My first outing with the Marketing Works team. We attended a cooking class!
It’s already the end of May which means that I’m over halfway done with my internship at Marketing Works. I’m not usually a fan of the cliché “It’s hard to believe that…” phrase, but it’s crazy to think that my time here is close to being over. It’s been an excellent first, post-grad experience and I’ve learned so much already. Here are the top three lessons I’ve learned so far:
1. Blogs take a lot of work, so plan ahead.
Writing the blog posts has been one of my favorite intern tasks, but coming up with topics each week hasn’t been easy. When I’ve planned topics out in advance, the process has been less stressful and more productive. Creating a list of working blog post topics is ideal to make the most out of your time.
I’ve gotten inspiration from scanning other marketing and social media blogs, watching the news and keeping up with my own interests. The trick is finding a topic, and then coming up with an angle or question to answer while providing valuable insight to our readers. This can take a while, but frequent brainstorming sessions to throw out ideas can help.
2. Find ways to break up the workday.
In college you’re constantly moving, physically and mentally, from one topic and task to another. In post-grad life you’re likely at a desk for the majority of your day. It’s important to find ways to split up the day so you stay fresh and productive. Here are some tried-and-true things I’ve done to make the day move along:
– Run an errand at lunch (But don’t go to Target EVERY day… I promise you will make impulse purchases)
– Take a walk around the parking lot
– Take your lunch to a nearby park
– Listen to music during less tedious tasks, and change genres throughout the day
– Sit in a different part of the office for the afternoon
– Work on a different computer or laptop for a while
– Change tasks every hour or so
3. You can learn anything about Excel from Google.
Seriously. I’ve worked on several spreadsheets at this point, and I started Googling how to do things instead of asking my coworkers every time (I had lots of questions and they’re busy people). It’s incredible what you can learn on the Internet. My Excel skills have expanded greatly just by looking up what I don’t know how to do.
What lessons did you learn in your past internships or your first job?