An Intern's Perspective
Emma reflects on her Pivot Marketing internship experience.
Since starting my internship with Pivot almost a year ago, I have taken time to reflect on my experiences with the team and the work that I engaged in. I started my internship in June 2022 and am finishing at the end of April 2023. My journey at Pivot all began with Carli (former Digital Marketing Lead) and Molly (Director of Paid Media) coming into my Marketing Management class at Grossman one morning for a presentation on digital marketing, and also shared details about Pivot Marketing as a company. I immediately felt drawn to the work they were describing, which was shocking since I had been struggling with what I wanted to focus on for my career. Time was counting down, and I needed to declare my concentration. This is when I felt as if I had made my own “pivot” in my academic career. After the presentation, I chatted with Molly and Carli and then followed up shortly after to find out if they had an internship program. They expressed that they had not yet taken on interns before, but creating a program for interns was on their radar. A few emails and a couple of interviews later, I became Pivot Marketing’s first-ever intern. (I will forever be proud of that title.) At the time, I was a junior trying to find my way through what I wanted to do with my career in Business Administration, but now with my time at Pivot ending and as a graduating senior, I’ve successfully completed a focus in digital marketing, and plan to make a future career out of it.
Throughout my time at Pivot, I have had the opportunity to learn from hands-on experiences working alongside the Pivot team— much of which I would never learn in a typical classroom. I believe Pivot Marketing has prepared me for the real world of digital marketing. With digital marketing constantly changing, Pivot has given me a solid foundation to expand on as I embark on a career. Over my time here, I have become comfortable with paid search and paid social ad platforms (specifically Google Ads and Facebook Ads), Google Analytics, contributing to SEO audits for clients, preparing monthly marketing reports, and joining weekly meetings with the team as well as with clients/prospective clients. I also experienced hybrid work for three months, which has become the new popular way to work, and I have learned that I enjoy coming into the office and seeing everyone’s faces in person rather than working at home. Pivot has prepared me for the real-life work life that a college degree alone would not have been able to.
Pivot Marketing has provided an opportunity to sharpen skills and deepen my workplace experience in ways that cannot be fulfilled through typical college coursework. What I most appreciate is how this new knowledge set goes hand in hand with my learning outcomes as a University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business student. Pivot was able to take the skills Grossman has given me, and they guided me through the onboarding process with the skills I already had. One of my fears going into the internship was how the company would support me while I was still learning. As it turns out, I would not have wanted to be with any other company. Every single team member graciously guided me through the process, even for a year when I might have had silly questions. Everyone at Pivot Marketing is a delight to work with and is the dream team of employees.
The team at Pivot Marketing has taught me so much more than just digital marketing skills and marketing platforms. I have learned through work experience that I want a career in Digital Marketing. I have learned how to be a team player and a competent employee and how to enjoy and balance work and home life. Wherever I go next, I will never forget my time at Pivot Marketing and reflect on what the Pivot team did. I will be eternally grateful for my experience at Pivot Marketing.
- Emma, Pivot's first-ever intern