As I came home for Christmas break I began one internship at TP Mechanical, where I expected to remain. To my surprise I got to work with their marketing company, The Deciding Factor, which I knew little about.
On my drive over I began to get nervous, asking myself questions like how big is the building? How many people work there? Will they like me? Will I know what I’m doing?
After I passed the building multiple times, due to my own personal problems with navigation. I came into an adorable office space with five of the friendliest people I have ever met at a company. I immediately began to feel at ease, after a tour and introduction to everyone, I instantly began learning about what The Deciding Factor does.
I began my day with client product database entry. I have learned a lot about websites in college but I had never done anything with databases. I thought to myself what am I doing here? I don’t have this kind of experience. My thinking quickly changed after I was given instruction and was constantly helped when I needed anything, by the end of the morning I was a pro at entering data.
I was honestly sad when I had to leave because I was so excited about learning something new and useful that I wanted to know more.
The next day I came back with bagels, which was a crowd pleaser. I had to bring them something at least! Although bagels don’t show my gratitude enough. I wasn’t even a true intern for their company, yet they were willing to give their time to me, to teach me, help me, explain things to me, to get to know me and make me feel comfortable.
That second day I was given more fun tasks. I got to research, write, and help create newsletters for companies. I learned how the back end of a website works, how Google AdWords works, and how much work and collaboration between employees it takes to make marketing a company successful. You can read about collaborations, how it takes the combination skill sets and ideas for a rebranding or the building of a brand to be good. In my two days as an intern at The Deciding Factor I have learned more than my textbooks can ever teach me. I saw how every member of their team is so important, how much time they spend as a group rather than just five individuals.
My whirlwind of an internship at The Deciding Factor was an experience I will not forget, it will help me in the decision of what I want to do with my Public Relations degree when I graduate. It has also showed me what kind of company I will hope to be at, one that is truly a team and a family. They care about more than just the work they do together I learned that at the team lunch we had. I would encourage anyone that has the opportunity to intern here to do so!
