For my LINK Internship, I worked with Marketing Concepts Squared to grow my knowledge of marketing and business management. Coming in to LINK, I found that my organizational and critical-thinking skills proved to be useful, specifically when given small tasks to complete for my mentors. However, I also developed some skills during LINK. For example, my self-confidence and adaptability sky-rocketed! Initially, when I was told I would be conducting client meetings on my own, I was terrified. Regardless of my feelings, however, I just did it. After a few client meetings, I became more comfortable with individual meetings. So comfortable, in fact, that I was able to calmly conduct a meeting with four of the top employees of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.
I found that my biggest challenge was becoming comfortable with client meetings and interacting with business owners on my own. Initially, due to my lack of self-confidence, I found myself nervously taking photos for business owners, feeling very self-conscious. By the end of my internship, I was able to easily and comfortably walk around and photograph businesses. Additionally, as stated above, I also became more comfortable interacting with business owners and clients after only a few meeting. Towards the end of my three weeks, I even found myself proposing in-person meetings with businesses not related to my LINK, something I would not have done before, as I have always preferred to communicate over email. I think that I was very valuable for my mentor and that interns are extremely useful to small businesses. I was able to finish up many assignments that my mentor had not had the opportunity to accomplish yet. This included taking photos for businesses' social media pages, making lists of upcoming events, and contacting clients to see if there is any way they would like us to improve their marketing. Through internships, both parties benefit, as the intern is able to gain experience and grow, and the mentor is able to receive free help. I feel that my internship has helped me get closer to finding my desired career path by simply providing me with more experience and understanding of marketing. Even though I am not passionate about social media management after my LINK (as I had hoped I would be), I now know that I should keep searching for my preferred career. I also know that I wouldn't mind doing social media management, but that there is probably something else out there that I would enjoy doing more. The more I experience possible careers, the more specific my career search will become, hopefully resulting in a job that I am happy to do every day. |