Before beginning my internship with EdAgree, I knew that marketing was a field that required both creativity and technical business knowledge. The diverse range of skills necessary to work in marketing was what initially drew me to the profession, but as a high school student with little work experience, the actual day-to-day responsibilities of a marketer were largely a mystery to me. When I first learned of EdAgree’s internship opportunity, I hoped to gain some insight into the nitty gritty of marketing, to see how a service went from a concept to a platform with real users. Beyond getting a behind-the-scenes peek into a company, I hoped to solidify my interest in marketing, learn what technical skills are required to be successful in a marketing position, and connect with experienced professionals who could talk about their path from college to career.
While completing my first project with EdAgree, a review of their platform from an applicant’s perspective, I got my first taste of how hands-on the role of a marketing professional is, especially in a startup environment. Instead of only focusing on overall image and branding, EdAgree’s team analyzed everything from font sizes to white-space-usage. This exercise definitely showed me the range of responsibilities a marketing professional can have at a growing company.
Following this first activity, EdAgree gave me the opportunity to begin creating content for them. It was while writing blog posts and designing infographics that I feel I gained the most insight into the areas of business that were previously a mystery to me. For one, I learned that a professional tone does not equal a boring tone, especially when dealing with high school students. Over the course of the ten or so blogs I worked on for EdAgree, I was able to find that happy medium between keeping things polished and professional but also creating content that was entertaining and relatable. Something else that surprised me about creating promotional materials was how little you have to mention the actual product. Working on blogs that simultaneously promoted the EdAgree platform while providing valuable information taught me that marketing is all about presenting your product as part of a solution; instead of a blog solely about how EdAgree can help you apply to U.S. universities, we would weave information about the platform in to a blog with tips about college applications. I think this skill of promoting without really shoving a product in readers’ faces is something that will be so valuable going forward in my career.
One of the more time consuming pieces of content I worked on for EdAgree was an ebook about the student visa application process. Working on this ebook really taught me about the art of simplicity. My first draft of the book contained pages and pages of complicated infographics that confused the reader far more than they helped. After some editing, these graphics were condensed down into a few basic design schemes that repeated throughout the book. Before working with EdAgree, I thought that the best way to convey information was always visually, even if this came at a deficit to the amount of quality, written information on a product. Working on the visa ebook taught me that a piece of content will never be valuable to a consumer if it’s 1) hard to comprehend and 2) lacks impactful text/information.
I think the most important thing that I learned working with EdAgree (and the thing that alleviated the most stress for me) is that marketing doesn’t necessarily require years of education and technical business knowledge. While these things are absolutely an asset and important to possess, when it comes down to it marketing is about understanding your audience and effectively communicating to them. Having strong communication and critical thinking skills is half the battle. For me as I enter college and approach my job search, this has been a very comforting revelation.
Above all, I walked away from my internship with a newfound confidence in my abilities as a young professional. The caring and supportive EdAgree team taught me that my youth and status as a student can be an asset to companies in need of a fresh perspective. Understanding this will undoubtedly be crucial in my search for future internships and job positions, and my entire EdAgree experience has been an important step in my personal growth and development.
From my first project as an intern, it was clear that my input as a young person was valued at EdAgree, and that the work environment was one of endless support and open-mindedness. Interning with EdAgree was a valuable introduction to the world of sales and marketing, and an opportunity that I would highly recommend to any aspiring businessperson.
If you are interested in interning at EdAgree, learn more here. EdAgree is continuously looking for interns to provide valuable career skills.