Gaining the necessary real-world experience that is needed for most careers can be incredibly challenging. Most companies require 3-5 years of job experience which can keep many college-age men and women from even attempting to apply to certain positions. If you are a college student or a recent graduate, a word of advice would be to treat your education as the needed real-world experience through avenues like internships, clubs, and organizations.

In this blog, I will be going over my experience as an intern at Vision Advertising, what you can expect to learn, and how your internship experience can help to narrow down career direction and help you land that dream job.

Internship Advice and Expectations

Everyone has expectations about their future. Sometimes our expectations can be helpful, but other expectations can lead to disappointment and discouragement. Here are some tips on how to make the most of any internship while holding healthy expectations:

• You Get What You Put In: Not all internships are glamorous or flashy. The sign of a dedicated and successful professional is one who does not give up or get discouraged when certain expectations are not met. Treat any internship as an opportunity to learn and to improve your skills.
• Practice Humility: No person knows everything. Whether you have little experience or are a seasoned professional, acting like you know everything will keep you from asking questions and learning from those you work with. In fact, most employers prefer soft skills that prove you are willing and excited to learn rather than those who might seem like they know it all.
• Invest in Your Network: The importance of networking should never be downplayed. Investing and growing your professional network will increase opportunities, be mutually beneficial, and will improve influence in any job field. Internships are a great way to start building a network of professionals to give and receive advice from. Additionally, consider creating a LinkedIn to continue professional relationships remotely throughout your career.

The Experience at Vision Advertising

The work experience at Vision Advertising can be described in three words:

• Challenging: Expect to be challenged. Through tasks such as blog writing, web design, social media, client-facing meetings, and more, I was able to be challenged each day by trying new things and finding my niche.
• Productive: In an advertising agency, there is always something going on. Some days I wrote multiple blogs to reach deadlines for our clients, and others I did quality analysis of new website content as well as other small site updates. I can say with sincerity that every day at Vision, the team produced tangible services and products to our clients.
• Fun: Work hard play hard. I was told that phase on my first day and it rang true on my last. From client sponsored ice cream parties, to birthday celebrations in the office, expect to not only learn and grow as a professional but to have fun while doing it. Check out another blog here to learn what happens behind the scenes at Vision Advertising.

Post Internship at Vision Advertising

Before I even graduated, my internship experience at Vision helped me land a full-time position as a project manager in my university’s IT department. As a post-intern at Vision Advertising, it’s been an honor to continue to network with the team via LinkedIn and to see them grow as professionals. If you’re seeking to improve your skills and grow your network, don’t hesitate to apply. Vision Advertising is always looking for ambitious, diligent, and enthusiastic interns who are teachable and willing to learn.

Editor’s Note: While Caleb has moved on from his internship, if you’re interested in talking to him about his experience, you can reach out to him on his Linkedin profile here. We wish him all the best!