1stFive Experience Connects Young Pros

While the opportunity to network may have been a major draw for attendees the word quotnetworkquot may be inexact One takeaway from this 4th Annual 1stFive Summer Intern Experience was that this summer39s class of interns is eager to connect We as an industry might consider switching one colloquialism out for the other There is a more personal meaningful connotation to our connecting with one another We learned at the 1stFive Summer Intern Experience that personal connections are willing to open the doors to new exciting opportunitiesAn engaging panel discussion kicked off the event and featured MediaVillage Founder and Publisher Jack Myers Turner Ad Sales President Donna Speciale Turner Vice PresidentGroup Creative Director Otto Bell Horizon Media Executive Vice PresidentChief Talent Officer Eileen Benwitt Horizon Media Executive Vice President Chief Digital Officer Donnie Williams 4As Executive Vice President Agency Relations and Membership Mollie Rosen During this conversation Donna encouraged young professionals including her own collegeaged children in attendance to use their industry connections to get a foot in the door Making connections and being prepared to make those connections were sentiments echoed throughout the dialogue amp160amp160amp160Following the discussion quotbreakoutquot sessions with each of the panelists were conducted to give interns that soughtafter goal to connect on a more intimate level with the speakers and each other The breakout which Donnie and Eileen facilitated with about 40 interns gave everyone the opportunity to compare and share their summer experiences in the industryHere the conversation over connections continued especially as it pertained to career advice One woman pressed Donnie and Eileen for their thoughts on what Donna had said asking if in this industry is there a healthy balance between using connections and unaided perseveranceamp160amp160 quotIf you have a connection don39t be afraid to use itquot said Eileen quotbut don39t rely on it to get you the jobquot She also made note of just how differently people are able to connect now thanks to social mediaamp160 Donnie offered that quotconnections are also for learning morequot whether you39re learning more about an industry a job or an experience Using connections is not a quotnecessary evilquot but may be more about quotcapturing what made that person successful internalizing that and trying to apply it outward for your own opportunityquotSeveral of the interns said they appreciated that their internship programs offered time to connect with senior executives through quotlunch and learnsquot and quotmeet and greetsquot quotOur manager does a great job making sure we know everyonequot said a Discovery intern who noted how valuable it was to quotsee what senior execs do every dayquotMatt an intern with Horizon made mention of the weekly senior leader series which afforded him the opportunity to quotfigure out what people with a lot of experience in an industry they are passionate about think about the landscape and where it39s movingit39s important to see where the opportunities arequotJosh an intern at Turner described quota huge sense of communityquot at the company and was appreciative that executives were so willing to connect outside of the structured group chats quotYou see senior execs and they have so much experience and it can be intimidating but it kind of goes to show that these are peopleamp8230and with hard work and dedication you can get to that position tooquotEileen confirmed that point quotWe all have a story You see us being here but there is a lot that got us herequotOne young woman had a differing point of view She said her eightweek program at a talent agency did not afford interns the opportunity to interface directly with senior agents who were too busy and constantly on the go Not having the structured time with senior employees however forced her to connect with them on the fly quotI bumped into them in the elevator I bumped into them when I was getting coffee I bumped into them when I was trying to get an Uber late at night I would pick their brains for five minutes and those five minutes were the most important of my entire internshipquotamp160A young man Jamal another Turner intern discovered just how important it is to be ready to connect On the first day of his internship he got lost He asked for directions from a man with a briefcase quotwho looked like he knew where he was goingquot It just so happened that this man was Turner CFO Pascal Desroches and it was he who personally escorted Jamal right to his floor on that first day The story stands to show that you just never know who may open the door for you amp160Click here to view our 1stFive Experience photo galleryClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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1stFive Experience Connects Young Pros

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Charlotte Lipman

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