Heading into the last year of my business degree majoring in marketing, I kept on hearing voices from the people around me saying: Have you got a job lined up for next year? What connections do you have in your industry? What field of marketing do you want to go into?
My answer to all of these questions continued to be different combinations of “Not sure!” and “Not yet!” I knew something had to change. If I wanted to graduate and be jumping confidently into a dream job of mine, I needed to get some of this dreaded “E” word – Experience.
After enrolling in QUT’s subject, AMB310, I applied and interviewed with multiple companies and ended up choosing Cover-More Travel Insurance as they offered intern roles in both digital marketing and social content.
What does an internship entail?
If you are anything like I was, I constantly wondered what full-time workers got up to every day. As an intern, I was able to live a day-in-the-life of a full-time employee once a week. So here is a run-down on what I did on my typical Monday from 9am to 5pm at Cover-More.
Cover-More wasn’t just another financial institution. Their digital marketing embraced all things “travel inspiration”, which made my job incredibly easy! I would be tasked with writing witty and insightful Instagram and Facebook captions which would end up being posted to their global accounts! I was also put to work on editing and optimising their travel blogs, where I was able to learn about amazing travel destinations around the world!
As well, I was able to research competitors, develop content for their website and set particular target audiences for their Facebook advertising based on behaviours and demographics. As the team at Cover-More were very close-knit, I was also able to dip my toes into Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), by learning some of the back-end skills that brands use to boost their way up the Google search page.
What I just mentioned only scratched the surface of some of the things I got up to at Cover-More. If you’re wanting to see in more detail how my internship panned out, make sure to check out my digital story below!
What did I get from the experience?
The most valuable thing I could take away from my time at Cover-More was gaining hands-on experience and not just watching over someone’s shoulder. I was lucky enough to have full reigns over my work, which scared me at first, but soon left me feeling empowered and confident in letting my creative instinct and knowledge take over.
As I was able to do everything myself, I have now gained an enormous amount of confidence. I no longer get scared when looking at job listings, as I was able to practice these skills week in and week out. As well as advancing my digital marketing skillset, my internship has given me the confidence to talk to professionals, as well as forming an invaluable network of connections, which will put me in good stead for my next step in the job hunt!
So…is an internship worth it?
Absolutely! I would not feel nearly as confident entering the workforce as I am now if I hadn’t completed my internship. If you are going to complete work experience, don’t fool yourself into thinking it will be an easy semester. Undertaking an internship whilst studying, working and playing netball was one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my time at university. However, I always kept reminding myself of how much I would thank myself later and of the great people I would connect with when walking through those doors on Adelaide Street every Monday morning.
