Natalie Hickey is a current student who was looking for work experience. She joined the TechHire program and was placed as a digital marketing support intern with the San Diego Parks Foundation. Here Natalie tells us about her experience and what advice she has for others who are interested in finding a job.
I am currently enrolled in a school based in Boston and was looking into internship options, ideally in advertising, public relations or a related field. I’m also thinking about going to law school in the future but I’m still taking some time to make my decision. Regardless of my next steps, I knew an internship was important since I’d only had service industry jobs until this point and I wanted to expand my skills.
I was overwhelmed by the idea of finding an internship. There was little direction from my university and I didn’t really know where to start. I applied for some internships, but I wasn’t hearing back from anywhere. I hadn’t come across anything like TechHire before, so when a friend told me about it and the opportunity to be matched with a mentor, I decided to apply. Before joining TechHire, I didn’t realize how extensive the San Diego Workforce Partnership services were!
I was accepted into the program and was placed in a marketing internship with the San Diego Parks Foundation. While there, I learned how to participate in major teamwork-focused environments and found that working with a group of people in a project setting was very valuable to me. I really enjoyed working on my own and having the responsibility and flexibility that comes along with it. There was also a lot of professional communication involved. For example, I now know how to write out newsletters and emails in a business setting, which was new for me.
Being matched with a mentor was also very beneficial and the assistance I received with my resume helped me a lot. Before my internship with TechHire, I only ever received guidance on my resume from my mom. Working with Yadira, one of the program specialists, and finding an internship that was beneficial for me in the long run, was great.
Overall, I really enjoyed the internship and was super excited about what I was doing. My supervisor allowed for individual growth in the program and I was able to dip my toes into other related areas to gain experience. Being able to go to community events to see the impact I was making through the program was another positive experience.
I would recommend the program to anyone who’s looking for experience. I do believe that the internship has helped me step into the workforce. It’s great for developing soft skills and the perk of resume-building is also beneficial. My advice to other participants is to talk to the program specialist, get support and utilize the resources available.