An internship is your personal ticket to getting your dream job. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), just over 70% of employers end up offering their interns full-time jobs, and almost 80% of students accept these offers. There are more benefits to a great internship than we can count. In this blog, current and past interns at Collabrance are going to highlight what makes a great internship, and what they have learned through their experience.
What are the Benefits of Interning at Collabrance?
There are many obvious benefits of having an internship – exposure to your field, work experience, networking, etc. But what about the benefits of interning that you don’t think of right away?
At Collabrance, interns get hands-on experience speaking with customers, working on projects, and providing valuable insight to their team members, allowing them to apply the skills they learn in the classroom to projects and scenarios that impact the customer.
Marketing Internship at Collabrance
Dylan Bohon graduated from Cedar Rapids Xavier High School in May 2022 and will be a first-year student at Kirkwood Community College in the fall. Dylan plans to major in business and is working as a marketing intern at Collabrance. A typical day in the office for Dylan includes working on ongoing projects and taking on smaller projects each day, all aimed at enabling the Collabrance sales team to grow revenue. These projects may include working on marketing materials and outreach, data clean-up, auditing the Collabrance website, and more. There is a daily “sales huddle” . Dylan finds these meetings helpful as they break down goals and help him and his team communicate.
We asked Dylan about his time at Collabrance so far and he shared, “I love it here, I was taught so many things by amazing leaders and peers when I started, I come here every day with something new to learn about and I always have a couple of laughs.” Dylan shares that the people here are really what makes Collabrance stand out and specifically relates this to one of our principles, ‘we create opportunities and take charge of our future.’ Dylan has done this by shadowing different teams within Collabrance, which has allowed him to make decisions about what he does and does not enjoy doing and where his strengths are.
Madison Vestweber is entering her senior year at the University of Iowa, majoring in Marketing and Finance. Madison started as an intern for GreatAmerica and has transitioned to working closely with GreatAmerica marketing as well as Collabrance marketing. Madison works on a variety of projects in her normal day that support ongoing sales and marketing alignment towards GreatAmerica’s goals. Some of these projects include writing blogs, going through training to gain certificates, email campaigns, newsletters, audits of content, and creating surveys for customers. Madison usually has one or two meetings a day where she can ask questions and receive guidance on her projects and training.
When asked what Madison enjoys about working for Collabrance and GreatAmerica, she shared, “This is one of the only work environments I have been in where I’m not afraid to go out of my comfort zone. I am happy to take on projects I don’t know much about because the support system here is incredible. I know that if I ever need help or have questions, there is an abundance of qualified people for me to reach out to that are always eager to help. And I know if I ever make a mistake, those same people are there to help me get back on my feet.” Madison has enjoyed working here so much that she has decided to extend her internship past her original end date. We are collaborating with her and her school schedule to create a flexible hybrid internship where she will be able to work when she has time during her school week.
Service Desk Internship at Collabrance
David Tran formerly worked as an intern at Collabrance for one year and seven months and just recently accepted a full-time position with the Collabrance service desk. David graduated from Kirkwood Community College in May 2022 and got his Network and Systems Administration Associate’s degree. David’s normal day includes answering phone calls to help clients with their IT needs, which may include anything from a simple password change to network outages. David emphasizes that every day is a new day with new challenges to overcome, and it’s never boring.
We asked David how Collabrance stands out from other companies, and he shared this, “I have been bragging about the amount of support that I receive from Collabrance for as long as I've been here. The support system is amazing. There are people willing and eager to help you grow within the company the way you want to grow. Collabrance will help you achieve your goals, and they want to see growth in every single person.” David continued to emphasize the opportunity for growth when we spoke with him.
Collabrance is not a company that will try to make candidates fit into a position they aren’t enthusiastic about, or where their strengths don’t resonate. Collabrance wants employees to explore their strengths and provide help along the way. We encourage interns to find what they most enjoy so we can help them find a position that best aligns with their interests and strengths.
Jacob Michelson is currently attending Kirkwood Community College where he is a Computer Support Specialist major. Jacob is currently working as a Collabrance Service Desk Intern. Jacob’s normal day includes answering calls and assisting customers with various problems. When Jacob isn’t on a call he works on other projects.
We asked Jacob what the benefits of interning with Collabrance are, and he shared, “The largest benefit is the knowledge I’ve gained. I would say I’ve learned as much – if not more – from this Internship than I’ve learned at college. The work experience is also amazing – it helps you adapt and get comfortable in a work environment.” Jacob also shares that he would advise new interns to be confident. “There is a lot that goes into the work that a service desk intern does, and Collabrance instills a lot of trust in their interns. But it’s okay to make mistakes, and there is a great support system to pick you up after you fall.”
Kaitlin Simon attended Kirkwood Community College where she studied computer support. In Kaitlin’s normal day she oversees various systems, where the work she does covers a variety of solutions that can range from password resets to uninstalls and reinstalls.
We asked Kaitlin how she has felt about her time at Collabrance so far and she shared, “I have loved my time at Collabrance so far. It’s a great feeling coming into work every day to such a positive work environment and knowing that your coworkers want to help you succeed.” Kaitlin explained that having an internship before going into the workforce is a great way to get exposure to see what your interests and strengths are. We asked Kaitlin what the specific benefits of an internship with Collabrance is and she shared, “Having an internship at Collabrance is an excellent way to get your foot in the door for your future career in IT. At Collabrance, everyone makes sure that you are fully ready and prepared before you are on your own. Even after that, everyone is there and ready to answer questions along the way.”
Elijah Cox attends Kirkwood Community College and is majoring in network and system administration. Elijah spends most of his day answering calls from clients and offering remote computer troubleshooting and support.
We asked Elijah what makes Collabrance special, and he shared, “I love the freedom granted to us, even in a triage position, to try something outside of standard troubleshooting if we think we can fix it. Many companies shy away from allowing someone in an entry level role to work beyond the basics of an issue even if they know how to resolve it.” At Collabrance we want everyone to be able to learn as much as they can. This means giving our new and current employees opportunities to push the limits of their knowledge while gaining hands-on experience.
Is Collabrance the Place for you?
Collabrance is a fast-growing company that is always looking for talented and ambitious individuals. If you are looking to begin your professional career with an internship – or just to take the next step – please visit our careers page. We would love to learn more about you and your individual goals to see if Collabrance is the place for you!