Hi everyone! My name is Mackenzie Ferrell, and I am a graduating senior majoring in strategic and corporate communication with a minor in English. During the spring semester of 2024, I was a Content Marketing Intern at Datalink Networks, an IT consulting company based in Santa Clarita, California.

This was posted on our socials when I got hired.

After searching for different internships for a few months on Handshake, the School of Communication Canvas Den, and LinkedIn, I managed to secure my internship through LinkedIn. I updated my resume to adhere to the job responsibilities on the internship listing and submitted it along with a cover letter. I soon received a notification from LinkedIn that my resume had been downloaded and viewed, and within the week, I received an email from their hiring manager. After two rounds of interviews with the marketing department and the company’s CEO, they offered me the role!

After receiving the internship offer in December, I began the internship during the first week of February. Datalink sent me a laptop, a few monitors, and a headset to set up my at-home office in my sunroom. After a few weeks of meeting the team, training videos, and introductions to the various platforms that we use, I was finally able to receive some of my own responsibilities! 

As a Content Marketing Intern, most of my responsibilities centered around social media, blog writing, and press releases. I was responsible for creating several graphics a week for our Facebook, LinkedIn, and X profiles, scheduling the posts, and writing the captions. Many of my social posts centered around updates for live events or webinars that the team was putting on. I also drafted creative posts about updates in the tech industry, including AI and how to use Adobe 365 effectively. In addition to social media, I was tasked with writing a weekly blog. Another main responsibility I had was to write monthly press releases for our company! If there was anything exciting going on, such as the advancement of our Edtech Department or company promotions, I would write a press release for the company. 

An example of a creative post I designed for our socials!

Throughout the internship, I became advanced in HubSpot, the platform used to post on the company’s socials, write blogs and press releases, create email sequences, and market the company as a whole. I enhanced both my writing and graphic design skills, and most importantly, I learned how a corporate office runs and functions. I had the opportunity to visit the Santa Clarita office monthly and work in person with my team, so I really got to experience the company culture and day-to-day responsibilities in person. 

A post centered around AI that I got to design!

Finding an internship can be difficult and discouraging when faced with rejection, but my advice is to always continue applying. Use the resources that Chapman provides like Handshake and Vault, and participate in any and all networking events that you can. You may apply to 50 internships over the span of a month, but that 51st may give you a yes and open so many doors for opportunities. Don’t give up, continue to build your resume, and foster your connections!