It is hard to believe that four months has blown by, and our spring internship is coming to an end. Congratulations to all of our interns as they graduate college this month.
For their final Intern Notebook blog, we did a round robin exit interview to get their perspectives on the internship and what comes next.
A huge thank you to Gabby Milacki, Chris Huk, Jack Marinello and Tom Carroll for all of your hard work this semester. You truly had an impact and will be missed. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
Question 1: What is the most important thing you learned during your internship?
Gabby: Always carry a notebook! I remember my first day in the office sitting down in the conference room with Chris, Jack, and Paige for a meeting. Paige asked us where our notebooks were and we all just looked at each other… She then got up from the table and said she needed to grab something. When she came back she had three notebooks in her hand. From that moment on I’ve never gone a day in the office, or remote without writing something in my notebook.
Tom: The most important thing I learned during my internship was how to adapt quickly to a fast-paced working environment. Classes move at a predictable speed, week in and week out, you know what you’re signing up for. At DSG, no two days are the same and it’s critical to stay prepared for anything that might come your way.
Jack: The most important thing I have learned from DSG is that there is always room to grow and learn new things. I learned that you need to ask questions to succeed. Sometimes it can be hard to ask because you may think it might sound dumb. “There are no dumb questions,” is what we were told on day one here.
Chris: I learned how a digital marketing agency functions, how one can be successful within a digital marketing agency and master the skills and technology necessary for that agency to be successful as a whole.
Question 2: Now that you’ve been exposed to the many different functions and services of an agency, where would you see yourself best fitting in?
Chris: I can see myself fitting in many areas, however I think my strengths lead me to somewhere within the Paid Social, SEO, or reporting and/or analysis of either of those services. I think my attention to detail would come in handy when working within one of those three areas.
Jack: I would say the Search Engine Marketing team is the best fit for me because it brings out my creative side. I really enjoyed thinking of Ad Headlines and descriptions for a client. I thought Google Ads was very interesting to learn about because before my time at DSG, I never really thought about it.
Tom: After being exposed to the different sides of an agency, I think I would thrive in two different areas. One is internal marketing for the agency itself, including social media content and website development. I also think I would excel on the client side, playing a role on a specific account and being a part of the team.
Gabby: I would see myself best fitting in the content creation side of an agency. I participated in many different projects during this internship that I was not expecting to be exposed to. It really opened my eyes to all the different options there are in the marketing field. I found content creation for a digital marketing agency across various platforms including social, blogging, website and even podcasting to be particularly interesting.
Question 3: Was there anything you found surprising or unexpected about working at an agency?
Jack: I would say the most surprising thing is the multiple departments within a marketing company. It may sound weird, but I always envisioned a marketing agency that is all focused on the marketing side of things. Whereas many companies have a marketing department. At a marketing agency, there are so many different roles and responsibilities within.
Gabby: Something I found surprising was how many behind the scenes team members there are from all over the country. I didn’t expect that before coming to DSG. I was also pleasantly surprised with the environment of the agency. Everyone was always extremely friendly and helpful.
Tom: I think one thing that stood out to me was the role technology played on a daily basis. Not necessarily software that helps assist campaigns, but more in a sense of communication. Having people work remotely in different states, emphasizes how big of a role communication and technology have in everyday agency life.
Chris: I was surprised about the wide variety of clients DSG works with. I got to hear from many people from all types of industries. I think that’s my favorite part of working at DSG. There’s something different to dive into each day.
Question 4: You have all written several blogs and your writing skills have clearly improved. Imagine now you are going to write a book. What would the title be?
Tom: “Behind the Screens: Life as an Intern at a Digital Marketing Agency”.
Chris: If I was to write a book, I think it would be about how quickly time flies now. I feel like college just began and now I am graduating. If I was to give it a title, it would be “Flashed Before My Eyes”.
Gabby: If I had to write a book about my experience as an intern my title would be “Stop Stressing and Start Learning”. In the beginning of my internship I was constantly getting in my head when creating content or writing blogs wondering if something I did would be incorrect. I eventually realized that critiques and corrections are how you learn.
Jack: I have always wanted to write a book about my experiences. If I went back and wrote a book from my time at DSG, I would probably call it “Find Your Mark,” because from the beginning of my time here, there were many different opportunities that I could focus on. I eventually found my mark by starting up the first ever podcast for DSG, CareerTracks and ran with it for many months.
Question 5: The floor is yours and we value your input. Any parting thoughts or insights you would like to share?
Gabby: Thank you to everyone at DSG for the time and confidence you put into Tom, Chris, Jack, and I as Interns! There was never a dull moment in the office, and we were always assigned a task. I have learned so much in such a short amount of time that I will continue to use in the future.
Jack: When accepting this internship at DSG, I was unsure if I was a fit for a marketing position. Give yourself time to learn and grow and you will flourish. The people I work with at DSG are caring and supportive towards their interns. It did not take long for me to feel like I was truly part of the team here. I will miss the people the most and hope to find a job remotely close to what my experience was at DSG.
Chris: If I had any advice for the incoming interns at DSG this summer, I would say to talk to everyone you have the chance to. Everyone here is very welcoming and nice and there is something different and interesting to learn from each of them. It may be intimidating at first, especially when everyone starts mentioning abbreviations you’ve never heard, but you will have a lot of fun once you get into the swing of things.
Tom: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed interning at DSG for the last 18 months, I could not have asked for a better experience. Big thanks to Paige, Mike, Michael, and the rest of the DSG team who played a big part in my development and enjoyment as an intern. I’m excited to be joining the team full-time as an associate, following my graduation from the University of Delaware!