Randy Olszewski was an intern at SEMGeeks and worked with the SEO and Social Media teams. He attends Rutgers University. See his thoughts on his SEMGeeks experience below!
Looking for jobs and internships can be a difficult task, especially when you’re balancing classes and homework. I remember seeing the Semgeeks posting on my school’s career page. It was easy to apply, so I figured, “Why not?” I emailed my resume and went on with my day. The next day I woke up to an email asking me when I was available for a phone interview, something I was not expecting so soon. I found out the internship was in the spring and I’d have to be enrolled in classes in New Brunswick and work in Belmar, a commute I was not very thrilled about, but I checked the Semgeeks website and was instantly blown away. I knew my semester would be difficult, but I could tell this company would be worth it.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I arrived at the company for my in-person interview. I thought the website blew me away, but seeing the office itself was something else. I discussed different things with Pete, the Marketing Director, and was very pleased to already have some knowledge of the things Semgeeks did from PPC, SEO, and social media. I was told an internship at Semgeeks was not your average internship full of coffee runs and making copies; it was an internship where I would actually learn something. I left that interview with one thing on my mind: “I would pay to work there!”
Before I knew it, I arrived for my first day. I was assigned to the social media department based on my interview, which I was excited about. We all know something about social media today, so I was confident I would have a decent understanding of the work I would be doing. I started with simple work like reading about clients and favoriting tweets on the Semgeeks Twitter page. The job was easy, and I was waiting for that moment when I would be assigned something difficult and stressful. That moment never came, not because I was never assigned complex assignments, but because there was just never an assignment I didn’t feel prepared for, somewhat because of some of the classes I took at school but mostly because I had a great supervisor that gave me great direction in everything she assigned me. The team was there to answer any questions I had.
I have gotten the opportunity to do amazing things in the three months since I started here. I was given the responsibility to do things I never expected, working side by side with the team on projects. The overall idea of using social media to maintain, grow and perfect a brand is a very difficult task, but it keeps you thinking and constantly looking for new things you can apply to the task at hand. I was given the opportunity to create and plan social media posts for multiple clients, I got to work on a brand new business and watched as content I created helped it grow, I got to interview a local business for a blog–I’ve done so many things I could go on for hours. This internship has been much more than going on coffee runs, it has been the greatest learning experience I’ve had in my four years of college.
While I always enjoyed the challenge of taking on new assignments at work, I think the most enjoyable part of this internship was the environment. There has not been a day where I didn’t want to come into work for the day. I knew the day would be filled with excellent conversations, good music playing and lots of laughs. The best part of it all…I didn’t have to wear a suit! The environment here is laid back, casual, and the perfect place to work. The employees are extremely talented and great people to be around; they’ll answer any questions you have as most of them were once interns as well. It won’t take long before you feel like a regular employee instead of a short-term intern.
When I reflect on my time here, I like to compare it to how I felt before I started working here. I can honestly say that for me, college was like being on a boat with no land in sight and no idea where I was going. I just knew I was heading somewhere. Working at Semgeeks has been like seeing land for the first time in a long time. I can’t say I knew a company like this existed six months ago, but now I feel like I arrived at the perfect place for me and have a very good idea of where I want to take my career in the future. The skills I’ve learned have been extremely helpful and I want to continue to work on them in the future. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to work here; I have enjoyed every moment of my internship and owe that all to my amazing coworkers, the other interns I worked with, my awesome bosses, and my supervisor, who has been an outstanding mentor for me. My experience here has helped me realize what I want to do in my career. On day one I met a bunch of new coworkers, now I can say I have made some new friends, friends who I would jump at the opportunity to work with again.
