Not Your Average Summer Break
For some students, the summer break offers a period of relaxation, travel, and time to visit family and friends. For others, it’s the perfect time to gain valuable, real-world experience and insight beyond the experiential learning completed via their coursework. A professional internship is an important part of the School of Business’s (School of Business) business administration, finance, marketing, and accounting programs. With support from the Stevenish Career Management Center staff, students seek positions that meet their career interests and schedules, utilizing the center’s online career system and connections made with alumni and friends of the school.
With classes underway for the fall semester, we interviewed two School of Business students who had unique internship experiences over the summer – Abhya Pandey, who interned at Warner Bros, and Idriss Laouali Abdou, who worked at Amazon.
Abhya Pandey, MS in Marketing Analytics, December 2022
Company: Warner Bros Discovery (Turner Services Inc)
Position: CNN TV Research and Analytics Intern, the CNN TV Research and Analysis division
Idriss Laouali Abdou, MBA, May 2023
Company: Amazon
Position: Senior Product Manager, AWS Cloud Formation division
How did you find your internships?
Abhya: When I started searching for summer internships, I paid special attention to applying to media firms as I’m hoping to work in the industry. Warner Bros Discovery has been a dream company, so I was always on the lookout for internship postings from them. I applied on their website once they posted the position.
Idriss: My search was simpler – I found my internship through Clark’s Handshake platform.
Why did you choose or seek out that particular position?
Abhya: I have always been passionate about working in media industry. Prior to pursuing my current masters degree, I earned an MBA degree in media and entertainment, perfect for my passion. Similarly, my other passion lies in numbers. So, for me, any data analytics/marketing analytics position in a media firm was ideal.
Idriss: Before I came to the U.S. for my MBA, one of my dreams was to experience working in one of the “big tech” companies. At the beginning of my academics, I began looking for internship opportunities to apply for. I did not have any specific position in mind, but my first action was to create a list of the proposed positions that match my skills and the skills I am developing through my MBA program. The Amazon position matched both.
What were your responsibilities in your position?
Idriss: As a Senior Product Manager intern, I was assigned a new feature (product) in development. My primary responsibility was to deliver a solution proposal to the customer’s challenge. Amazon is a customer-obsessed company; all the products developed are intended to address its customers’ pain points. Before proposing a solution, we conducted market research on the competition and gather customer feedback on their challenges, for which I led the research and interviews. I’d create the first high-level design of the solution, work with cross-functional teams to validate the solution, propose a pricing model for the product, present it, and various other things.
Abhya: My internship overall was focused on TV research and analysis and ratings. I mostly worked on ratings for CNN, CNN Español, and HLN shows and did analysis based on the ratings received. I extracted and analyzed industry data using Nielsen research software applications and monitored program schedules for Nielsen program submission. Moreover, I collected, verified and summarized multi-platform television data across various sources, such as CNN linear TV data, VOD, SVOD, developing a deep understanding of TV media landscape. Also, I prepared data visualizations for ongoing projects and assisted in the production of daily/regular reporting needs for the CNN brand, HLN, and competitive networks using Advance Excel, PowerPoint, Tableau and other data analysis tools.
How has School of Business helped you prepare for this internship?
Abhya: School of Business’s career center has always been of great help. They have prepared me for entering the professional world by helping me with my resume and providing me with other valuable tips and tricks. In addition, School of Business has always been highly approachable for any question I have. I am especially thankful to Kelly Kochis (associate director) for always being there for me and sorting out any professional questions.
Idriss: School of Business helped me differently. First, Handshake is the central career platform for applying for an internship, and that’s what I did. Secondly, to prepare for all my interviews, I used the resources offered in the Moodle guide and discussed them with Kelly for advice, and thanks to many Clark alumni interactions, I felt well prepared.
What are some of the more important things you learned at your respective companies?
Abhya: Working with a media giant, I got prestigious opportunities to be involved with significant and important projects, which can be a little daunting when you are just starting out. But I learned that everything becomes easy with collaboration and trust in your skills. It polished my skills as a team player. Also, I worked for 24×7 television news channels. This is an industry that never stops, and it requires some quick decisions to be made. So, I made sure that I was quickly and fully involved in what was happening in the team and industry. I strongly believe you cannot make informed and intelligent last-minute decisions if you are not fully involved in the process.
Idriss: My most significant learning came in writing documents for decision-making. For an international student like me, English is my 4th language, and improving my writing skills was very important. In addition, at Amazon employees must quickly understand the Amazon Leadership principles, which can be applied in many other contexts outside Amazon. Another critical skill is to be able to work with autonomy and know when to seek guidance. Being coachable is essential.
How will these skills help you in the career you want to pursue?
Idriss: As a social entrepreneur, I plan to use the skills I learned during my internship to update my social business products. I am also considering being a Senior Product Manager for my professional career and growing in this field. Furthermore, while I am still thinking about how to share what I learn, I would like to share my knowledge with business leaders in my home country and see how they can leverage this knowledge to improve their business’ processes.
Abhya: My career goal is to progress and grow in the field of media research and data analysis. Someday, I see myself in a top position in a media company. So, this internship was the right start to my career path. And what I learned will definitely help me be better at what I am going to do in my professional journey. In addition, it has boosted my confidence. I feel that the right amount of confidence can take you a long way.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
Idriss: I enjoyed many aspects of it. I enjoyed being in Seattle, learning from my team members, and overall working at Amazon.
Abhya: Well! Getting into Warner Bros Discovery was a “Pinch me” moment for me. It was dream come true. So, every day working with them, I was living my dream. I enjoyed every bit of this experience: friendly manager, collaborative teammates, and prestigious projects. The thing that I enjoyed the most was that I could actively contribute to some of the prestigious projects and be a part of the functioning of my favorite media company. What I am taking back from this experience is invaluable. (Abhya has accepted an offer from Warner Bros. for another internship this fall.)
POST NOTES:
Abhya has accepted an offer from Warner Bros. for another internship this fall.
Watch a “day in the life” of an Amazon intern on Idriss’ YouTube page.
