Julie Becker, advertising major from the class of 2009, worked as an interpersonal communications specialist at Motion Marketing & Media (or M3 Group), a full-service advertising, marketing, and PR agency just down the road in Lansing. She interned there from November 2007 through May 2009, using her last four months for internship credit, and ended up with a full-time job as M3’s ideation specialist. Her first day was May 11, 2009—you can read about what she does at M3 now on her company bio page, but keep reading to see how she managed to convert her internship into a job.

Julie Becker

Julie Becker

CSN: What prompted you to do an internship?
JB: I worked for M3 Group for a year and already completed a graphic design internship (through the school of advertising), when I realized there were many other parts of the ad agency that I wanted to gain experience in. Through the College of Social Science, I was able to complete a second internship with my company while honing in on an entirely new range of experiences and interests involving interpersonal communications and ideas.

CSN: How did you find your internship and how long to it take to land it?
JB: I originally began working with M3 Group as a result of speaking with one of my course instructors (Tiffany Dowling). Tiffany is the CEO of the agency and saw my interest and motivation in the classroom. After a few discussions and my expressed interest in the field, she had me come in for a few weeks as a test drive. It was a perfect fit and I have been working (both paid and unpaid) ever since.

CSN: What were your responsibilities as the interpersonal communications specialist at M3 Group? What was your typical day like?
JB: My responsibilities included planning and preparation for brainstorming meetings within the agency (this included a team building exercise, agenda planning, coordination of meeting times, and group participation from our staff members); research and planning for proposals and new client meetings; attendance at new client meetings and proposal pitches for new business; interviews and writing stories for Capital Area Women’s LifeStyle Magazine (published by the agency); research and implementation of creative work cultures.

CSN: What do you feel were the strong points or highlights of your internship experience?
JB: The highlights of my experience most directly relate to the interpersonal skills I strengthened over the [l]ast several weeks [of my internship]. Working previously for M3 Group as a graphic artist I spent a lot of time behind the computer, with little or no ability to work directly with clients, prospects, or folks related to Capital Area Women’s LifeStyle Magazine. I really enjoyed working on the “people” end of things and strengthening my communication skills.

CSN: What was the most significant thing you learned from your experience?
JB: I learned that coordination and organization of meetings and appointments is, oftentimes, more than half the battle. I also gained a deeper understanding for the frustrations others can feel when hosting and the amount of patience that is required to be an effective leader/facilitator. (Brainstorming Wednesdays were always a challenge, but always fun and rewarding in the end.)

CSN: In what ways were you able to incorporate knowledge gained from your classes into the workplace?
JB: Many of the skills and marketing tactics I learned in my marketing classes (especially MSC 313) were put to use when selling myself or my ideas to those around me. Being able to sell your ideas is oftentimes the first step in closing or landing a deal, or convincing someone to believe what you’re saying. This was extremely important over the last few weeks [of my internship].

CSN: How many hours a week did you work? How did you manage your school and work schedules, and the workloads for both?
JB: I worked nine hours a week for credit and then an additional 25–30 hours for experience and pay. This [past] semester was one of my easier semesters (lighter workload, I was no longer working as a resident mentor, etc.), as I was only taking 12 credits. I was able to manage my school and work schedules by staying organized and budgeting my time. It’s always been fascinating to me how much you can get done when you simply leave yourself no time to procrastinate. With so much going on between work and school, staying busy kept me on track. I didn’t have much down time, but I always made sure to budget in a little “me” time here and there—balance is important. The biggest part of managing my work load laid in the hands of my supervisors, though (Joni Rainbolt and Tiffany Dowling). Everyone at the office was very understanding of my school/work situation, and they always said “school comes first.” They made sure I was staying successful in school so I could be as equally successful in my work and my future. I owe them a lot.

CSN: Tell us about working as an UNPAID intern for part of your time at M3. Was it worth it? Was it different from working in a paid position?
JB: Working as an unpaid intern for most of my time at M3 and through school helped me realize the importance of working for passion and not for pay. When you’re really passionate about something in life, it doesn’t matter if you make $0 an hour or $100 an hour doing it. I often ask myself if I had to do this one thing for the rest of my life and never get paid another penny, would I do it? Absolutely. I love what I do, and you can’t put a price on experience.

CSN: Do you have any advice for students who are looking for an internship or who want to be successful in their internship?
JB: The best advice I could ever give someone is to take the initiative. If I had never spoken with my instructor [Tiffany], I may not be sitting where I am today. Speak up, and be passionate.

CSN: Besides offering you a job, how did Tiffany help you move forward in your career?
JB: Tiffany was the first person who took a professional chance with me. Many students, especially those in design, have that story of the one person who saw something in them and gave them an opportunity to shine and flex their muscles in the real world—for me, that person is Tiffany.

CSN: Now the burning question: How were you able to convert your internship into a full-time job?
JB: A lot of my success with M3 and converting my internship into a job goes back to my initiative and internal motivation. I always made sure to do more than was asked of me, and use every project and opportunity to shine. I knew I believed in me, but I had to make the agency believe in me, too. When you have the motivation, anything is possible.

CSN: What was it like to go from working as an intern to working as a full-time agency employee? Was it a major transition?
JB: For most of the my last year in college, working at M3 felt like a full-time job. I took it as seriously as one anyway. The transition was easy because when I began it was a 15 hour per week position, then I made it 20 hours per week, then I started hanging around 30 hours per week, so post-graduation, 40 hours seemed pretty natural.

I’d also like to note that M3 recently won an Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility; what that translates to is M3 provides a good work-life fit for its employees. Our management is extremely understanding of where (young) people are in their lives, what’s important to them, and how the Gen-”Y”ers/millenials like to work. Young professionals work much more organically and at their own pace than the buttoned-up 9–5ers. M3 gets that, and it makes it easy to work hard and stay energized.

CSN: In addition to helping you land a job, how else might you utilize contacts made during your internship in the future?
JB: This internship has allowed me to network and speak with many influential clients and leaders in our community. Being on the team at M3 has always given me an immense sense of pride when connecting with people and [I] definitely intend to use my position, experience, and networks that I’ve gained in the future.

Julie Becker has worked in coordination with co-worker and fellow MSU alum, Justin Sailor, to launch the Lansing Breakfast Club, a friendly group of local professionals and students that meets every Wednesday morning for some informal networking. Check out this State News article on the group, become a fan of the Lansing Breakfast Club Facebook page, and follow the #lansingbreakfast hashtag on Twitter.