If you’re a college student, there’s no doubt that you’ve been told that you need an internship or two… or three… to be well-prepared for professional life after college. One could argue that this is even more true for those of us pursuing advertising, marketing or public relations roles. Roles within our industry tend to value hands-on client experience over theoretical knowledge. This is because the majority of learning happens in the workplace, and not in the classroom. Our interns are here to tell you how an ANDERSON internship sets itself apart from the rest.

There’s no such thing as a silo

You may be in account services, creative, or public relations by title, but the beauty of a smaller shop like ANDERSON is that there’s no such thing as a silo. Interns can expect to interact with every department and often assist on projects outside of their job description. In our open-office environment, it’s easy to collaborate across all teams. This allows our interns to understand how each agency role contributes to the overall success of a given project.

Are you curious about media analytics? Wondering what it’s like to be a part of a creative brainstorm? Wanna see the leg work that goes into creating RFPs? Just ask! At ANDERSON, you’ll be warmly welcomed as an honorary member of their team.

You’re a student: school comes first 

Although we mentioned earlier that coursework may not provide students with as much real-world experience, ANDERSON recognizes that school should always come first. That’s why, when you intern with us, you’ll never be asked to choose work over school. Interns are encouraged to take time off during finals and let the team know when they have school commitments that conflict with their schedule. “Not only was my boss happy to move my schedule to accommodate my thesis defense–she wanted to take the hours off herself to come cheer me on, and I got a huge congrats from the whole team when I got back!” said Account Services Intern, Kaylie Volpe.

Welcome to the family

It can be hard coming on as an intern: you’re new to the team and spend less hours in the office. This can make it difficult to feel fully integrated into the culture.

However, that’s just not the case at ANDERSON. Here, you’re not just the intern. You’re immediately a part of the family that is our agency. We work hard and don’t forget to play hard here; if there’s a team lunch, office outing or holiday party going on, you’re invited. It is more than likely that you will have a fun nickname, which the creative team will enthusiastically cheer when you come into the office (or at random times for no reason). All in all, you’ll know that you’re valued as a team member when you intern with us.

An internship with real client work

Perhaps the most important aspect of an ANDERSON internship is that you will be creating real work for real clients. Interns are assigned hands-on tasks like curating clients’ social media calendars, developing work orders for creative assets, conducting research for new and existing business, and much more. The ultimate goal for all of our interns is to leave ANDERSON with real client experience, a strong portfolio and a deeper understanding of integrated marketing and agency dynamics. Our goal is to set our interns up for success in their future careers.

Grab a mentor or two

Our interns are given challenging tasks, and while they are expected to do impressive work, they aren’t trekking it alone. The team makes sure that you have access to those around you for advice, one-on-one meetings and guidance. You and your boss will regularly have meetings to discuss your progress and what tools you need to complete the best work possible. Interns are encouraged to discuss any concerns or questions so that they can work with their mentors to find solutions.

Not only will your boss and the rest of the team serve as mentors to you within the ANDERSON space, but they will continue to be resources for you after your internship ends.

So what do you say? If you’re interested in pursuing an internship with ANDERSON Advertising, please check out our internship postings on our website, or connect with us directly at info@anderson-adv.com.