Woah, I’m halfway there.

Since I am almost halfway through my internship at Philadelphia magazine, I thought that this would be an ideal time to write a blog post about my time there! I cannot believe I have already been working there for a month and a half. I picture myself on my first day. I had no idea where the back issue room was, how to create a recap, or what in the world a counter card was. Now, I am able to navigate my tasks like a pro 🙂

I am learning so much about how a sales department functions in the magazine world. My job is basically to help them in anyway I can. This means that some days (like the ones a week or so after we ship the magazine) are pretty slow. Not much stress. The sales coordinators are slowly collecting contracts for the AEs, everyone is relaxed.

Then, there are the days right before and right after we ship the magazine.  During these days, the sales coordinators and even the AEs themselves are asking for my help. I need to help them create a mock up of the magazine, fact check last minute ads, and send the finished copies to different clients. It is crazy, but the whirlwind makes time fly and keeps me on my toes. What’s great about these days is that there is so much to be done that I get to learn more than I normally would as more tasks need to be handed off to me. A great example is those recaps I mentioned. One of the sales coordinators used to be an intern and said she hadn’t done them while she was interning, but got permissions from my supervisor to let me do some of them. They are basically a presentation showing the client all of the advertising they did with us throughout the year.

Experiencing all of this intensity is fine for two days a week, but I have come to realize that sales might not be the right fit for me. I don’t think I could handle that kind of stress 5 days a week (and, in the case of some of the staff, seven days a week). I think that my mind has been made up and I will pursue the copywriting track. Creative stress fuels me, but the sales kind of stress (with budgets and all of that) drains me.

Many of my coworkers inspire me. None of them treat me like “the intern.” They all treat me like a valued team member. The one that I feel most in sync with is one of the sales coordinators. She was sitting at my desk just a few months ago when she was interning in the spring and now she has a full time job. I aspire to have the same success that she has had. It’s amazing that she is working full time in her industry so soon after graduating.

This experience is more than I thought it would be. Sure, there are times when I have to makes copies or print things, but I am also an active member of the team. I am not going out on a Starbucks run or picking up anyone’s dry cleaning (my stereotypical view of an intern). I am actually learning about the operations and what is important to make a sales department run. I am loving it and I can’t wait to learn even more!