Steps to get the internship: I filled out an application and conducted three phone interviews
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings, planned recruiting events, and worked on individual and team projects.
Most rewarding: This internship came with a lot of hands on work and responsibility. I actually got to lead teams and plan my own events.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was leading the efforts to plan events - delegating tasks to people that were obviously much more experienced than me was difficult!
Most important thing learned: I learned how to work effectively in a corporate setting.
Key advice: Definitely intern, it is such a helpful experience!
Chip K.
Major: Business
Company Name: Peter Allen & Associates
City: Ann Arbor
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I took my professor's class and established a professional connection with him by going to office hours. He needed help for this project and contacted me asking if I'd like to assist his company.
Day-to-day activities: My day-to-day activities included attending meetings and placemaking through catalytic real estate development proposals in downtown cities in Michigan.
Most rewarding: It was exciting to learn about real estate development and meet stakeholders at the state and local levels.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was the fact that this industry was almost completely foreign to me and I was almost always interfacing with people at least 20 years older than me.
Most important thing learned: I learned that real estate development can impact cities in amazing ways and that good development takes time. Conversely, poor planning and shoddy construction can negatively affect communities for decades.
Key advice: Get your hands dirty as soon as possible. Bug professors and industry professionals whom you admire until they give you an opportunity to either volunteer or intern, and leverage that to get a paid internship or job.
Patrick B.
Major: Communications
Company Name: Six n' Sticks
City: Ann Arbor, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: My girlfriend had a class with another student who was planning on starting a website/product business and needed a writer. I was referred due to my interest in writing and the fact that I am minoring in writing. I had an interview with the company as well.
Day-to-day activities: I wrote blog posts daily relating to craft beer in the state of Michigan.
Most rewarding: Being able to set my own hours, take time off when I needed it, and mostly have fun writing about beer and being creative was quite rewarding.
Biggest challenge: It was all really easy. I would say writing in a particular style that suited the site and included the most relevant information was probably the biggest challenge though.
Most important thing learned: I learned how the startup world works and how to create a profitable website selling products.
Key advice: Be open to learning new things and be able to accept criticism of your work.
Phillip S.
Major: Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
Company Name: BlackRock
City: NYC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I sent in my resume and went through three rounds of interviews.
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings and took notes, wrote memos, did opposition and background research, and wrote proposals.
Most rewarding: I loved being able to help build the BlackRock brand.
Biggest challenge: It was tough to catch on to all of the lingo used in the financial sector (market upside capture, reduce beta, capture alpha, etc.).
Most important thing learned: I gained deeper insight into how the markets work.
Key advice: Do your homework beforehand!
Amanda K.
Major: Communications and Psych
Company Name: Youth Marketing Connection
City: Ann Arbor
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I applied through a youth marketing website.
Day-to-day activities: I organized and recruited a street team to hold six events on campus to promote Adidas.
Most rewarding: I got a lot of free Adidas clothing!
Biggest challenge: Getting full street team attendance at events was very difficult. College students have really busy schedules.
Most important thing learned: I learned how to turn creative ideas into actual functioning events and how rewarding that can be.
Key advice: Utilize your resources and don't be afraid to ask for help.
Claire D.
Major: Sport Management
Company Name: Players Sport & Social Group
City: Chicago, IL
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: A family friend told me about the company and gave me contact information. From there, I sent in my resume and had a series of phone interviews/in-person interviews.
Day-to-day activities: The company is run by just 4 people so I had a lot of responsibilities. I worked under the head of marketing and sponsorship, so I went to all related meetings, activated for the current sponsors, came up with promotional activities, helped organize/run events and leagues, and managed social media.
Most rewarding: I really liked how much responsibility and authority I had. It wasn't an internship where I was babied; I was treated like a real employee.
Biggest challenge: Sometimes it was tough to have so much responsibility. It was overwhelming at times how much I had to do. Seeing as how I had only completed 2 years in my sport management program, I didn't have all the skills necessary to perform some of the tasks that were thrown at me.
Most important thing learned: I learned the importance of details. Simple things like keeping a marketing table clean at an event or personally helping a customer solve a problem make a huge difference. Everything you do represents the company so it is important that everything you do, even the smallest of things, represents the company in a positive light.
Key advice: Take your job seriously. You get out what you put in, so if you work hard you can end up learning quite a bit.
Sarah B.
Major: Organizational Studies and Political Science
Company Name: Cisco Systems, Inc.
City: San Jose, CA
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I sent in a resume and completed two interviews.
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings, worked on Microsoft Excel projects, created governance maps of the marketing department, and completed basic desk work.
Most rewarding: I loved the people I worked with and the company culture.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was teaching myself how to work with Microsoft Excel.
Most important thing learned: I learned how to ask questions in the workplace and now understand business world etiquette.
Key advice: Ask a lot of questions and take advantage of networking.
Lisa M.
Major: Political Science
Company Name: Food and Water Watch
City: Detroit, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I got the internship through a program at U of M called Community Based Research Fellowship.
Day-to-day activities: I conducted research on local farmers. It was entirely my project to work on so I didn't interact with the other employees very much.
Most rewarding: The best part was probably getting the opportunity to feel like I was really affecting change in a community. My research will go on to provide greater proof of the inequalities in the food system in order to create a fair farm bill.
Biggest challenge: Working alone almost all day was difficult but also rewarding. I know that the work I completed was entirely my own but it was a scary experience because I had so much independence.
Most important thing learned: The most important thing I learned was self-growth. I know now that there is a greater range of policy that I would be interested in pursuing in the future.
Key advice: I had an unusual experience in that I was not required to do menial work, as many are. I also was paid for my time in Detroit, which was an absolutely amazing experience. I would say you should definitely go out of town, it's absolutely worth the scariness of moving.
Crystal C.
Major: Material Science Engineering
Company Name: The Goldman Group
City: Ann Arbor
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I applied for a research grant and then emailed a professor to ask if I could work for her. After that I interviewed with her and got the job.
Day-to-day activities: My day-to-day activities included online research for relevant articles, summarizing the articles, going into lab, and working with different machines.
Most rewarding: I got to make great connections.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge for me was understanding the material as it was very complex.
Most important thing learned: I learned that when doing research, it is important to be patient because even when you don't get what you're expecting, it still tells you something important.
Key advice: Be persistent and while doing research don't be afraid of cold calling and emailing for information - a lot of times this is how you get the research you need!