Everyone’s back to school and that means our summer internship has come to an end.
The last 3 months have definitely been an experience. We had about 8 interns who were involved in every field in our company; design, marketing and engineering. Though not all of them were able to be part of the full 3 month internship; I’m pleased to say that all of them were talented and it was an honor to have had them as part of our first internship program.
This was no coffee making, paper chasing internship. Interns were asked to part-take in real projects, both on the marketing and design side. Simply, because we believe that the best way for anyone to learn is to be fully submerged in what they were doing. Interns led projects and were allowed to express their ideas and thoughts on the direction of each.
Interns worked directly with the co-founding team and were also paired to work in teams with other interns; marketers with designers, and designers with engineers.
Our goal was to create an internship that would better equip interns to be prepared for the job market or in any classroom. Also, to give them insight into what working in an agency is really like. Working in teams, dealing with client's requests and deadlines, but also teaching them how to work at a much faster pace all the while producing quality work.
Teaching them how to better approach problems and guiding them in finding the most efficient and effective solutions. All in hopes that they would get a great return on their time investment and a great learning experience.
To brief on the type of work the design interns were involved in that had a hand in developing and finessing their skill sets across digital design: projects included some branding work and traditional print design, but more importantly they were mentored, exposed to and directly involved in the planning process development and implementation of information architecture, user experience design, user interface design, and web design.
Marketers were taught how to create advertising campaigns. Concepting ideas and copy to create effective print and digital campaigns. Creating holistic online marketing strategies across different mediums. Skills involving social media, SEO, conversion rate optimization, and others.
Engineers were trained to work in high demand programming languages such as; Ruby on Rails, Coffeescript, and much more.
Here is some of the work our interns had direct involvement with.
We also, asked a few of our interns to give their thoughts on the internship and the after college experience.
The following is an excerpt from one of our marketing interns Laura Sandoval that graduated this summer with a degree in Advertising.
Enter Laura.
My last year at UTPA went crazy fast and by the time I knew it I started to think about my future and what the next step was. Graduate school?, look for a job?, take break? I honestly didn’t know what was going to come next, but I did know one thing; I was inexperienced compared to many people I knew that were also graduating in my field.
You see advertising and public relations is a very competitive field, and you can have all the knowledge about it and a great portfolio of your work, but if you don’t have references and work history in the field you go straight to the bottom of the list.
This is when I decided to start to get myself experienced and start applying for internships while I still had time. I applied to about four internship opportunities and had interviews for all of them until I found the one that I felt was perfect for me.
When Luis and Josh from Create the Bridge interviewed me, I knew that Bridge was where I wanted to get my hands on experience.
Create the Bridge, doesn’t that just sound so creative to you? I mean this group really does have something going for them. They’re work ethic and work in general has a unique feel to it.
I remember going through their portfolio before getting interviewed for this position and they have really created an amazing image for themselves. Their work is so creative and unique that you can actually tell that it was them as a company, as a group, and as a team who created it.
I personally think that it’s a great accomplishment when your work is recognizable and you have satisfied clients. I’ve been a marketing intern with these guys for one month now and I am really honored to have an opportunity to work with them.
I love how the interns and the founders of this company can get along and actually talk about what direction we are going to go take on our next project. When starting my first project at Create the Bridge, as a team we got it done within 3-4 days of working together and knocking out some ideas, and building off other ones so that we can have a strategized, creative, and unique presentation for our client.
So far during this internship, I have worked on one print ad campaign creating some copy and helping with design ideas. Right now I am currently working on two social media campaigns and developing content for the client. I have also been able to sit in on conference calls for potential clients.
I really look forward to see what else I will get to do during this internship, after all there is two months of summer left and still plenty to learn. I know Luis told me, “Our marketers learn to design, and our designers learn to code,” so there’s one thing on the list. Oh and I know Josh is excited to get us working on sales next week also.
This opportunity has been exactly what I wanted it to be and I know I am also going to experience things that are going to be new to me, but all I can really say is that I’m ready for it and I can’t wait to learn.
Enter one of our design interns Mayra Garcia.
So I just graduated and they say that I’m lucky to be in the position that I am at the moment. To be in the field that I studied for so early on is considered a luxury. But did I ever think that I was ready or prepared for it coming out of school?
Nope.
Yes we work with clients throughout the semester to get the experience of working in that type of environment, but that’s not enough. So once we are tossed out into the “real world” reality will hit hard and all you can really do is try not to fall. The opportunities that are presented to you in this area are few, so you must take advantage of them.
