea of becoming great at one specific thing so that I can execute my skills and efforts towards becoming a reliable and respected expert. – Abby Vigdor, Senior at Loyola University, Internship with Verizon
“One piece of professional advice that I will carry with me will be the importance of self-branding. In order to enter a desired industry, it is necessary to communicate your personal story in order to demonstrate to others how you personally can benefit that industry. This can be done by telling your story and establishing a brand for yourself through social media such as LinkedIn or Twitter, or through one-on-one conversations with members in the industry.” – Jack Piontkowski, Senior at Villanova University, Internship with Microsoft