Since my first day at Media Link, I only had my background in Sociology to add to the team. I was not familiar with marketing; I knew what it looked like, a few tricks that would work for influencers, but I knew nothing about how to make it as a business. I honestly did not have much to add to the team aside from my understanding from the individual versus the market. Marketing felt like a foreign language to me when I first came into the office, now it feels like something I should have been speaking my entire life.
Now, I have gotten the chance to expand what I know and what I can do with my major in the real world. I even had the chance to expand my understanding of small businesses and how they can all connect in a single city for an agency versus a corporation. I want to acknowledge the great opportunity they still gave me, even while a pandemic was ravaging the planet. That taught me a valuable lesson in organization and crunch time. When I finally was able to return, we had plenty of work to do since the pandemic started. This taught me to stay cool under pressure and look to my senior staff for guidance. It also taught me to always ask questions. I am only twenty years old, so there is no way I have all the answers. Plus, the people in my office all come from different backgrounds and may have different strategies that can work in situations where I was stumped. Getting to work through this has also shown me what it can look like for an agency when the rest of the economy has fallen into a deep recession and how it can affect small town living and business. I believe this experience has helped me develop genuinely as an adult, but it also was a great chance to improve my skill set in terms of marketing, organizing, and branding for businesses and individuals.
I am excited to see what my work will look like a year from now with the skills I have gotten since working here at Media Link. I am planning to use the experience I received here in marketing to move in a direction towards talent acquisition. It might seem strange to go this direction with direct contracts with hiring staff for temporary jobs or full-time jobs, but the purpose of this strategy is to achieve my end goal of being a Producer. When I say I want to produce, I mean I want to be that chance for someone to put their creative vision out in the world. I hope when I am working for myself, I can produce Video/Film for Music artists, Movie/Film writers, and market individual clients or groups creative such as graphic designers, animators, and painters. The recruiting background will help me find staff or temporary workers for whatever I need to produce, such as camera operators for films and mixers for musicians. I have already dived headfirst into learning as much as I can about the area of Film and Media during quarantine and I have even added a minor to help me learn at my college before I graduate. One day I dream that I can own my own studio, so I can do all of these things in one place. I would then take my team to some of the worst-off places in the States to give those kids an opportunity to be successful.
I recommend future interns pay close attention to smaller businesses, because a lot is happening and you will have an opportunity to prove yourself in many ways. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, even if this is your first internship. This is how you get better at your job. Finally, ask questions. Everyone in the office is here to make you a better advertiser for the future. Do not be afraid to use the resources and people that are here for you to learn.
Josh is a student at Augustana College and has been working with us for the past year! His blog talks about his experience working with us throughout the pandemic and gives some advice to other Marketing Interns.
