A rewarding internship in a field unknown

When looking for companies to intern with, I had no idea what to look for. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to intern in my major concentration, account management, or if I wanted to take a different route. What I did know was that I wanted to intern with a reputable and larger agency. As I received an email in my inbox one morning from Dana Saewitz, our major’s internship coordinator, I became curious. I saw an internship opportunity listed with Harmelin Media for media buying and planning. I had taken one course in media planning and had somewhat of an idea but not enough knowledge to be fully confident that I would consider pursuing a career in it. I was afraid of math and number crunching (which I had learned is an important skill in buying and planning) so I partly shied away from the idea. I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy such a position. Boy, was I wrong.

I ended up applying for the internship because I thought, “What better way to find out what you like then to experience it?”.  I luckily received the invitation to interview and was not yet sure what to expect. After getting lost driving around an unknown town, with the nervous jitters, I at last landed upon Harmelin. My interviewers welcomed me and did a fantastic job explaining what media buying and planning was. During the interview it became very obvious that the employees loved their job. I became even more excited and hopeful that I would receive the internship position. The interviewers mentioned how it really takes a special person to work in media buying and planning. They expressed that you really have to have a passion for it. I loved the idea, because as most other students, I was confused about what direction to go in a career and questioned if I had passion. Or if I had a passion, if I was pursuing the right one! Through their explanation of the field and their duties, I started to really picture myself in media buying and planning. Of course, I didn’t know THAT much yet but I was sure eager to learn.

I was very lucky and happy to have received an internship offer from Harmelin. Upon my first day, I became a sponge. I learned so much the first day that I didn’t think there could possibly be any more to soak up. Dramatic, but true. I was also very wrong about this notion. Every single day I learn something new, and exciting, and COOL. I can honestly say I never thought I would look forward to the two days a week I spend at my internship. I even expressed my love in a tweet one day : “I wish I could spend everyday at my internship”.

I have come to love so many things about the field. I love that you are constantly working with all different types of people. I love that you are doing a different task many of the days. I love that even if you are a seasoned vet at buying and planning, you still can learn something new everyday. I love how a lot of buying and planning is a puzzle. It’s a puzzle that you are trying to solve in order to benefit your clients. I love that you can make a difference. Most importantly, I have learned to love NUMBERS. Although I have not done anywhere near the magnitude of the awesome things that the employees of Harmelin do, I’m more excited than ever. I plan to go confidently down a path that ultimately leads me to a career in media buying and planning. It feels amazing to finally be one of those students who say “I know exactly what I want to do”.