This week I got to sit down with Lauren Berger, better known by many as the “Intern Queen.” Lauren is CEO & Founder of both CareerQueen.com and InternQueen.com, reaching over 6 million people and connecting them with their dream careers. Berger is arguably the nation’s most in-demand career and internship expert and speaks to thousands of high school students, college students, and recent grads every year, motivating and inspiring them.
I was lucky enough to get to ask Lauren a few questions about her career, college life, and more!
Q: How did you get started with Intern Queen? How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Lauren: I relied on my own experience. I had 15 internships in college, mostly in PR and marketing, but that was how I became known as “the Intern Queen,” and it really inspired me to start my own company. I felt like there was a total disconnect between colleges and career advice for students.
Q: Who is your role model, and why?
Lauren: I really look up to people who have branded themselves well, especially before “branding” was even really a thing. Rachel Ray always did a great job of this in my opinion and I think it’s really admirable.
Q: Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career.
Lauren: Publishing three books is by far my biggest accomplishment. My latest book, Get It Together: Ditch the Chaos, Do the Work, Design Your Success was released November 2018. I really feel like my books are a way to bring what I do to life and to be more accessible to my audience.
Q: What was most surprising to you about running your own business?
Lauren: Nobody tells you how hard it really is. My biggest challenge, even though it changes daily, was putting together a reliable team, and one that I clicked with, and finding the right people for my vision was tough at first.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced in college?
Lauren: I transferred schools and that was really hard for me. I was originally at Florida State University and then I went to the University of Central Florida. The move came with lots of challenges like finding new friends, but mostly it was just really hard to find comfort in such a new place.
Q: What would you do differently if you had a chance?
Lauren: I would create more effective systems and processes earlier in my business. As you move along you really get the hang of how things should run, but I wish I figured this out sooner. I would also work on some of the projects I started earlier in my career.
*A quick thank you to Spire Fordham for holding a seminar event this week and hosting Lauren! And thank you very much to Lauren for sitting down with me.