So there’s a startup company nearby that’s looking for interns and your instructor from a previous class has encouraged you to try to apply.
Hey! It’s an opportunity right?
Although I was hesitant the worst that could happen is that they could say no, so why not apply and see what happens.
So I’m in. I get the email, show up for the first day and am introduced to those who have built what is now Create the Bridge. One thing I noticed right away when speaking to them is that communication is very important to them.
They aren’t the type to stay quiet and stand aside when something isn’t working or looks good. They will tell you it looks like shit and throw a few jokes in there as well. But don’t take it personal, here everyone gets called out, if you don’t reach the standard that has been set for everyone including themselves expect some feedback.
Coming in I knew that there would be a certain standard that would have to be met and that they would want us to have some commitment towards the company as well. Whether I was meeting that standard was up to them to decide. But that would be something that would fall on me as well. As a designer I must know what works, looks good, and be able to execute my own ideas. And I personally have expectations for myself as well.
The pace at which we worked in was completely different from what I was used to. At the university you can spend several weeks designing a logo, but here they want it done within a couple of days (or 24 hours if possible).
Yes they do want things to be done quickly but they want GOOD things to be done quickly. Just about anybody is capable of making a logo in a day, but is it good? And does it look cool?
You must be capable of providing ideas and options from which can be chosen from. With each new project you must be able to work faster and reach the options that would be presented to the client quicker as well.
You may feel a bit of stress and pressure to deliver, but things could always be worse. Just focus and sketch down any ideas you may have because something may come from even those not so great ideas. Even after you just finished a project you will be getting a walkthrough for the next one just a short time after so you must adapt quickly.
But if anything I know that I’ve improved and am creating work that I like and can use for my own portfolio. There have been too many times where I just made something to get it done because of a deadline which then didn’t benefit me later on.
The hours may be long sometimes, but there’s something that we are working towards that will only improve and get better. So I can only put all my effort in what I am doing and learn things quickly and properly as I move on.
It’s easy to get distracted at times but you need to maintain focus in what you do to create something great. So I will continue to work to improve my own skills and as far as design work is involved I will keep in mind to “Make beautiful work that's effective.”
Enter another of our marketing interns; Ashley Cavasos.
You spend 4 years in college – 4 years – 2 of those years taking classes you don’t enjoy and the other two regretting the major you chose.
Because you were just an ill informed 18-year old.
So, after 4 years your time is up and hopefully, you have gained the knowledge you were hoping for, to attain the job you deserve. Unless you are one of the few that graduate with a job in line, then chances are you have discovered the post-graduate paradox.
Must have a minimum of 3 years experience in related field.
“Wait? What?! But I just graduated.”
So, you spend your days hunching over a computer screen filling out job application after job application. Filling out so many, growing even more desperate, you start stalking your email in hopes that maybe you will get a reply.
Maybe.
You start applying to jobs that are way out of where you ever wanted to be or even envisioned yourself.
Then you realize…
School didn’t prepare you for this..
All these jobs you don’t qualify for, and the only true skills you gained were:
Filling out a scantron,
running on 2 hours of sleep,
and surviving off the McDonalds $1 menu.
And what the hell is SEO?
Because, as it turns out memorization really is the lowest form of learning.
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a time machine and you cannot get your money back. You can however, combat your lack of real skills and avoid getting stuck. How?
Do an internship.
And if you have not graduated, do an internship.
Every internship teaches you something new; if you are lucky you can even get paid. But really, the experience you gain and the opportunity will truly overshadow the pay.
The first week of a new internship is always an interesting eye opener. My first week with Create the Bridge was so different.
I had never worked at a start-up and the atmosphere is lax and well, casual – not at all something I was used to.
We were instantly required to delve into work, not in a cubicle, instead in an open space. At Bridge, we are all required to work together, but not like that group shit you do in college. You work together in that you get ideas from each other and work collaboratively that by the end of it everyone got a say in how the project should look.
Things also move very quickly, it’s not like in college where the professor assigns a project and you are not only able to pick your topic but you are also able to take your damn time. An internship can prepare you for the job you want, because it is really a job. This isn’t college, and you do not get a grade – you get cut.
So, before you march to Pomp and Circumstance, do your career a favor and intern.
Intern your ass off.
Lastly, the Create the Bridge team is extremely thankful for all the hard work each intern contributed, the amount of hours that were dedicated.
We’ll be continuing our internship program for the fall of 2014. If anyone is interested in joining please contact Sara Gonzalez at sarago@createthebridge.com