Learning on the job: Lessons from an internship

His tone was confident and he didn't mince words. And, lucky for me, I listened.

"You'll learn way more here. Trust me on this one," said the executive, when discussing the possibility of my working at his media company over the summer.

Deciding where to do my summer internship was a difficult process.

Over the course of a week, I had meetings with two companies to learn more about the organizations' operations and where I might fit in. They were both at interesting points in the business cycle -- one a relatively young, Internet-related startup within a large organization, the other a stable but growing broadcasting operation that had been around for decades. Both offered experience that would look great on a résumé and would offer similar pay.

However, it was that assurance of learning that sealed the deal.

About 13 months ago, after spending years on the sidelines as an observer of business, I quit my full-time job as a reporter for The Globe and Mail with the ambition to become a participant in business.

My goal was to remain in the media sector but in a management position.

I knew that to accomplish that goal I needed to broaden my skills and build a foundation of business knowledge. Learning was my key objective for this two-year MBA endeavour and I decided from the get-go that I would make learning paramount when making any major decisions, from selecting courses to joining clubs and finding summer work.

And so, I chose the startup, working in a strategic role for the Internet arm of a rival newspaper. It was a jam-packed three months, complete with numerous high-level meetings, a presentation to senior management, the creation of a website from scratch and the preparation of a strategic report for a new product.

Of course, it's difficult to digest everything one learns while working on deadlines and juggling meeting schedules. With the start of the fall semester, and my second year, this week, I have had a chance to reflect on what I learned over the summer.

While I'll never know for sure whether I got "way more" than had I interned at the more established media company, here are some of the highlights from my summer working vacation:

Never stop networking

After spending a couple of weeks nodding and smiling as I passed company managers in the halls, I decided to set up as many meetings as possible -- and the more senior the position, the better.

Whether it was just a quick coffee or an hour-long sit-down, I met with numerous executives in my division and in other parts of the company to chat about my internship, what's next for the media industry, and where job opportunities might exist once I graduate next spring.

You never know who might be hiring or might hear of positions, and I'm positive that holding in-person meetings will improve my odds should one of those managers be considering me for a job some day.

Start small

Working in a startup with a relatively small employee count -- about 60 people -- allowed me to quickly learn about the various operations within the business, try my hand at different projects and quickly access supervisors who could answer questions.

A smaller work force allows employees to build deep relationships more easily and projects to move from design to completion more quickly.

As one former boss told me recently: "You can very quickly show your skills and have a real impact [in a small division]. Starting my career in one allowed me to show head office that I could lead a bigger piece of the organization."

Attend conferences

Conferences are great places to interact with peers, make business contacts and learn about "best practices."

I'll admit I didn't know what to expect when asked to attend a two-day Toronto conference on the future of media, marketing and business on the Internet. However, within a few hours, I was assembling a cache of business cards and filling my notebook with ideas to take back to the office. I've already cleared my calendar for next year's event, and plan to attend a few others before I finish business school.

Check in regularly

From the first day of my internship, my supervisor and I scheduled weekly progress meetings to discuss how the projects were coming along and how best to tackle obstacles. What's more, we set firm deadlines for my projects to ensure that I had enough time during my 13-week internship to plan and complete the tasks and receive feedback.

While the deadlines were often daunting, they forced me to budget my time properly and use the available resources efficiently to get the projects done.

Attend meetings

Sit in on as many meetings as possible -- even if only as a fly on the wall.

Lucky for me, my employer was growing quickly and had a lot of different projects on the go. I was invited into a handful of planning sessions -- and being able to watch managers debate issues, such as funding, design and marketing, brought numerous in-class lessons on effective communications and team work to life.

Real-world experience counts

Learning on the job is a crucial part of any professional degree program, since there are so many subtleties about business that can't possibly be taught during a four-semester MBA pursuit.

As my supervisor, who also has a business degree, said to me at the end of my internship: "Class work can only get you so far. You really need to get your hands dirty to understand how business works."

Lesson learned.

Richard Bloom is a former Report on Business reporter who has enrolled in York University's Schulich School of Business to obtain an MBA. He will write regularly on the career lessons he is taking away from the classroom.