internship spotlight
Hanna Cannell
Graduation Year
May 2016
Twitter
LinkedIn
Major
Advertising
Hometown
Rockford, Illinois
Campus Activities
-President of the American Advertising Federation @ UIUC
-Teaching Assistant
Hobbies
Eating pizza on a daily basis and running off that pizza
Employer
Urban Decay Cosmetics
Internship Title
Marketing Intern
What were your duties?
- Enforced community management for over 5 million Urban Decay followers across all social media platforms
- Planned, photographed, and launched social media content that would gain over 45,000 engagements
- Monitored and distributed user-generated content to L'Oreal, Sephora, and Urban Decay to strengthen their brand community
- Assisted in creating new partnerships with famous YouTube beauty vloggers and worked with international beauty blogger partners
What did you most enjoy about your internship?
Besides the free doughnuts and getting off at 2PM on Friday for "Beach Hours," I really enjoyed working with the most intelligent and passionate people I have ever met. The founder's office was down the hall from mine, and I was able to network with so many interesting people on a daily basis.
What was the most difficult aspect of the internship?
I was the only intern, so my supervisor treated me like an employee rather than a student intern. She gave me the same responsibilities as the employees on my team and it was absolutely terrifying, but completely worth it.
How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your internship?
I was able to apply so many things that I've learned from my College of Media courses. Even though it was a Marketing Internship, the combination of learning research methods and how to think creatively allowed me to help my team with almost anything.
How has your internship prepared you for a career?
I quickly learned that you should never be afraid to ask questions because internships are opportunities to learn as much as possible before entering the "real world." You should NEVER stop networking, even inside your own office because you never know who could help you land a job later on.
What recommendations do you have for other students about doing an internship?
Don't be shy! Effective communication not only brings you closer to the people you work with, but it also helps make the internship more fun. Also, remember that there's always something you can work on. The best thing to ask is, "Is there anything else you would like me to work on?"
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