What My Experience at flytedesk Taught Me
Hello! I’m Carly Civello, a rising senior studying advertising with concentrations in art direction and copywriting. Over the last 10 weeks, I’ve had the privilege of remotely interning at flytedesk. With the largest network of college media organizations in the country, flytedesk makes it easy for companies to purchase large campaigns targeting college students (like me and other students at Temple!).
I learned a lot about college media, startup culture, and the advertising world during my internship. Here’s what my awesome experience at flytedesk taught me and my advice to anyone starting an internship:
Be curious
The people at the company you’re interning with are devoting time to help you learn and grow as a professional— take advantage of every opportunity you have to ask questions and be engaged.
Flytedesk made it incredibly easy to ask questions and learn everything about the organization and startup life, and they provided many opportunities for professional development. My supervisor, Piper Jackson-Sevy, scheduled weekly one-on-ones, coffee dates with other employees, and presentations from external speakers. These meetings were the perfect time for me to ask questions.
Communicate and prioritize
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in a new position, especially when you’re working remotely. If you don’t meet with a supervisor daily, try to schedule a one-on-one with them to make sure you’re prioritizing the right projects. Communication and prioritization helped me stay on top of my workload during my internship.
At flytedesk, I had daily stand ups with my supervisor and other interns. These short meetings not only helped me keep track of project progress, but they also gave me the time to ask questions about any challenges I encountered.
Don’t take yourself too seriously
“We take the work seriously, but not ourselves,” is something I heard during my first week as an intern, and it’s something I loved about the culture at flytedesk.
To me, not taking yourself seriously means that it’s OK to make mistakes. This doesn’t mean you should be silly or unprofessional, but it does mean that you’re human and everyone you work with is a human, too. I’m so grateful I was able to get to know the incredible humans that make flytedesk what it is.
