Three months later and I have completed my internship with the AdNews team. Coming to the end of my role in the company resulted in many mixed emotions. Relief for one, with the end of the university year looming over my head and major assignment pieces due in too short a time frame, one less responsibility was beyond appreciated. However, I loved my time at AdNews. given the option to stay on with the team, I definitely would have.
So, with it all rapped up, what exactly did I learn? What did I gain? How was the experience? In this final blog, I will be reflecting on my personal experience working as an AdNews intern.
What personal strengths were established through this three month role?
I found that I worked really well independently, and picked things up fast. The software I was responsible for using became second nature within a couple of weeks, and I became confident in asking questions, asking for more work when I have run out of things to do, and creating my own work when I know the AdNews team were too busy to be disturbed (they were constantly organising major events and publishing their monthly magazine). I also found, through interviews with leading industry persons, that I was relatively good with people once I overcame the nerve of actually initiating conversation. Overall, this internship helped me gain confidence with forming connections, working independently and writing to a professional and publishable standard.
What personal weaknesses were identified through this three month role? How were they overcome?
Even before commencing the internship at AdNews, I knew that I lacked motivation and I had a serious procrastination problem. Coming into a role where you are constantly writing and researching, there was always something to do, And even when there wasn't, you had a responsibility to do something - because this internship was part of my degree snd my performance was imperative to my developing reputation as a member of the industry, and employee and a student. At first these pressures were rather overwhelming and I thought I was setting myself up for failure - but I actually found that these pressures were my motivation. I wanted to prove that I was a hard, diligent and exceptional worker. Working in the fast-paced environment of AdNews where people were constantly organising meetings, reviewing content, researching and writing new stories, you could not be lazy or unmotivated or a serial procrastinator. I found that whenever my mind wondered off I was able to pull myself back to the task at hand, because the work I was doing was "real" in the regards that I was writing for an actual publication who's work is actually read. I was in a position where laziness would let a team down. This also taught me to pay attention to detail, as small errors such as miss spelling a persons name can reflect badly on the entire publication. I feel as though this experience, and all the responsibility and expectations of the role, has helped me improve upon my weaknesses, and that is something that will be invaluable for my future career in the advertising industry.
What I liked most about the role
The aspect that I loved about this role was writing. I gained so much knowledge about who's who in the industry and the agencies that are dominating. Equally, the opportunity to attend interviews with leading individuals in the industry, with my personal favourite being with McCann CEO Nichole Taylor (what a boss!), as well as industry events, and in particular the free tickets to the AdNews Lessons in Leadership Event, which was insightful and an invaluable experience.
What I didn't like so much about the role
One word: transcribing. This has got to be my least favourite activity in the world! Other than this factor, I don't think there is a single area of the role that I did not appreciate or value. however balancing interning with full-time study and a part-time job, as well as living out of home, was a bit of a challenge. If anything, it just taught me how to stay better organised as the need to keep on top of things was very real.
Would I consider this type of work based from my experience at AdNews?
Definitely! Before commencing my degree in a Bachelor of Advertisement and Media I seriously considered doing the journalism course at Macleay as writing was something that has always interested me since a relatively young age. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with the AdNews team. It was in invaluable experience.
Comments