How POWER Marketing Company Shaped My Career Start

Introduction

Beginning my professional journey as a digital marketing intern at POWER Marketing Company has been an extremely eye-opening and exciting experience. I’ve spent the past month learning the ins and outs of how a marketing agency operates including campaign planning, fulfilling client requests, and content creation. Although it has only been a month, I never believed I could learn so much in a short time to provide me with a competitive edge to develop my marketing skills. From navigating new tools on Canva and creating content calendars for our clients to reporting on organic ad performance, every day presents a new challenge and an opportunity to grow.

Previous Marketing Experience

Being a junior at Iowa State University pursuing majors in Entrepreneurship and Marketing, I’ve worked through my courses towards the goal of learning as much about marketing as possible. One of my most notable projects so far included developing a marketing campaign for a company of our choosing and developing customer personas, performing a SWOT analysis, etc. My group chose UNIQLO, a Japanese clothing brand, as our model brand and crafted a marketing campaign focused on expanding into the North American market with location-specific content. At the time, it was my first experience really developing a proper marketing campaign and building upon the required skills of creativity, research, strategic thinking, and collaboration. The solid foundation created through coursework like this has directly translated into the real-world work I’ve accomplished in my first month as a POWER intern. From understanding client needs and brand consistency for creating content calendars to ad audits, I’ve been able to apply those same core principles while learning what it takes to execute marketing in a fast-paced, professional setting.

What Drew Me To POWER?

This POWER internship appeals to me because of the seriousness and trust that the executive team treats the interns with in terms of their work quality, relevant experience, workloads, etc. Being that this was my first internship, it was my goal from the start to find a marketing agency that would provide me with that valuable first step toward becoming a marketing professional. I can confidently say that POWER has pushed me beyond my limits to foster my interest in marketing and be able to turn a client’s wishes into reality to bring more eyes to their businesses. Starting in my first professional role was undoubtedly one of the most nerve-racking experiences I’ve ever had to go through in my life but I don’t regret it one bit. The interview process to become a POWER intern was remarkably different from other companies to which I tried to apply. Many times I wouldn’t be able to get past the initial wave of applicants and be able to demonstrate my excitement and eagerness to learn. However, my interviews with POWER were extremely welcoming and, for the first time, my interview seemed less like a structured process and more like a genuine conversation. After that first interview, I knew that POWER would be the company I would devote all my time and energy towards and I’m incredibly glad to be working on their team now!

What Is It Like To Be A POWER Intern?

Some of the most notable aspects of the POWER internship that I appreciate include our intern training meetings, weekly team discussions, and task/time flexibility. Our intern training sessions cover a variety of topics ranging from Canva tips and tricks to make content creation easier, getting familiar with CRM as well as understanding client dashboards, and performing audits of our clients’ socials. In addition, our weekly team discussions allow us to give a conclusion to the week by addressing any issues still needing to be solved, recognizing the achievements of our team members, and establishing a clear direction for the week to follow. Finally, I really appreciate the flexibility given to POWER interns in terms of establishing their own work hours to best fit their schedules and making work deadlines realistic and achievable. 

POWER Work Culture

One of the most rewarding parts of this internship has been immersing myself in the supportive and welcoming work culture here at POWER. From my first day on the team, I felt like a valued member and not just an observer relegated to the sidelines. I've had nothing but wonderful interactions with everyone I’ve come into contact with and experiencing their approachable, collaborative, and determined attitudes have left a big impression on me. It doesn’t matter whether it's offering feedback on a content calendar or giving me my own platform to voice questions/concerns during check-ins, the attention given to developing confidence in interns hasn’t gone unnoticed. My favorite part is that, although it’s a professional work environment, I feel less intimidated and more so excited to showcase what I’ve done wrong, learned and course-corrected, and celebrate these wins with my team.

Goals & Plans For Next Month

This internship has been a huge step toward reaching my goals of learning more about digital marketing, adapting to working in a professional work environment and collaborating with my fellow team members. Before starting, I had a basic understanding of digital marketing from what I had pieced together from my college courses, but getting hands-on experience has helped me become a better marketer. From content creation and email marketing to strategy and client communication, I’ve developed broader skill sets in learning to write for different platforms, create engaging campaigns, and think from the perspective of the audience, which has made me more confident in my skills. Being in a professional setting gave me valuable time management, organizational, and communication skills over email, in meetings, or receiving feedback on projects. One of the most rewarding parts of this internship has been collaborating with the POWER team and my fellow interns. I’ve had the chance to work alongside them on our most recent summer project presentation which allowed us to showcase our creativity, problem-solving, and communication development so far. Everyone has been so supportive, and it’s made me feel like a real part of the team. Overall, this internship has helped me grow both personally and professionally, and I know I’ll carry these lessons into my next month as a POWER intern.