Out of all the blogs I’ve written this semester, this blog was one of the toughest. This is partly due to the challenge of summarizing months worth of experiences in one blog, but also because this post brings the nearing end of my internship here with Red Shark Digital to reality. Since January, RSD has given me valuable experience in many areas that will assist me throughout the rest of my career.

As a Digital Marketing Intern, I feel my responsibilities were diverse and ever-changing. Every day is a different experience, and everyone at the office has something different to bring to the table and learn from. Overall, I achieved certification in Google Analytics and AdWords, was taught the strategy behind SEO and SEM, learned core marketing skills, practiced blogging techniques and much more. Each intern is also assigned a semester-long project, and the project that I was offered was extremely rewarding. After talking with some of the RSD team over lunch one day about all of our different hobbies, my personal business was brought up. To my surprise, I was told about a week later that they thought it would be a cool idea to brand my business as my project. This special project would consist of a complete branding packet: a website, logos, business cards - basically everything I needed. As you can imagine, I was thrilled. I was taught how to create a website from scratch and worked directly with our graphic designer to learn various photoshop methods and create a perfect logo. Out of all the things I learned during this internship that I will take with me, this project was the most gratifying experience.

One of my favorite things about RSD is the close, family-like environment that we work in. Everyone is within a short distance from each other at all times, so it’s almost impossible not to bond with one another. At the same time, we all do a great job of getting our work done, staying focused and holding each other accountable. This has been my first position in an office setting, so I didn’t know exactly what to prepare for. Just working in the office and witnessing the everyday occurrences has taught me more about teamwork and has surely prepared me for whatever my next job may be. There’s also this thing we do called Shark Tank. Once a week, we all take a half hour or so to discuss one new thing we’ve accomplished or learned that week, and a positive experience we each had. I’ve really enjoyed Shark Tank because it is a great way to keep that fire going in all of us and compellingly educate each other.

My advice for future interns would be to always remain on your toes to accept new material and projects as promptly as possible. I found that a challenge for me, and one of the most beneficial aspects, is that the structure of the work is partially open-ended. This was a good thing because it took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to be creative. I would remind interns to always keep an open mind, be consistent and responsible with your tasks, and to take each day as another opportunity to learn something new.

I’ve loved my time interning at Red Shark Digital. What I gained this semester is incomparable to anything a college course has taught me. I was able to take what I have learned from my classes and gain real-world experience. If you’re interested in the digital marketing industry, I highly recommend getting an internship at an agency like RSD!

Red Shark Digital’s Summer Internship application period is April 5th through 17th so make sure you get your application in to be considered!

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