The term “internship” has a bit of a negative connotation to it. To say that you have an internship is, in the minds of most people, as if to say that you’re doing pointless, menial, and repetitive work for no pay and no fun—essentially just pure misery. This stereotype is fueled by the fact that most people in the professional world do have at least one terrible internship experience that they had to push through to get to where they are today.
Personally, I can remember three particular summers that I wish I could have spent more time outside rather than at my internship. However, the wonderful and underrated aspect of these experiences is that they allow you to fully appreciate it when you actually end up working somewhere incredible down the line. This was my experience when I began interning at Power Digital this past January.
What Is It Like?
An internship at Power Digital Marketing is just about the best you can find for an internship. The marketing industry can be a tough one to get a rewarding internship in, as many companies don’t want to pay a college student to maintain their social media pages or are willing to pay only very little to do data entry. Power Digital bucks that stereotype and offers an internship experience unlike any other company I have seen or heard of.
Most companies look for some previous experience before hiring, as they want to minimize the amount of time “wasted” on training, but Power Digital embraces the training aspect of an internship and has actually built the entire internship experience around it.
Charg(Ed) Up
The PDM Charg(ed) program gives interns training in the area of digital marketing that they’re most interested in through the actual application of the concepts they are learning. When I first came to Power Digital, I only had a very basic classroom knowledge of digital marketing and how it was actually conducted in the real world.
Related: How to Make the Most of an Internship
However, through my time at Power Digital I have learned the techniques, gotten certifications from Google, and actually implemented my work in the real world for real clients. Not many internships can boast that kind of experience. When you intern at PDM, a curriculum is crafted specifically for you that mixes in learning new concepts and strategies and then practicing them. This is the best way to learn, especially if you are someone who learns through practice and experience like I am.
To read about or watch something might be enough to be able to do something repetitively, but in a dynamic industry like digital marketing, you need to actually learn the concepts to be able to adjust to changes, and this program sets up interns perfectly to gain those skills.
Not An Ordinary Office
The first thing you notice when you walk into the PDM office is that it isn’t an office in the conventional sense at all. Sure, there are desks and chairs and a coffee machine, but that’s where the similarities end. It’s a bright and welcoming atmosphere, where you can tell the employees are more than just colleagues; they’re all friends.
Related: My First Weeks as an Intern at Power Digital Marketing
Every single person is deeply passionate about the work they’re doing, not to mention the work of everybody else as well. You know you have a great company when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that is exactly what PDM has.
The Fun Stuff
If you want a fun work environment in an internship (which is rare), PDM might be the best option out there. Feeling bogged down by work? Hop on the ping pong table or arcade. No time in the morning to make lunch? No problem, PDM has catered lunches from awesome restaurants all over San Diego four days a week.
Want to branch out? PDM employees are all very social and nice people who are down to go out and grab a drink. Tired of sitting at your desk? Go to the couch, totally your call. Essentially, any problem you’d run into at any other company is addressed at Power Digital. Oh and did I forget to mention that there’s dogs in the office? I think I might have. DOGS IN THE OFFICE!
Wrapping Up
Honestly, Power Digital is an easy sell. You didn’t have to read any of this in order to know how great Power Digital actually is; all you need to do is walk in the door and see for yourself. So, I encourage you to do just that. You’ll be welcomed in with open arms and you’ll feel how great this place is right away, just like I did.