Trial, error, and a lot of coffee

As I look back on my experience as an intern at Brian Communications I realize the importance of asking questions, networking, and having a tough skin. I am sure many interns had the same experience as me when they first started their internship, they were timid and thought that their ideas didn’t matter. The first point of advice that I have is that if you speak up people will listen. Advertising is all about bouncing ideas off of one another and it always helps to get a new perspective on things. College students offer a unique perspective and your ideas and opinions will be valued by your superiors. My second point of advice is that no task is too small. Take whatever project they give you, however trivial it might seem, and push it as far as you can, If you don’t know how to do something ask questions and don’t be afraid to be wrong. Trial and error will make you grow as a person and show the people around you that you are legitimately trying and want to learn. Even if you’re just getting coffee get coffee the best way that you can. The next point of advice that I have is to try new things. If you have the opportunity to branch out into different areas of the agency always take it. It will be a great learning experience. You might learn a new skill and even realize that you really enjoy doing something else. Also take very opportunity to sit in on meetings as you can. Any type of meeting is always portrayed as being mundane and boring but if you go into them with a good attitude and open ears you will always have the potential to learn something. More times than not your boss or the owner of the company is going to be a smart person who has an extensive knowledge in business, communications, or just valuable insights on the world. They all started in the same place that you are which is something that is important to remember. Just make sure that you get to know who is in charge of the agency. You will be surprised from how much you can learn from them and how good of a connection they will be once you graduate. The last point of advice that I have is that get the same level of enthusiasm as you had when you get the email that you landed the internship. Some days it will seem mundane and some days you will feel overwhelmed but you need to sit back and realize that you are exactly where you want to be. If you stay excited and realize that you’re bettering yourself and it is all a learning experience your experience as an intern will be much better and you will gan invaluable knowledge from your work as well as your coworkers.