Thanks for joining me! Today’s post will be all about how I became the social media intern at Stuller, Inc. My summer of 2018 was spent doing an internship that I loved, so I want to share my experience in case it helps you in your internship endeavors.
The expert in anything was once a beginner. — Helen Hayes
How Did I Discover the Internship Program?
As a college student, it is important to have access to information that could help you through your education. I have the privilege of attending a university that works to develop connections and opportunities for their students. In April of this year, my university hosted a small internship fair to give students an introduction to some of the internship programs available in our area. It was here that I stumbled upon Stuller’s booth. I recognized a woman working the booth, Hannah, because she shops at the grocery store where I work. She introduced me to her boss, Crystal, who would be in charge of the program. They informed me that this would be the first year that they had a formal internship program instead of just separate interns that never meet and chat. I asked them to give me as much information as they could so I could apply. This was the beginning of my journey at Stuller, I just didn’t know it yet.
How I Snagged the Position
This section is where you can find the most useful information that I can give you. Let me first stress that you NEED to have a well-written resume. There are plenty of guides, format examples, and even websites with step-by-step instructions to create a good quality resume. I used the website resume.com to make my own, and it worked out for me! Now, this is only the first step in getting that internship position, but it is one of the most important.
The next step in my application process was to actually actively apply for the position. Stuller is an international company, so they have a career page on their website that I visited to begin applying. They had a list of intern positions and it was at this time that I noticed the social media intern position. I knew that this was the position I would apply for because I hope to one day write my master’s thesis about social media and business. This would be a great opportunity to see how a large business uses social media to connect to their consumers. The application was long and detailed; it took so long to fill out all the nitty-gritty details they were asking for, but I got there eventually.
After I sent my application, it took about a week for me to get an email asking me to schedule an interview. Man, did that week feel longer than it actually was. I was so excited though. The interview is daunting, but it is very important in order for the company to get a feel for you and vice versa. My best advice for an interview is to dress for business. This makes a great impression and shows the interviewer(s) that you want to put in the effort to make that great impression. I wore a black pencil skirt, a cream-colored, long-sleeve blouse, and had natural makeup with a ballerina bun to top off the look. To my surprise, the three people that interviewed me were wearing mostly casual clothing. Yet, my overdressing is better than arriving under dressed.
Now, before I even went to my interview, I did research about the company. I found out information about the company’s beginnings, their customer base, their vision statement, their mission statement, their values, etc. If you can show them that you put forth the effort to learn about the company, then that shows that you put in the work necessary to get ahead. I even looked up the software mentioned in my application and watched tutorials on how to use it. I’ll talk more about that software later. All of these preparations made me more informed and less nervous about the interview. They also helped me to create my own list of questions for the interviewers, which I highly recommend. In most interviews, they expect questions about the company, the position, the people, etc. because it means you are showing a real interest in the position. I’m telling you, if you combine these tips with a good attitude that internship will be that much easier to achieve.
What was the Internship Like?
I LOVED my internship at Stuller. The company prides itself on making their employees feel cared for and appreciated; I was just an intern, and I could feel that sense of caring when I was there. As you walk through the halls everyone will smile and wave, if you ever get stuck on an issue there are several people there that will jump up to help you, they even throw events to show how much they appreciate the work their employees do for them. It felt like a big family while I was there, especially in the marketing department where my internship took place.
Stuller’s internship program was intended to make sure that the interns had each other to lean on during the experience. We would all meet up occasionally to talk about what we were working on or what we had learned so far. This gave us such a sense of inclusion and many of us still keep in contact to this day. The program also made sure that we had a specific mentor that we would work under.
My mentor, Kristyn, was the only person working on Stuller’s social media accounts. She was desperate for an intern that would take some of the load off her shoulders and I was more than happy to do that for her. Kristyn and I grew very close over the course of the summer, and I still message her to check in on occasion. She taught me so much about how social media works from a business perspective. I learned how to use a social media software called Hootsuite which was so interesting to learn about. It was fun being able to just schedule social media posts when I started my day. I would schedule for their three main accounts on many different platforms. They were Stuller Inc., ever&ever bridal, and GemVision. Each had a Facebook and Instagram, but some had a Twitter, a Pinterest, and even a LinkedIn. It was my job to make sure things were posted on time.
I was also responsible for taking some photos and videos at an event Stuller held while I was there. Several times a year they host Stuller Bridge, which is an entire weekend for customers to come and learn some new skills and check out some new products. I took several photos of customers using GemVision software and some sparkling photos to show off our glistening gemstones and jewelry.
My main responsibility while I was there was to handle ever&ever social media. I had to find photos on their database that I would then crop to the proper size for the platforms. The fun, but also hard, part was to write funny, cheesy, or trendy captions for the photo. I really enjoyed some of the posts that I contributed to. I’ll include some screenshots from their Instagram so you can see the work I did. The most time-consuming part of ever&ever was logging their 132 products into their Facebook shop so they could have a shoppable Instagram and Facebook. I spent about 14 hours logging every ring they have in their bridal line. All of this though was a great learning experience that taught me a lot about how I’ll have some jobs in the future that might be tedious and repetitive, but they are just as important as the big projects.
The internship also included a field trip of sorts. Some local public relations, marketing, and advertising agencies in Lafayette throw a Social Media Day event. This event is all about learning how to better your business’s social media presence through educational presentations. This year, my mentor gave an advanced class about creating a story on social media; it’s not about being perfect, it’s about making real connections with your followers. I was really proud of how well she did. The entire communications team went together, including my fellow intern, Claire, who is now one of my close friends. It was a great experience and gave me some knowledge to use in the blog post I had to write for Stuller’s blog.
Yes, I said a blog post. It was similar to what I am writing now in that it was more of an interactive feature story about disappearing content. For those that aren’t sure of what that is, you can click the link to read about it. I’m just kidding, but really you should click on the link! To give a brief explanation, disappearing content can be seen in Snapchat and Instagram stories which only stay posted for 24 hours and then disappear. I had to write a blog post to help our customers, jewelers, to better their social media in their own business. So, I did a week’s worth of research on the topic, and I was so proud of the final product. The thing is, by the time the copy editors and the gentleman who runs the blog were done with it, it was barely even my words anymore. That’s the reality of working in marketing, public relations, or advertising, though. Despite this, I was sure to share the blog post with all of my friends.
All of these assignments and responsibilities gave me an introduction to the real world and a real job. The experience is one that I am so grateful for, and the people I met are some of the best people I have had the chance to get to know. Stuller treated me so well during my short stint there, and I am excited to reapply for this upcoming summer. Hopefully, they have me again, which they did invite me back, so I am feeling good about it. I would love to work under Kristyn again and learn so much more from her and the rest of the communications team.
If you guys have any more interest about my internship, then be sure to ask some questions in the comments below! Let me know if any of you want to see another blog about the internship if I do it again in 2019.
Chats with Hayley 