Makenzie Moyes

Dr. Rebecca Sietman

Summer Internship

25 August, 2022

Summer Internship Reflection

This summer I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do an internship with

Hirschfeld Marketing Solutions in Cornelius, NC. During this internship, I was in the Client

Service Department focusing on experiential marketing and working alongside one other intern.

This department consisted of researching and finding pricing for each product in order for them

to be appropriate in each event. Experiential marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on

memorable and customer experiences to create connections between customers and the brand.

This is a job field I was not familiar with, but have learned a lot, as well as grown tremendously

in this area with seeing all of the details that go into it.

Throughout my eight weeks of doing this internship, I have experienced so much in

numerous different areas. My first area that I gained employment experience would be in the

inventory and warehouse department. This is a type of job not everyone loves to do, but has to

be done. At first, the other intern and I were doing inventory every single day to the point where

I was frustrated and questioning my time here at the internship. I learned that instead of being

frustrated about it, I could learn from this and realize how it is essential to this business. We

would go into the warehouse and count items in every box to document. This type of job took

hours! After thinking about it, I came to realize that without inventory and not knowing the count

of items in the warehouse, this could affect the whole business. Events would not run as

smoothly, clients would be unhappy, and the company would be losing money. I came to know
that I was put on one of the biggest jobs, everything relied on how much product we had for

events! This area allowed me to grow in communication because once all of the product items

were collected, I had to inform the employees in charge of those specific clients through data

excel sheets and explain to them the way I documented it. Another area that I gained

employment experience would be the finance department. In this area, I was taught to be

informed on financial company websites and take notes so other employees can be just as

educated, but in a quicker way. This helped me in the communication competency area because

I was able to learn and write notes, as well as talk to employees about this topic in a very

efficient and effective way. Writing notes in a specific work style for people older than me was a

great experience to learn from and adjust to for when I might have to do that for future jobs.

From the last department I was able to shadow, which was the Human Resource department, I

learned a great amount in this area. I learned how to have an efficient interview, resume

techniques, and perform payroll for all the employees at this company. The HR lady over this

department was one of the most inclusive people I have ever met. She knew I was there to learn

and taught me a lot about the behind-the-scenes of an application process. To be able to sit in on

an interview, post job applications on websites and hear first hand tips about what makes an

applicant stand out was a great experience I never knew I needed. This helped me in my

communication competency because it allowed me to know how to write and catch a company’s

attention for a job in a professional way, but also allowed me to know what words and phrases

the HR department may look for when people submit applications. Communication is so

essential when it comes to a work environment, and that especially applies when you want to

become a part of the company. Some things that happened during my internship that exemplified

classroom learning was seeing most of the theories come into play. For instance, constructivism
came into play by being able to adapt, communicate and learn from each other which created

new knowledge for solutions and issues. This company was a very “team based” company and

did everything with each other, rather than doing individual projects. That being said, all of the

different departments would have meetings to discuss their clients and form their ideas together

to come up with new knowledge in order to find solutions. Observing this was refreshing to

know that these employees are in it together and are wanting everyone included to succeed.

Another concept from the classroom I saw come into play would be nonverbal communication.

Learning all about the different ways people can communicate through expressions, body

language, and actions did play a big role in the hiring department for the workplace. The HR

point person was explaining to me before going into an interview all the signs and expressions to

look out for in a potential employee. The tone of a person and body language is very important

to decide if they are the right fit as well as enthusiastic for the job.

I was able to meet a lot of different people through this company and become influenced

in so many ways. Someone that was a positive role model from this environment was Jenny, of

the employees who was in my Client Services department. She was a positive role model

because she always had the best and most encouraging attitude about work even if it was not the

best day. She found humor and fun for everything, and was extremely welcoming when I came

in for the summer. She would always stop to talk to me and ask questions about my life other

people might not have been interested in. A negative role model from this company would be

Tyler, who was the boss of my department. He was viewed negatively because he was never

super nice about things and very shut off in the way of helping others and being a good mentor.

From this internship, I actually did not see many personal, professional and religious

views from my own. A lot of my coworkers were christian oriented, even if they made certain
life decisions differently. A lot of personal views aligned with mine like my interests and future

goals. The mentality of coworkers surrounding me was very similar which was amazing to have

support in that way. Regarding professional views, other employees were very casual, but also

determined and hardworking in order to meet timelines and get tasks done. This was something

I really enjoyed as it created less pressure in the work environment.

Regarding my internship, I would say it was an overall 6/10. As grateful as I am to have

this opportunity and learn in so many areas, it was also something that I feel they did not prepare

well for. Their internship program has been going on for years, but this year they did not have it

planned out as well. There were numerous days where they did not know what to do with me,

leaving me to do little to no assignments. That aside, I did learn other qualities of what a great

workplace can have. I am extremely grateful to learn from so many people and have this

experience that will help me in the future.