Today begins our weekly interview series. As I mentioned in my first post, once a week I will be sitting down with a former intern or current internship coordinator to discuss their advice and experiences. This week, I interviewed Melissa Zuleta, a senior at Marist College who has had some awesome internships!
Intern Profile
Name: Melissa
Zuleta
Major: Business-Human Resources
Previous Internships:
Target, Marist College Human Resource Office
How did you find your
internships?
I secured my internship with Target at a mock interview day
scheduled by Marist. At the
interview, I inquired about a potential internship opportunity with the company. The recruiter suggested I attend the
Career and Internship fair to be held at my school the following week. At the fair, another recruiter
spoke to me about the internship opportunities available at Target and helped
me set up an interview for the position at Marist.
After two interviews in New York, I had a phone interview that
led to me being placed in a Target location at home in Los Angeles.
For my Human Resources internship, I
met the assistant recruiter for the HR department at Marist at a school
luncheon. I spoke to her about internship
opportunities at the office, and she informed me of the new intern program that
they would be launching the following semester. When the program was announced by Career Services at school, the recruiter emailed me to apply. After sitting through six interviews in one day, the office
made an offer and I accepted.
What new skills did
you learn as an intern?
My internships have sharpened my leadership skills
tremendously. I also feel that I now have the ability to
help others that I work with evolve as leaders. My internship with Target in particular provided me the
opportunity to work in small teams that were very close-knit. This type of setting allowed me to build
collaborative relationships with my group members so that we can learn from one
another’s mistakes and experiences.
Both internships have also given me realistic job insight, something
that will come in handy as I consider my professional career post graduation.
Describe a conflict or
problem you faced as an intern, and how you coped with or found a solution to
that problem.
At Target, I was challenged to work on my “opportunities”—the company’s
version of “weaknesses.” Prior to
my internship, I was very shy and soft-spoken. My managers mentored me to demonstrate more courage in the
workplace. One way they did this
was by assigning me to run the hard-line sales floor for an entire week. This exercise, while difficult, boosted
my self-esteem and motivated me to be a better leader and more comfortable in
my own skin as intern at the company.
What was your
favorite part of your internship?
My favorite part of my internships at both Target and the Marist
Human Resources office was the hands-on and real life professional experience that I
gained. Both experiences equipped
me with resources that allowed me to be successful in my internships. My supervisors were phenomenal. They were always willing to give me tips and tricks to being successful in business, despite whether or not I was considering a full-time career at their company. They truly cared about my professional
growth, not just the work I could do for them.
What did you find out
about yourself after completing your first internship? Did your career goals and/or
aspirations shift or change?
My first internship at Target solidified that I want to stay
within the business industry. Although
my career aspirations have not shifted, my internship experiences have
demonstrated to me that I can be flexible with my preference of the emphasis I
will go in to. For example, while
I enjoy Human Resources, I would not be opposed to working in Internal Operations or Management.
What advice do you
have for new interns?
I think that most interns go into a new job afraid to ask
questions. My advice would be to
let go of that fear, and inquire when information is needed. This is the best way to
learn what is going on in your company or department. I would also advise interns to leverage their strengths to
develop their weaknesses. Be aware
of your personal areas of opportunity, and use your mentors and/or supervisors
to help you work on those areas!
Melissa [right] and a fellow Target intern at the Los Angeles Angels Game!
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