Whether you’re an intern or a new hire, it’s important to make a name for yourself in your new organization. I had the privilege of interning at Marketo this summer, and it was an incredible experience. I’m heading into my Junior year at NYU, majoring in Business. I’m starting to narrow down exactly where in the business world I want to work. My experience working for a Demand Generation team has been terrific, and I’ve learned a lot about how to succeed in the business world. In this blog, I’ll outline a few key tips that I’ve found can help you succeed in a new role.
Find a Mentor
Right off the bat, I found a mentor who was able to guide me through Marketo during those first few awkward, and somewhat scary, days at a new organization. She gave me a run-down of the marketing department and how things function within the company. Through her guidance, I set-up meetings with all of the marketing team managers to get a better understanding of their role and their experiences in the field of marketing. I highly recommend doing this at the beginning of an internship or new job. It’s a great way to meet the people you’ll be working with, and it helps you to get an understanding of how everything works. For me, it was great to see potential aspects of marketing that I would want to be involved with in a potential future career.
Take on a Variety of Projects
After getting a better understanding of how marketing works at Marketo, I was open to any and all projects given to me. I think the best thing to do when you’re just starting out is to take on a variety of projects. It not only expedites the learning process, it allows you to showcase your talents and strengths to a wide variety of people and makes you a reliable and multi-faceted employee. And perhaps most importantly, it helps to build trust; your team knows they can trust you with any type of project. This increases your credibility and allows you to work on projects that aren’t mundane or boring. I did just this, and before I knew it, I started owning certain tasks and started completing high-impact projects that were for the head of my department.
Meet with your Managers
Since Marketo is a big company and my managers were busy, it seemed tough to schedule any time to meet with them. It’s very important to not ignore this problem; make sure to have weekly or bi-weekly 1:1 meetings with your managers. If you reach out and ask to schedule these, they won’t say no. They want to see you take the initiative. 1:1 meetings are useful to go over expectations, new projects, and review the work you’ve already completed. It’s also an opportunity to get to know your managers a bit better.
Go for Coffee
When it comes to getting to know your colleagues better, don’t be afraid to reach out and schedule coffee or lunch. I found that everyone was incredibly receptive to meeting with me for coffee or lunch. It allows you to get to know others on a more personal level and gives others a chance to see the real you, as cliché as that may sound. You never know when you’ll need help from your colleagues or work with them on a project, so it’s a good idea to get to know them before that happens. You truly get what you put into it, and that can be applied to relationships and the overall experience in your new role.
Work Hard but Enjoy the Experience
I followed this motto religiously during my time at Marketo, and it paid dividends. My team really valued my work and time and came to see that I was committed to the company and the internship. It was sad for them to see me go and sad for me to leave. But I end my internship knowing that I’ve learned more than any year-long college classes could have taught me, and I know that I have made contacts who can help me in future pursuits.
I’d love to hear what you’ve done to be a rock star at your new job or internship in the comments below!