First I’d like to apologize for my rather long absence from blogging. With now picking up a second job in addition to my internship, and balancing my classes and extracurricular activities, writing hasn’t been the first thing on my mind. Today, however, I’ve had a thought for a few weeks now and decided to sit down and express it.
I’ve been interning at the Exploreum since November and it’s been a great experience. I’ve expanded my social media knowledge, networked with influential people in the area, learned a little bit about advertising and made some great references. Most internships last a semester or maybe two. When I was hired, I was told it would be about 10-12 mos. that I was guaranteed a position there due to the length of the BP Horizon Marketing grant. Originally I planned to stay through summer and start a new internship in the fall; however, a new opportunity has come about and it’s made me question if it’s worth staying anymore.
Here are three red flags that I believe are signs you’ve achieved all you have needed in your internship:
1) You aren’t learning anything new.
An internship is intended to teach you and either help build upon skills you already have or introduce new skills. For example, my internship has taught me a great deal about social media. I’ve learned how to set up a content schedule, when is the best time to post and how to interact with the audience. At this point now, however, I feel as though I’m only doing social media because my boss is so busy with other things that he just gives me the basic. Although I love the pay and the people I work with, I only have so much time left before I need to start applying for jobs and I need to make the most of it.
2) You don’t feel necessary.
Every Monday morning we, or should I say they, have experience meetings. I’ve never been able to be a part of them because, as Josh says, some of the information is “private.” This never bothered me too much until I realized that they talk about what’s going on for the week and it might be important to include the person who is running all of your social media and promotion (a.k.a. me!). Also, everyday I go in and sit at my desk and pretty much just make the internship work for me; I do the social media schedule and then check my email. That’s it. If I want any more work to do, I have to go ask Josh because it’s rare when he will come to me and give me something to do. Now don’t get me wrong; I have done a lot for the Exploreum over time, but so much of it could have been done in half of the time I’ve spend there.
3) You immediately think of leaving as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Just yesterday I got a call from my property manager at my apartment. First, let me give a little background. I’ve lived here at these apartments since they opened two years ago and I’ve built good rapport with our property manager, Carron. A few months ago they were looking for someone to do some office work and I needed a second job so I interviewed for it. Long story short, they ended up not hiring anyone at the time. The call I got yesterday was Carron offering me a leasing consultant position! Immediately I thought of leaving the Exploreum for the reasons I listed above. Logistically, working where I live is convenient, I’m getting paid the same and I wouldn’t have to use any gas. Since my internship originally was offered to me for 10 months I’ve really debated leaving because of questions such as, “But this job doesn’t have to do with my major right? Maybe I’ll start learning new stuff soon.”
The moral of this post is that your time as a student is precious and internships should fill that time offering new experiences and new skills. If you’re to the point, like myself, where your internship isn’t giving you what you need, then your time is being wasted. Even after writing this I already feel confident in my decision to leave the Exploreum. I just have to remember that this experience did have a place in my life, but now it’s time for a new one. Until next time, bloggers!
Intern Life: Making it in the World of PR 