At ZSuite Tech, we recognize interns as integral members of our team, contributing significantly to our drive for innovation and success. This blog post explores the powerful impact of internships on both the interns and the companies that host them. Here’s a guest post from our marketing intern, Rhett, who has become a key part of our team. Rhett shares his journey and experiences, highlighting how internships can turn academic lessons into real-world skills, and why aspiring professionals should consider these opportunities essential for their career growth.
By Rhett Whiting
Intern Rhett here! Back in January, I connected with the Chief Marketing Officer at ZSuite Tech to get advice on internships and jobs. It turns out they had just had a position open and as a small tech company were willing to have a current Marketing student with some great experience (me!) fill the gap for a semester while they fill the role. In this internship, I have been able to engage in marketing strategy, assist in advertising campaigns, and create new copy and collateral, and it has been a blast!
I get 60-90 minutes of daily face time with my manager. First, there’s always a standup; it’s super helpful to see what other teammates are working on in a collaborative space where I can ask (newbie) questions. Then we review tasks I’ve completed. Finally, she walks me through any new responsibilities she’s assigning me. I’m a freaking marketing professional! I have “sole” responsibility for parts of multiple projects: Reporting on marketing metrics across multiple platforms, posting on social media channels, creating long-form information content, and assisting with the marketing positioning.
I might create a LinkedIn marketing campaign before lunch then create content for our website in the afternoon. When she asked me to create original content about a new market our company is targeting, I will admit to being a bit overwhelmed. My work needed some polishing, but I took her feedback and adjusted a few things and Boom! Nailed it.
As a GenZ-er I love being able to “edit” a note after I’ve sent it in Teams– how did the previous generation live with only email?! I see my manager having that same experience when she assigns a task to me – except I provide feedback and ask questions and improve the idea. Then when I deliver my work, she has another opportunity to review and “edit” the output (and prep me for my future career.)
I expected to be given simple, low-impact tasks and have routine work to complete. But I was wrong! Instead, I've been assigned projects that truly matter, making a real impact on our brand and content. I've been encouraged to learn new skills, given books to deepen my marketing and strategy knowledge, and even participated in strategy meetings to help plan our company's future marketing and sales efforts.
This internship has been invaluable to me, the skills I have gained and the room I have been given to succeed (and fail) have been amazing. My internship brought together the marketing classes I have taken and has shown me how to apply them in real life and not left as a class project or grade in the gradebook. So, if you're a college student, a recent graduate, or just making an industry change, apply for an internship!