In-class to In-tern

Hattie Hynes is a Recruiting/HR Marketing Intern with Milliner & Associates. She will graduate from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2018.

During my sophomore year at IUPUI, I had fully intended to do homework and get through classes. In a fall business communications class, I was working on a group project with a couple of classmates when one of them, Jimmy, asked if I was going to the Indiana Means Business Career Fair. Until that point, I had had no intention of going, but I decided to go because… well, why not? I could gain experience from attending, and didn’t have anything to lose.

I walked up to a table for a company, Milliner and Associates, which I had never heard of and knew nothing about, except that they had internships. I managed to get out my elevator pitch without stumbling and Madison, the company’s representative, looked at my resume and started scribbling what I hoped were favorable comments. I struck up nice conversation with Madison even though my palms were sweaty from the nerves. A follow-up email and an interview later, I’m a part-time intern with Milliner and Associates, a leader in the staffing industry. It is funny how opportunities appear if you say “yes” to the little things.

Not only did I get a paid position for my first internship, it seems like such an amazing fit for me. Nicole Bieker runs the internship program at Milliner and Associates, and she’s really good at customizing the program to the intern. I didn’t have any prior office-work experience therefore Nicole has been working a lot with me on my office etiquette, such as answering phones and writing emails. I enjoy writing, so she has me writing biweekly blogs (like this one) and weekly journals. I want to learn how to network with other professionals, so this week I’m going to not one, but two networking events with Nicole. These are all the skills I told Nicole I want to learn during my internship, and she’s been great about throwing them into the program. My professor for business communications always talks about how you shouldn’t take the first job that pops up; you should take the right job. I think I’ve found that with Milliner and Associates.

Key takeaway: SAY YES!! You never know where it will lead you.