You get what you ask for

When I interviewed for the position of Account Management Intern I made it very clear what I was looking for. Since I believe that it is important for an Account Manager to understand how all departments work, I asked to work with as many departments as possible to prepare for a career. My employer was very helpful in making this happen, and within the first week I had already worked with many different teams on separate accounts. I soon became familiar with PR operations on both large and small accounts, with print and outdoor Media Planning, and was able to observe the creative team negotiating with the client about a specific project. However, the one area that I had little experience in was Account Management. After some time at the internship I had only worked with the Account team very briefly and was becoming frustrated with my lack of experience in the field. I felt conflicted, since I did ask for a broad experience and had received just that. Still, I wanted my internships to fully prepare me for my career, and could not do that without working in Account Management. I decided to ask my supervisor if we could meet to discuss my progress at the company, during which meeting I brought up this concern. He understood completely and explained that there was simply more work to be done in these other departments, but assured me that I would work more in Account Management in the near future. Of course, this happened and I have since had a depth of experience in my future field. I am happy with the way I dealt with the situation, but in the future I will definitely be more clear in what I am looking for, and try to think more about what I really need from and internship.

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