News

By: Jessica Prestia

As a rising Senior at the University of Maryland, the internship search became increasingly difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As internships were getting canceled or changed to remote positions, what lied ahead for me was uncertain. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to join the Liquified Creative team as a Social Media Intern. Throughout my two months in this position, I learned vital lessons that will stick with me through the duration of my professional career. Here are my top 4 key takeaways from my summer internship at Liquified Creative.

Takeaway #1: Communication is key

In any job, communication is key. It is important to communicate with team members to understand the task at hand and collaborate efficiently to produce the best outcome possible. Therefore, when my summer internship moved fully remote, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about how this new dynamic would hinder my experience. How would I communicate and ask all the questions I needed to? How would I learn if I can’t experience the agency setting in person? Working remote was definitely challenging at times, but it also helped me learn the importance of flexibility and communication. Through the use of Slack, I was able to constantly communicate with my fellow intern and the Liquified team for a truly collaborative experience. And, of course, never be afraid to speak up when you have ideas or questions!

Takeaway #2: Broaden your horizons

As an intern, you are there to complete your daily responsibilities, but most importantly you are there to learn along the way. To learn the most as possible, it is important to always seek new opportunities and network with as many people as you can! During my time as a Social Media Intern, I got to work on a wide variety of tasks. Along with my social media responsibilities, I got to collaborate with the marketing and graphic design team as well. Learning how to write press releases and blogs, navigate through Hootsuite, and learn the graphic design process behind content creation are all experiences that helped me learn the ins and outs of the agency as a whole.

Takeaway #3: Expand your skillset

As a young professional looking to enter the marketing and advertising field, one of the best tools to drive your success is growing your knowledge of certain software and platforms used daily in ad agencies, such as Google Analytics, Hootsuite, and MailChimp. Throughout my time as an intern at Liquified Creative, I got to work with and get certified in Hootsuite, a social media management platform. I believe that learning is doing, and by getting to use Hootsuite on a daily basis and schedule posts, I gained a better understanding of how valuable the platform is. In addition, I learned the basics of Google Analytics and how useful it can be to boost your marketing initiatives.

Takeaway #4:  Do your research

It is always important to do your research when looking for new jobs and opportunities. When interviewing at different agencies, it is important to look into their website and portfolio in order to best understand all the different services that they offer and to get a better insight into their creative process. Once starting your position and taking on new tasks, it is critical to look into the client you are writing about or designing for so that you can truly incorporate their brand and values into the work.

Going into this experience, I was nervous about how much COVID-19 and remote working would impact my position. Thanks to constant communication and new approaches to virtual collaboration, I was able to really experience what the day-to-day at an ad agency looks like. If you’re looking to intern at an ad agency, hopefully, my experience and insights will help you make the most of your next internship.