Intern Feature: Jane Philipson

My internship with At Your Service Hospitality Group consisted of working directly under the company’s owner/ event planner. My responsibilities from there were to do local outreach, monitor social media platforms, respond to reader feedback engaging with audience and create new marketing avenues. My interning hours were Monday-Thursday 1230-6pm. The locations I would be at varied between the owner’s different restaurants.

HOW DID YOU FIND THIS OPPORTUNITY?

I received this internship through a reference of a family friend. My friend’s cousin is business partners with the person I’m interning for. He informed me on this opportunity and gave me contact information to connect with him.  I applied through email and had several phone interviews to see if it was the right fit for me. This intern opportunity was also posted on job boards for the New York City area and posted on Evan Rosenberg’s Facebook page.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERINCE LIKE AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

My experience so far with the internship is not what I initially expected. I thought I would be mentoring the owner more and following him around during the day, as a day in the life but that hasn’t happened. I have been on my computer most of the days with little contact with him. I wish it was a little more organized with what I’m supposed to be doing every day and more communication. Although, I haven’t had much contact with my mentor, I have had a lot of contact with the events planner working for my mentor. I have learned a lot about planning events and how to make connections with people and get your brand out there. 

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER STUDENTS?

I few tips I have for other students looking to intern that I wish I had known before I became an intern. First you need guidance from someone older; for example, professor, parent, manager, etc. on whether this internship is beneficial to you. Second, would be the location of the internship if you can live at home and not have extra expenses then that is a huge factor. My internship was based in New York City and I live in upstate, NY, so I had the added expense of housing, food, and transportation within the city which was pricey. Another factor would be who is the company your interning for, have they ever had interns before and how many do they strive to have interning for them? I ran into the problem, that the company I’m interning for has never had experience working with an intern so I felt neglected a lot of the time and that my time here was almost wasted because they didn’t give me tasks for the day. Those are my major factors I’d consider before accepting an internship with a company. My internship was not what I had hopes for this summer, but it gave me guidance for what internship I will try to get next summer and to really consider the offer before you accept.