Holly Yalove, president of AMA Knoxville, welcomed participants to this virtual event. AMA Knoxville brings together marketing minds from Knoxville and surrounding counties for professional development, networking, and educational opportunities. The chapter also invests in future marketers by awarding scholarships to marketing students at the University of Tennessee with our Eagle Endowment. Holly recognized the AMA board of directors, volunteers, and annual sponsors (Slamdot, Colby’s Photography, Larson SMB Consulting, and HumblePod) who make these events possible.
Meet Our Panelists
Lygia Karagiozis is a junior Marketing major, minoring in Advertising and Public Relations, with a collateral in Entrepreneurship. She serves as the President of the University of Tennessee’s American Marketing Association chapter and the Vice President of Creative Marketing for VOLthon (UTK’s Dance Marathon). Off-campus, she is the lead marketing intern for the Knoxville Greek Festival at St.George Greek Orthodox Church. In my spare time, she enjoys volunteering at the local Children’s Hospital and traveling to new cities, states, and countries.
Grace Caldwell is the Vice President of AMAze for the American Marketing Association at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She’s a Junior with a Marketing Major, a Psychology Minor, and an Entrepreneurship Collateral. She is the Vice President of the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization here at UTK as well, and she’s a member of the Haslam Student Advisory Council. She loves networking so please connect with her on LinkedIn! She’s always looking for more opportunities to develop her leadership skills.
Chole Pigue is originally from Franklin, TN. After graduating UTK with a degree in marketing, she transitioned from an internship into a full time role with Big Slate Media. Her role with Big Slate Media includes digital marketing strategy, account management, and production assistance. In my spare time she likes to hang out with her dog Copper!
Cindy Raines brings over 40 years of integrated marketing communications experience to the Haslam College of Business. She teaches in the college’s undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programs. Her areas of focus include integrated marketing communications, strategic planning, traditional and digital media, media relations, branding, positioning, and packaging. She has successfully built and advised organizations across a variety of industries — including education, consumer product goods, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, athletics, and real estate.
Raines earned the Lee and Allison Herring Endowed Teaching Fellowship in Marketing, Keally Excellence in Teaching Award, Dean’s Award for Excellence in Executive Education, UT Phi Eta Sigma Outstanding Faculty Member Award, and Osborne Award for Excellence in Service. She is a UT Tennessee Learning and Teaching Innovation Center Faculty Fellow and the faculty advisor for the award-winning UT chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Raines has won numerous Addy, Telly, Communicator, and Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) awards for creative excellence, including a PRSA Best of Show for national media relations.
About the Event
Do you have questions about marketing internships? Whether you’re a marketing student looking for an internship or a company representative interested in adding an intern to your team, our expert panel – including two students who have interned before, one graduate who secured a job at the business she interned at, and a professor with years of experience matching businesses and interns – answers burning questions about their experiences with internships and what they’re seeking.
Please note: panelist responses are summarized
Q: Moving from an internship to full-time employment, what do you and the business seek?
CP: First off as a student, one of the main things that I looked for was compensation. Depending on a student’s financial situation it can be difficult to take on a great amount of responsibility without receiving some pay to live on. When I was looking for internships, I didn’t seriously consider any unpaid internships. I feel that structure and routine is important in an internship. When interns are initiative-driven without being given specific, measurable goals and given training in areas they might not be familiar with, employers set them up for success.
Q: In today’s environment, I’d love to hear your experiences on remote internships and tips for success
CP: When it comes to remote internships, standard routines, schedules, meeting times, and structure are SO important! Especially when you can’t be face-to-face with your interns this helps them to develop their at-home workflow and manage their time and responsibilities/expectations.
Q: In today’s environment, I’d love to hear your experiences on remote internships and tips for success
GC: My roommates and I have all held internships and jobs over the past few months and I can say it’s a challenge to balance all aspects of my life. Especially in pandemic times and working remotely, there are more opportunities for miscommunication so it’s important to keep in touch often and keep interns in the loop. I’ve even seen people drop their internships due to confections and lack of organization on the part of the employer
LK: Communication is absolutely key! Having your employer in constant communication is highly valued by students. I’ve been lucky to have good communication with my employers and this has helped me structure my semesters and my life. From a student’s perspective, time management and prioritization is the biggest challenge. Grace and flexibility on the part of the employer is a valuable resource as well, as student schedules can change regularly.
Q: Cindy, would love to hear onboarding tips! How do set up that type of structure Chloe spoke on and get interns up to speed without it being a major, daily time-suck for FTEs managing the intern?
CR: I hear a lot of students say that they didn’t really do much of value in their internships or that clear goals weren’t set for them. The biggest value an intern can provide to your company is giving you something that provides value back to you. So put together a plan to start. For the intern to provide the highest value, it’s going to require some up-front time on your part in planning what they’ll do. Then be clear about your expectations and give them the tools they need to succeed.
Q: There’s a common myth that the best internships are with high-profile companies. What are your thoughts on interning with large corporations vs. small- to medium-sized businesses vs. startups vs. nonprofits?
HY: At the marketing agency I owned, we certainly weren’t a huge organization but we valued our interns and were heavily focused on providing them with education and experience that would open doors for them. Many intern positions went on to become full time positions in my agency and when I interviewed job candidates I looked for a lot of those same skills that we taught to our interns.
CP: My first internship was with a company that averages ~$15 million and I actually preferred my internship with a startup which eventually turned into a full-time position with the company. You can find just as much value and learn just as many skills if not more at a startup that will be applicable in the corporate world. In many corporate internships you can often find out more of what you don’t want in a full-time position.
CR: I see many students now interested in the nonprofit world and wanting to give back. More often than not, nonprofit internships will be unpaid but the students are looking to get more back out of the experience than money.
GC: Honestly I would prefer to work more with a smaller business because I like the more personal feel! I have learned so much from some of the issues we face with working on projects with the small businesses in the area and it has taught me so much more than just marketing! It’s amazing to see how entrepreneurial / intrapreneurial I can be through the marketing world.
If you enjoyed this event, we hope to see you at our February in-person luncheon as Shawn McLeod’s speaks on top negotiation skills that have propelled him and Axle Logistics to industry success. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-art-of-negotiations-tickets-199346238967?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
