3 Reasons Why Being an Intern is Important for Success – Baer Performance Marketing

Blog post by: Michelle Hofacker, Baer Performance Marketing Intern

Being an intern can be a daunting experience, especially if it’s your first time in a professional environment. As an intern, being the “new guy” in the office can be hard, and you have to prove to your new coworkers that you deserve to be there. My internship with Baer Performance Marketing has been a great learning experience and has given me a lot of perspective on the amount of dedication and teamwork that takes place in the marketing industry. Learning about marketing in the classroom is one thing, but actually getting the chance to work for a marketing agency and be part of a team is the real deal. As the saying goes, “you need experience to get experience,” which is why having an internship is extremely beneficial for landing a job after college, growing your skillset, and much more. Read below for three reasons why internships are vital to a college student’s success in the future:

You can acquire endless amounts of education in your life, but that knowledge doesn’t always translate well to working in a professional setting. Internships offer you first-hand exposure as to what it’s like working in the real world. During my time at BPM, I have had the chance to work on numerous projects for actual clients, all of which gave me a glimpse into what I would be doing in an actual marketing career. Coming into this internship with little marketing experience, I was able to learn an abundance of new things, while also growing the skills I had already learned in my classes, both of which will set me up for success in my future.

Confidence – it’s something a lot of people struggle with, especially interns. Internships not only help students build their measurable abilities, but soft skills as well. Whether it’s through public speaking, giving presentations, or suggesting new ideas, internships help build confidence allowing you to grow as both a worker and a person. During my BPM internship, my coworkers allowed me to get creative with my assigned work while also providing me with great feedback. A combination of these two things helped me build confidence by truly making me feel I was an asset to their company and the work I was doing was important to them. Confidence is key in the professional world, because if you don’t believe in yourself … who will?

Networking is an extremely important part of the professional world. Networking can help interns make informed decisions about their career and connect them with other professionals or opportunities that will help them succeed in their future. During my internship at BPM, I was given the opportunity to grow my network by building connections and forming relationships with my coworkers. Though networking can seem intimidating to some, it can be as simple as striking up a conversation with a coworker or adding them to your network on LinkedIn. Each new connection you make can lead to another, and before you know it, you’ve built a solid network of professionals.

Being an intern helps students develop important skills they will need to be successful in the real world. As a marketing intern at BPM, I was able to learn lifelong skills that have helped me grow not only professionally, but personally as well. Be on the lookout for internship openings with Baer Performance Marketing, and don’t forget to subscribe to the BPM email newsletter to stay up to date on all things marketing!