The end of midterms and the arrival of sunshine have stirred up feelings of all things summertime fun…like beach trips for no reason, ice cream for dinner, and internships? As the spring semester draws to a close and seniors get ready to graduate into the “real world,” it is easy to forget that making the summer as productive as possible is crucial in order to start building up professional contacts and to diversify your resume. If nothing else, scoring a unique internship or job opportunity is better than marathon-watching Netflix all summer. Read all about my interviews with four local companies that are about making your summer experience anything but average and find out how you can make your summer in Philly professionally and personally rewarding.
ALLEN & GERRITSEN
Kelly Poulson, Vice President of Talent & Operations, whose job is to “find the best talent and keep them happy, growing and developing,” described Allen & Gerritsen (A & G) as a “fiercely independent advertising agency located in the cities where independence was born, Boston & Philadelphia.” A & G also aims to “spark and facilitate powerful conversations between consumers and brands…and constantly find new ways for brands to engage with their audiences in ways they never could have imagined,” said Poulson.
Although tech-savvy students may not usually consider advertising as a place to jumpstart their career, A & G provides the opportunity to do just that with their Labs Program, where they “test out new technologies in order to help make smart recommendations to either our clients or consumers as we also spend time developing products within that team” said Poulson.
The Labs Program provides a unique opportunity to college students who are focused on technology to see advertising as a possible career industry and to offer their perspective and voice on future developments. Students can also get involved with A & G by working as interns in other departments of the agency such as public relations and design. Poulson also emphasized that “all departments do a great job of allowing interns to sink their teeth into real work while also having some fun along the way.”
Apply for the positions online and be prepared to upload a resume, cover letter, and references.
UNITED STATES LIBERTY INSURANCE
Sarah Lowe, Chief of Staff at United States Liberty Insurance (USLI), provided some insight into their College Help Program, which currently employs around 130 students year-round and gives them an opportunity to gain professional experience and begin the task of paying off student loan debt. Students can work in various departments from graphics and social media to accounting.
When asked about what makes the program unique besides the fact that the internships offer not only competitive pay but also loan assistance, Lowe said, “we try to invest in young people.” There is also an emphasis on “students getting to work with their peers, learn from each other, and receive peer-to-peer coaching feedback.”
Interns here are responsible for a wide array of tasks depending on what team they are assigned to, such as working on “marketing materials and design…underwriting, researching insurance marketplace, data entry and filing, sales calls, and helping service customers,” said Lowe.
Apply online and have a copy of your college transcript handy to upload!
COMCAST
“Comcast is a media and technology company, more so all the time. We are a future-focused company, bringing entertainment to our customers [and] our recruitment reflects that…half our internships are roles in the engineering and technology space in the campus base,” said Amie Ryno, who manages all of the university relations for Comcast.
Students can get involved with the company through the Comcast Center Internship, and “there are well over a hundred roles.” While the program has been known to attract many communications and liberal arts majors, there is also a thriving engineering and tech program, which is still actively recruiting for the summer.
There is also the Home for the Summer program, which is strictly for freshmen and sophomores, and “the whole point is to bring Philly students back to Philly to work in the city,” said Ryno. Home for the Summer is unique in that students work at Comcast for half of the duration and then at a local startup for the other half. The program starts on May 27, and there is competitive pay and every student is matched up with a mentor.
Some of the unique aspects of the program are that “we have a end of summer party, professional development throughout the summer, and a mid-summer career fair where students can learn about full-time opportunities, rotational programs, and future internships,” said Ryno.
Interns are also granted access to perks and various employee resource groups such as a women’s network and young professionals network.
You can find the full list of internship opportunities and apply online here.
CAMPUS PHILLY
No “not so average” internship list would be complete without information about the home team here at Campus Philly. The summer is the perfect time to apply for the My Philly Summer (MPS) internship. We are dedicated to fueling “economic growth by encouraging college students to study, explore, live and work in the Greater Philadelphia tri-state region,” and you can come be a part of Campus Philly by participating in an exciting program we host for young professionals completing a summer internship throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
What’s unique about the program? “Through the My Philly Summer (MPS) program, we work with dozens of regional employers to meet their interns at the beginning of their internships and invite them all to a big networking party in July where they can meet new friends and explore all that Philly has to offer,” said Jen Devor, Program Manager of Careers Programs and Corporate Relations here at Campus Philly.
“This provides the MPS intern with a very unique and awesome networking opportunity and a chance to build professional contacts at several companies in a variety of industries, like Comcast, Deloitte and Urban Outfitters.” Be sure to get your application in today!
Great opportunities don’t just stop when the summer ends. All of the companies featured here also offer various volunteer, semester internships, and post-grad opportunities year round.
All of those interviewed offer some parting advice on how important it was to take advantage of summer opportunities and the general consensus was that summer internships/jobs allow you to “test drive” careers and really hone in on what you do and do not like and begin to build a professional network.
For more info about how to apply or get more details about each of these programs, be sure to click through the article links to access each company’s website.
