Sophomore Rachel Bell is a business student here at The Ohio State University and will soon be packing her bags to travel to Australia for an excellent summer internship opportunity. With a specialization in marketing, she will be toting along her creativity and determination for the experience of a lifetime. But before she ventures off, Rachel dished the details to Her Campus about her terrific summer position and gave advice on how you can achieve the internship of your dreams! You go girl, Rachel!
Name: Rachel Bell
Hometown: Waterville, OH
Major: Business, specialization in marketing and minor in Fashion and Retail Studies
Year: Sophomore
HC: What is the company or organization you will be interning for during this upcoming summer and where will you be?
RB: I will not actually find out which company I will be interning for until April. I interviewed with a headhunter from Australia in November where she found out more about me and what I want out of this internship. When she went back she started searching for a company that will best suit my needs and that I will be the best match for. I will be right in the center of Sydney.
HC: How exactly did you come across this excellent opportunity and what steps did you take to obtain the intern position?
RB: I was searching for internship opportunities that might be available to me on Fisher’s website and came across this program. They had internships available in many different countries, but I have always wanted to travel to Australia and I decided that with it being such an amazing city with a lot of growth it would be the best fit. I was not sure if I would be eligible for this program so I met with both my academic advisor and the program advisor. I then applied last fall and found out that I had been accepted a few weeks later. In the next following days I interviewed with a headhunter from Australia!
HC: Can you tell us any details about what your position will entail this summer?
RB: While I do not know exactly what duties I will have over the summer, I was assured that I will be doing much more than just going on coffee runs, I will have a hands-on experience. Being a marketing major, I requested to work for a company, preferably within retail, with their marketing team. In Australia, internships are not very common, so businesses are typically very excited to teach and mentor the interns they do have. So I will hopefully learn about or help with various projects that the company’s marketing team is handling and be able to interact with a wide range of positions.
HC: What are you hoping to gain from this experience?
RB: From this internship I am of course looking forward to the experience of working in an office, learning the different dynamics, and broadening my education beyond the classroom to real world experience. Many internships I am interested in for the future are very interested in previous experience, so this will give me an advantage on my resume as well as in interviews with potential employers. I’m also hoping to expand my network and hopefully gain a mentor to guide me.
HC: Do you have any exciting plans for your free time in Australia or anything else you would love to see or experience outside of work?
RB: I would love to try everything Australia has to offer! As of right now we have planned a trip in the Blue Mountains (not far from Sydney) and generally exploring the city. I’m hoping to do the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb, enjoy the beaches, and hopefully travel on the weekends to surrounding areas. We do have a trip to Cairns planned for the end of our internship before we head home. We will spend five days exploring the Daintree Rain Forest, Australian Outback, and snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef.
HC: Any advice for those hoping to score an internship, especially abroad?
RB: Searching for internships is a very daunting task, especially your first internship, it can be confusing where to start. I was very diligent in searching every possible avenue that could lead to this valuable work experience. I visited the career fairs in the Union, followed up with companies I was interested in, researched online, reached out to those in the community that I thought might be able to help me, and looked through the university resources. I would say my advice would be to be creative and persistent.