When a window closes, a door opens
Isn’t it funny how sometimes life gives you unexpected opportunities? The pandemic started and threw all of our plans away, but sometimes a door closes so a window can open.
In March of 2020 I got an offer for an exciting, paid, summer internship in an agency in Philadelphia, but by May it fell through because of COVID and I saw myself in an agonizing situation. I had just finished the Spring semester classes, was unemployed and back at my parents’ house in the suburbs, with no plans for over three months of Summer. After spending hours on Handshake looking for paid and remote opportunities within the advertising world, endless interviews and many different cover letters, I ended up receiving an internship offer that would not be possible if the pandemic never happened.
Since June of this year, I have been interning at a business consulting company based out of Boca Raton, Florida. The position was initially meant to be in-person but was changed to be remote, which led me to apply! After a few months, I got an extended offer to continue serving as a Data Analytics and Digital Marketing for Orion Business Consulting.
In the beginning, I had a very specific focus on digital marketing and analytics, as the job title calls for, but as the months passed by I gained more responsibility. By now, I oversee the social media of two different brands, create content for both Instagram and Facebook, work with influencers, organize giveaways and continue to work on E-Commerce platforms such as Amazon and Walmart along with their advertising sites.
As most students, I dream in working in a big multinational company, in which I am exposed to different cultures, have the opportunity to travel and work in a variety of brands within the diverse portfolio of clients. The company I currently work at is the extreme opposite of that. However, it has given me the opportunity to explore a great amount of areas within the business, exposing me to challenges and training me into being used to remote work- a very important skill during these weird times.
Working at OBC has also made closer to my goal of working towards the Latin American community here in the United States. Both brands I oversee inside the company are from Ecuador, and it is very special to learn about the difference in culture and marketing rules in both countries.
Overall, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity of getting a paid internship during a global pandemic. I am sure that I will take everything I learned during the past 6 months to the next stop in my professional career. And I got to eat a lot of chocolate also!
Helena, this sounds like such an amazing experience! Seeing how much responsibility they gave you, you are clearly a valuable asset to your organization’s team, of which you should be very proud. Wishing you the best of luck on your next steps.
Wow! By the sounds of it, this seems as though this internship was a great opportunity and setting you up perfectly for your time after graduation! It is so amazing when it comes to how much you learn from experiences like this. I can for surely say that based upon my internship experience, it seems as though I have learned so much more than what school could ever have taught me! The exposure to all of these things (In your case, communicating with influencers, creating content, and handling e-commerce,) really give you a small taste of what’s to come. It is so exciting! Best of luck to you girl!!!! 🙂
It is crazy how something so catastrophic can be turned into amazing opportunities. I have friends that have the same thing happen to them with internships and jobs. With the idea of working remotely has opened doors for so many businesses and created more opportunities all around.