experience matters

Emily Bontje | Critical Mass Calgary

A whole new crop of interns has invaded CM, across the Calgary, Toronto, and Chicago offices recently. There are currently 28 of us, in every department, ranging from high schoolers to twenty-something career changers.

The wily bunch of CM interns from our Calgary office.

Around this time of year, this is common in the ad industry, with most agencies offering an internship program to share practical examples of the lessons learned in university classrooms. Since I have now been a CM intern for over 6 months (time flies!) I started a list of tips to help new interns get the most out of their summer internship adventures. (A hint: They all revolve around learning as much as you can and having the right attitude!)

Here is my top ten list to help interns succeed:

1. Learn about the company. Whenever I had down time, I spent a lot of time checking out CM Work and creative reels to learn about some of the projects that happened long before my time. I particularly loved the work we did for Gucci and Budweiser; it really reinforced for me what a cool company this is! As well, learning about how the entire company works, rather than just your particular role can really help verify what you do and do not want to do when you’re finally ready for the full-time position.
2. Learn about the industry. If you have time in your first few weeks, browse the agency Library to see what the rest of the marketing world is thinking about. Read industry books and blogs from the likes of David Ogilvy, Howard Gossage, and Luke Sullivan to increase your knowledge and get your wheels spinning.
3. Learn about your client. Scour the website. Watch out for their advertising. Learn about their products. Listen when friends and family talk about their experiences with that brand. This immersion will help you become a brand advocate who is more passionate about what you do.
4. Learn as much as possible about your position. Understand where you fit in the project process. Ask your team for suggestions on useful tools and resources to do your job efficiently. One particularly helpful suggestion I can give is to re-read your job description after a month to see how it compares to what you’ve been doing, and if there are areas you haven’t yet gotten into where you can offer to help. Observe everything, keep your ears open and ask for feedback.
5. Start making friends. Not just at the company, but network with the vendors and partner agencies you work with. And make sure you have at least one solid relationship in every department. This will really help you when you need to figure out how a program works or what file type you need. When people know you they are also more likely to respond to your urgent emails for help. Being so outgoing may not be easy for everyone, but it’s amazing who you can meet in the lunchroom, at a group yoga class or at social outings…networking is not only for people outside your company!
6. Make yourself known. For me, here at CM, my presentations at Frideas and my blog posts for Experience Matters have helped me leave my mark, but even sending out the weekly status report will get your name out there.
7. Embrace every opportunity. As an eager new intern with available time, you may be asked to help with projects and tasks outside of your daily job description. Go with it–maybe you’ll learn that the Insight and Planning department is where you belong.
8. Roll with the punches. Relating to the last point, every request can be an opportunity. You might be asked to work a weekend or stay late to help finish a project. Go with it. These are some of the best opportunities to really contribute, to prove your dedication and most importantly, to keep learning!
9. Be a source of positive energy. The agency life can be very fast-paced and when a project is down to crunch time, you may feel the tension in the air. Don’t allow the stress to get to you and rather be a helpful, positive light for those who are under the gun. As my very wise Performance Manager once told me, we are not curing cancer. We are putting tiny pictures on tiny screens. This is not always easy, but if you are a positive person others will want you around. As well, by remaining positive, you’ll avoid every saying something you’ll regret. Agencies are way too small and too social to ever say anything you don’t want repeated!
10. You’ve heard it before, but… Never be afraid to ask questions! This is a learning experience. No one will fault you for wanting to get things right and soak up as much as you possibly can.

Any additional tips from our more established readers to help industry interns get the most out of their experiences?

How about any of my CM peers who have kernels of wisdom for future generations of CM Interns?

Emily is an Account Management intern in the CM Calgary office, working on Nissan and Infiniti accounts.