Last week was the highlight of my internship. While I am an intern for the Career Development Office, the majority of my focus has been spent on an event called The Professional Forum. This is a premiere event focused specifically on Liberal Arts Students. The forum was an all day event including: company presentations, panel discussions, career/internship/graduate school fair, as well as a formal networking event at night. My job throughout this internship has been to promote the event through various marketing and advertising campaigns.
Last week, The Professional Forum finally came. I was very nervous before the event started, wondering if our efforts would be successful. I was confident that we had done a wonderful job marketing the event and students were aware of the resources available to them at the forum. I was very proud of a promotional campaign I instigated, which was handing out 500 fortune cookies to students that read inside "Find YOUR fortune at The Professional Forum" and gave details about the event. I got great feedback from students and felt it was an excellent way to advertise our event.
Unfortunately, we got off to a slow start on the morning of The Professional Forum. There were not many students attending the company presentations or the panel discussions, which I found to be disappointing. I felt these were the most beneficial part of the day and I learned a lot by attending. This is something I believe we should focus on next year... promoting these discussions and networking opportunities so students can benefit from the knowledge of employers.
After the panel discussions, I was able to network with many of the companies attending the Forum. We went out to lunch and discussed in depth the opportunities available for Purdue students. I received wonderful feedback from many of the recruiters who loved the format of the event and were excited to sign up for next year. It was great to know that the recruiters could see that this was a premiere event and were impressed enough to reserve a place for next year.
Then came the career/internship/graduate school fair. This was by far the most successful part of the day. We had great attendance from Liberal Arts students who were excited to be at the event. I was pleased with the amount of students who showed up, and also felt that the majority of attendees were polished and professional. This speaks to the success of Lisa and Kate's pre-forum workshops, explaining how to properly behave/dress/network at a career fair. I know personally, I had a lot of success at the career fair and made some wonderful contacts. I heard great feedback from the recruiters, saying they found potential candidates and were impressed by the Purdue students.
One thing we need to work on for next year with the career fair is promoting the graduate schools. I felt that many students didn't realize that there would be such a large number of professional schools. I am thinking a good idea for next year would be to create a brochure, almost a book, highlighting companies, jobs, schools, and internships. These should be handed out before the event so students have an adequate amount of time to prepare for the event.
Finally, there was the professional networking event at night. This was a unique opportunity to meet with recruiters, by invitation only, and get to know them on a more personal level. I think this was a great opportunity and hope that next year, more recruiters will stay and network with students.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of The Professional Forum. Though there are many changes to be made for next year, I was impressed and pleased with our premiere event. I think that in the future this event will continue to grow and become widely known and anticipated among Liberal Arts students.
On a side note, something that this event helped showed me was my passion for event planning. I really enjoyed organizing the details of the day and helping make the day successful for Lisa, the recruiters, and the students. I think event planning is a wonderful field that this internship exposed me to, and I am interested in pursuing it further.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
My First Weeks...
When I received the internship as a Liberal Arts Career Development marketing intern, I had no idea what my role was going to be in the office. Was it going to be a coffee fetching, copy making internship? Was I going to be prepared? Did I have enough training?
These anxieties were cleared up within moments of meeting my team of interns and staff. Over the past 6 weeks, this internship has shown me that the only way to really learn about your field of interest is by abandoning your insecurities and diving in head first. This internship has given me the freedom to explore public relations in a professional environment, and shown me that I am in the right field.
My main focus in this internship has been brainstorming marketing and public relations techniques that will target the Liberal Arts students. I have found this task to be both challenging and rewarding. As a student, I am very aware of what advertising my peers will absorb. Knowing how they respond to marketing techniques, I have been attempting to brainstorm unique ideas that will help them understand The Professional Forum and hopefully persuade them to attend.
These marketing techniques include customized fortune cookies that explain how the students can “find their fortune” at The Professional Forum, unique handouts folded like business shirts, and a large banner to hang in the main liberal arts building. I think that these projects will raise student’s awareness of the event and encourage them to attend.
I have been pleasently surprised as to how my ideas are being received by the other interns and staff at Career Development. It is very reassuring to have such positive reinforcement and support, knowing that I am on the right track. This internship has shown me that no idea is too outrageous, and it never hurts to try. It has also shown me that I am in the right field and will enjoy and succeed in marekting and public relations as a career.
One of the greatest things about the internship so far has been the team I am working with. We have such diverse talents, interests, and skills. I have learned so much watching the other interns and have a great deal of admiration for their strengths. Ashley, the other marketing intern, is incredibly skilled at recruiting companies to attend our career fair. She is very personable and is able to cold call companies and promote our event. I admire her ability to do this, and have found through the internship that this is not my strength. Angela, the art and design intern, is very talented and knowledgable in the area of graphic design. I often approach her with design problems, and she is able to solve them in a matter of minutes. Together, I think the three of us form a unique team, whose strengths compliment eachothers.
I am looking forward to the coming weeks, anxious to see how the event takes shape. I feel that we have put so much effort in to making The Professional Forum a successful event, and hope that these efforts are reflected in company and student participation.
These anxieties were cleared up within moments of meeting my team of interns and staff. Over the past 6 weeks, this internship has shown me that the only way to really learn about your field of interest is by abandoning your insecurities and diving in head first. This internship has given me the freedom to explore public relations in a professional environment, and shown me that I am in the right field.
My main focus in this internship has been brainstorming marketing and public relations techniques that will target the Liberal Arts students. I have found this task to be both challenging and rewarding. As a student, I am very aware of what advertising my peers will absorb. Knowing how they respond to marketing techniques, I have been attempting to brainstorm unique ideas that will help them understand The Professional Forum and hopefully persuade them to attend.
These marketing techniques include customized fortune cookies that explain how the students can “find their fortune” at The Professional Forum, unique handouts folded like business shirts, and a large banner to hang in the main liberal arts building. I think that these projects will raise student’s awareness of the event and encourage them to attend.
I have been pleasently surprised as to how my ideas are being received by the other interns and staff at Career Development. It is very reassuring to have such positive reinforcement and support, knowing that I am on the right track. This internship has shown me that no idea is too outrageous, and it never hurts to try. It has also shown me that I am in the right field and will enjoy and succeed in marekting and public relations as a career.
One of the greatest things about the internship so far has been the team I am working with. We have such diverse talents, interests, and skills. I have learned so much watching the other interns and have a great deal of admiration for their strengths. Ashley, the other marketing intern, is incredibly skilled at recruiting companies to attend our career fair. She is very personable and is able to cold call companies and promote our event. I admire her ability to do this, and have found through the internship that this is not my strength. Angela, the art and design intern, is very talented and knowledgable in the area of graphic design. I often approach her with design problems, and she is able to solve them in a matter of minutes. Together, I think the three of us form a unique team, whose strengths compliment eachothers.
I am looking forward to the coming weeks, anxious to see how the event takes shape. I feel that we have put so much effort in to making The Professional Forum a successful event, and hope that these efforts are reflected in company and student participation.
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