Am I Doing This Right?
It’s been eight months since I started my internship at Stream Companies. If you said I would get up at 8:00, make coffee, wave good morning to my parents, and then go to my office (bedroom), I would’ve thought you were crazy. But I didn’t mind, even in these strange circumstances. There was a learning curve though. I was happy to get an internship in something I was interested in, even though I had no knowledge of the subject. SEO is only three letters, not too daunting of a title. But the training was a little intimidating. There’s so much you can do in Google Ads/Analytics I could study it for years. Luckily I only had to learn the basics. The most intimidating part was the certifications. I was told “no pressure, but you can’t really do anything until you pass these tests.” A very relaxing statement. But I did pass! And all was well. I felt like I passed the first hurdle of my internship. But that didn’t mean everything was smooth sailing.
There’s only so much a certification test can teach you. Stream has their own business format, specific clients, and specific workflow. In the beginning I fumbled, a lot. I would use the wrong keywords, input the wrong budgets, and write full reports only to have them returned with revision requests. It certainly wasn’t a good feeling. I was really trying and didn’t want to look like I was a rookie at this kind of stuff. But that’s exactly what I was. I think one of the biggest takeaways from this internship was the importance of humility and asking for help. There’s always going to be something new to learn in every job and everyone starts at the bottom. I of course got the hang of the workflow after a brief period of trial and error, but if I could go back I wouldn’t have worried as much.
I’m part of a great team, although we haven’t formally met. There’s Geno, Izzy, Ashley, Katie, Bill, and me of course. And they’re all happy to help, and not afraid to ask for it either.
Hey Max, glad to read about your experience. I also had a lot of trouble getting over the fact that I was a rookie and that I would have trouble until I learned the ropes. No one starts at a full sprint, and those who do tend to burn out early on. I agree in this pandemic-living that the internship didn’t quite take the form I’d been expecting, but I still think it went better than expected – hope you feel the same. Cheers
Hey Max! You bring up a lot of relatable feelings that an intern experiences when they first enter a new job. I felt the same way about being a rookie and making a bunch of mistakes, but as you said, it’s all a part of the learning process. You only learn by making mistakes and asking questions. Keep up the good work!
Hi Max! I feel like you said what we are all thinking. Starting a job, even in something you are earning a degree in, is extremely intimidating. Especially with something like SEO, where you can never really know it all. I also had an internship this semester where I really had no prior experience in what I was doing. However, I think those kinds of experiences really do teach you a lot. I am sure you are leaving your time at Stream feeling like you got something out of it and learned not only the skillset of SEO, but also that no task is ever too big or too scary. As cliché as it is to say, you really can do anything you put your mind to! Best of luck to you in the future.