Fresh on the Bailey Gardiner intern scene…

Things I’ve done:

· Took an outstanding tour of a print shop

· Rode a bike to Balboa Park

· Drive-by bench photography for Hazard Center

· Strolled through Seaport Village

Things I’ve learned:

· Creative brainstorming is most effective with the help of 10 Red Bulls and a box of candy

· Jennifer is only kidding when she tells you an intern duty is collecting a stool sample from her dog

· The parking you get at 8:45am is not anywhere near the same parking you will get after afternoon errands

· How important it is to double check things and how costly it can be if you don’t

· “Interning” is actually a synonym for “wear comfortable shoes because you are going to be doing a lot of walking”

· Microsoft Excel, while very useful for the extensive amount of research I’ve been doing, is this fussiest computer program ever developed

· And lastly, I have learned to always keep a pair of shorts in my car because my first bike ride errand was on the day I decided to wear a dress… I’m still hoping that everyone on Sixth was staring at me because the Electra bike was so cute and not for other reasons…

After my first week and a half as the newest resident in the BG intern corral, I am starting to realize a lot of things no one in school ever told me about life in advertising. Some are just small observations: the level of organization necessary to run an agency, the number of meetings, the amount of communication, how unbelievably complex a printer can be- little things like that. As a highly organized, scheduled, and task-oriented person, I’m learning how to roll with the surprises and am starting to embrace the unpredictability of each day here.

On a much larger scale- I had always assumed that businesses need advertising, so they would simply select an agency to provide that service and it’s a done deal. I’m realizing that this is not at all the case and I’m beginning to understand how much time, effort and creativity go into putting together a pitch to win over new clients. I have sat in on a new client brainstorming session and have assisted with creating an image board for a new business pitch and I am so impressed at the ideas and effort everyone at BG puts in to winning new business.

I'm really liking picking up on the ins and outs of agency life and I am reassured that I chose the right career path (and thank goodness since this is the last part of my advertising degree). I am loving the work, the surprises and challenges that everyday brings and I am loving the atmosphere and energy of the office. Two weeks in, I have tackled my telephone, the coffee machine, the printer, and navigating downtown without a GPS so I’m excited to see what my next 3 months will bring!