What I Learned Interning at Brownstein During the Pandemic
The most exciting thing to happen this semester was landing my internship with the Brownstein Group. It’s been an agency I’ve followed throughout my advertising career at Temple, and when the opportunity to apply for an internship arose I knew I had to get my foot in the door. This is my last semester as a Temple student, and I’ll be graduating in May. As nerve-wracking as it is, I’m equally as excited for what lies ahead and can’t wait to see what the future unfolds, having been able to start my journey in Philadelphia.
Applying for internships is daunting, especially in this climate. My best advice is to be persistent. It can be scary and the fear of rejection is real, but it’s something we all experience and can grow from. Before landing my internship with Brownstein, I sent an application to 12 different advertising and marketing agencies and only heard back from a few. The interviewing process was entirely online, and this is where it’s important to stay enthusiastic, even through a call. It’s harder to make an impression when you’re not face to face, but don’t hesitate to show off your personality and find things you and your interviewer can both connect on.
I joined Brownstein’s social media team in February as one of three social interns and on the first day, I was met with warm welcomes. After being briefed on what my responsibilities as an intern were, I spent the next few days sitting in on calls, familiarizing myself with our clients, and most importantly, learning at my own pace. Remote work is a lot different from being in the office, and your only form of communication is through email and scheduled zoom calls. It can be tricky, especially with the many distractions of being home (like how cute your pets look), but it’s important to prioritize. Learn how to manage your time well, and work at a pace that aligns with your needs. When you’re stuck, communicate with your team. Emails aren’t as scary as you think!
Now that the internship is coming to an end, I’m extremely grateful to have been given this opportunity to learn from Brownstein’s social department. I feel more confident having this experience under my belt, and I’m ready for my next challenge: graduating.
Hi Amanda!
When reading this I totally related. The whole intern process is scary but you just have to be persistent. I am also a senior graduating this may. My internship was social media managing, we worked mostly through scheduled phone calls and a group chat. This was super hard to work with but the most important thing is to ask questions especially because we are working from home. It is hard to be clear over text or email so asking questions was something I had to get used to also.
Congrats on your internship and soon to be graduating!
Hi Amanda,
That’s SO cool that you got an internship with Brownstein! I’m sure it was especially meaningful since you had been following them for so long. I can really relate to how hard it was to adjust to a remote internship schedule, being home is distracting but you’re so right that the best way to navigate it was to work at a pace that suits you. My internship involved me doing a lot of research, which I normally don’t do in copywriting classes, so I ended up working at a slower pace than initially anticipated since I was doing something outside of my comfort zone. Sounds like an awesome experience and congratulations on graduating!
Hey Amanda,
I’m really glad you talked about how challenging and out of the “norm” it is to be working from home, especially in a new, or somewhat new field. I definitely experienced this, even though my internship was partially remote and partially in person. It was also this weird thing of being the new person and the intern, but at the same time people that have been there for years are also out of their element as well!
Hey Amanda,
From someone who has applied to many advertising, marketing, and PR agencies; I appreciate your honesty in the difficult process. I also appreciate that you remind us to stay enthusiastic during the remote application and interview process. I also one day strive to gain agency experience and hope that my internship this spring will lead to something similar to this opportunity. I agree with your emphasis on communicating with your team when you are having a problem. Too often interns fear disapproval from their employer or supervisor when they are confused, when in reality a supervisor probably appreciates your concern and willingness to ask for help!
Best of luck going forward,
Grant Rubin