Great Connections for a Great Opportunity

By: Kelly

Although I had no intentions of getting an internship at the time, my story starts at a football game, of all places. A family friend from a church we used to attend, whose kids I used to baby-sit, was sitting by my family at a game, and we had a few minutes before it got started. I knew that he had recently gotten a job at a large publishing company, and I was interested in hearing how it was going. Not only did I want to see how his significant career change was impacting him, but I have always had an interest in publishing and wanted to learn whatever I could from his experience.

After talking for a few minutes to explain to me his new position and his excitement about this opportunity, he asked if I had a working resume and recommended I send it to him to look over. Low and behold, he ended up forwarded my resume on to the Human Resources department, and I got a phone call the next morning. Our family friend had put in a good word about my work ethic and personality, and she was very interested in finding a position for me within the company. It turns out they had an editorial internship available, which was my main interest, so I filled out the application and two days later had the interview. During the interview, I met with the Human Resources representative briefly to get a better idea of the company and position and then met with four of senior editors. The latter meeting was incredibly intimidating at the time as they asked pretty difficult questions and were much more proficient and intelligent than my naïve self. However, I took my time answering the questions and felt confident of my credentials.

A week passed and I hadn’t heard anything, so I started placing phone calls to the HR representative that I had met with but heard no reply. It was something like two weeks later that she finally called and told me I was a finalist for the editorial internship but didn’t get the position. However, she had taken it upon herself to show a different department my resume and highly recommended me to them, so I found myself interviewing with the Marketing/Events manager.

Although I had no experience or idea what this type of position would entail, I was excited to learn something new and see if the new offer could fit. This time, I met with my potential supervisor who was a Grand Valley graduate with a teaching degree, and we hit it off right away. She was very relaxed and easy-going and assured me that my writing, organization, and communication skills would be of great use planning the company’s various regional and national events. Since then, I have found that this field is a really exciting one that allows me to use my writing skills along with a variety of new ones.

From my experience, I would have to reinforce the old cliché: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. A lot of times, especially in business, you need to put yourself out there and make connections and networks with people who are interested in the same things you are. By engaging with others, such as our family friend, I was able to broaden my own knowledge of publishing and open myself up to some great opportunities. I have learned that people will remember you if you are a hard worker and have an enjoyable personality, it’s just a matter of introducing yourself and asking the right questions.