learning on the job

How do you navigate getting an internship when you don’t really know how to go about it, and your parents, having emigrated from Poland to the U.S. when you were just 5 years old, are not familiar with the process, either? For Julia Skladzinski, the answer was simple: Check your inbox.

Skladzinski, a senior majoring in international business, had received emails about the Career Center Internship Award and read positive posts from past recipients. The program offered exactly what she needed to land the ideal internship, so she was thrilled when her application was accepted. In addition to professional development, the award includes financial support to help eliminate financial barriers to pursuing a summer internship.

“I have been so grateful to have a support system through the Career Center and the other award recipients,” says Skladzinski. “You can really feel alone during the internship search process, but with the program, I had people who had my back and believed in me.”

She especially appreciated the training Kristin Wichmann, associate director for experiential learning, provided.
“School is one thing, but communicating with people and applying for jobs requires a lot of different skills,” says Skladzinski. “Kristin showed us how to present ourselves and had recruiters come in to share what they look for and what stands out.”

Students’ professional development focuses on career readiness skills, one-on-one advising sessions, networking events and mentoring sessions.

Using the skills she developed, Skladzinski applied for some highly competitive internships. While she started the multistep process with some companies, they had fizzled out. Still, she persevered and came upon an internship with Omnisight, an AI tech company, on Handshake, the Career Center’s platform for jobs and internships.

“I felt the internship with Omnisight was a perfect match, especially when I saw that it was my management professor’s company,” says Skladzinski, referring to Aaron Pennell. “I immediately sent him an email to set up a call. I wanted to confirm the internship would be a good fit for me. We shared our goals and felt we were on the same page.”

Pennell, an adjunct member of the College’s management and marketing faculty, was impressed with her initiative. “She was eager to learn and had a level of professionalism that stood out,” he says.

As an intern, Skladzinski more than delivered – she gained invaluable experience handling digital and print marketing and working with Omnisight’s customer management database.

“I worked with higher-level leadership, developed marketing skills, collaborated with teams, learned more about search engine optimization and discovered what it’s like to work with a business startup,” she says.

She also developed her network.

“I have really had an individual experience at Omnisight,” she explains. “I enjoyed working with Aaron Pennell. He included me in meetings and introduced me to people. I learned so much and developed connections, which will be helpful when I start my job search.” – Darcie Goodwin