Intern Interrogation - 12 Questions w/ Our CEO

You're listening to a Rocket Media broadcast. Prepare for launch as we share another great episode. Okay, everybody, thank you for joining us. This is a quick little podcast recording with our interns today. They just completed their eight week sprint with us and we're calling this the intern 12 questions with our CEO, me, Ben. I'm excited to have Lauren and Kayla with me today. They both have been with us, like I said, for eight weeks. And we are ready to talk about your adventures here. So the first thing I've got about 12 questions as it says that we're gonna go through. First one, I'm gonna start with you, Kayla, and just say, tell me your name, where you go to school, and what area of study you're in right now.

Well, my name's Kayla Reiser. I live in Gilbert, Arizona. Currently, I am a student at the University of Arizona and my current major is business Business management and marketing.

There you go. All right. And how about you, Lauren?

Well, hey y', all, my name is Lauren. I am a student at the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business. I am currently a marketing and operations supply chain major and I am from Phoenix, Arizona.

All right, two Arizona girls hanging out with me today. Say listen, we are so excited that you guys worked with us this last week. So we got lots of questions for you. As you know, we're going to play this so that others that are interested in joining our intern program can learn from your experiences and and have an idea of what this was all about. So how did you learn about the Rocket Media intern program? To begin with, think back when you were applying or looking at how did you hear about it? Where did you learn about it? Kayla, you wanna go first?

Yeah. So at the beginning of summer, I was just doing some research for different internship programs in my area and I actually found this on Indeed I believe. And yeah, just kinda went from there.

Okay, job listings. How about you, Lauren? So.

So I don't know if you know this, Ben. I reached out to you in 2020. I sent you my portfolio. I don't know if you knew that I sent you my marketing portfolio. I actually know somebody who works here and she's like, oh, you should send Ben your portfolio. I sent you my design portfolio. Never heard anything back. But she then sent me this job posting this past summer and I applied for it. Kind of honestly was like, I'm apply for it. Honestly forgot I applied for it. And then I got the email and I was like, oh my God, I got an interview. This was the first interview I'd ever gotten. I'd applied for millions and millions of internships, and you guys are the first person who ever took a chance on me.

Awesome.

So I'm very, very grateful for you guys for that.

Awesome. Well, we're glad you did and sorry we didn't hear about you the first time. Now that you've been here, you can probably understand the chaos of how it could have slipped through the cracks. So I apologize for that.

But you're all good.

Certainly. Determination. Okay, so when you replied, talk to me about the application process, what was that like for you? Lauren, maybe you go first on this one. What do you think about the application process you said you heard about and you applied and you kind of forgot about it. Then you heard you got an interview. What was that process like? I'm curious.

Yeah, so I had been really lucky. I had had a lot of support in school, working on my resume. I don't know if other interns, like, possible interns, know this, but your school has a really, really great career development center, especially probably in the business school, and they're more than willing to help you guys with your resume. And I'd had a lot of experience with that. And so I just had my resum. I think I had a cover letter submitted, just kind of wrote a quick one talking about who I was, why I loved marketing, why I wanted this position, submitted it, and I got an email from the office manager here, Nicole. She was like, hey, I'd love to meet with you one on one. Just a basic interview. And that was really, really cool to just kind of like sit down and have like a quick 15, 20 minute conversation. It was like a get to know you. And it was like, okay, this is exactly what the company's like. This is the atmosphere. It was really cool to get to know that before I even got into the actual interview with you, our SEO manager, Donna, and our PPC manage, Kyle. And that was really cool because you guys got to ask me questions about my experience, like exactly what I was interested in you. I kind of got to feel out how interested I was in this. And I hopefully, I guess I came across really interested because I got the position. But I really, really loved the interview process because I felt like I was professional. There's also room to show who I was and be myself.

Awesome. Yeah, I appreciate that experience. We're very intentional about how we create these processes, so it's good to hear your experience. How about you, Kayla?

Yeah, my experience is awesome. So a little bit like what Lauren said, I Had a lot of help with my resume at U of A. And so when I initially applied, I got that email from the office manager, Nicole, and I was so, so excited about the interview. And she interviewed me, got to know a little bit about me and my past experiences in college and in high school and really got to know why I was interested in marketing. Then moving forward to the second round of interviews, I actually, it's funny because I was on vacation, I was in Hawaii, and Nicole originally asked me to do the interview at 7:30 in the morning. And I was like, oh no, that's 4:30 in the morning for me, but.

I can do it.

And she goes, oh no, we'll make it 7:30 Hawaii time. And I was like, okay, perfect. And yeah, it went really well. And yeah, and I guess, yeah, there you are.

I do remember that interview. We were all super jelly because you were sitting on the balcony of the resort you were at. And I remember you said, you want to see? And you turned your screen and showed me all the beach and the pools. And I was like, thanks. No, it was really cool. So awesome. Okay, next question then. So going into the program, you know, you got, you. You found out you were accepted and you're going into the program with us. What expectations did you have or hopes and perhaps fears that you had when you were kind of going to this program?

Do you want me to go first? Yes.

Sorry.

Alrighty. So expectations, hopes, fears. I think some of my expectations coming into this program, I really wanted to like develop a professional aspect with myself. Like I feel like I haven't had experience with yet. And then I think some fears, like, I know in the interviews you guys talked a lot about like the PPC and the SEO program and that was something I've never been exposed to before. So that was kind of a fear for me. Like, oh, how well am I gonna do in this? Am I gonna even like it? Turns out I love it and I'm so grateful for this opportunity and.

Yeah, awesome. How about you, Lauren?

When I did the interview, Donna kept saying SEO, SEO, SEO. I had no idea what that meant. I thought it was three letters. I got very, very nervous coming into this program. I was like, I have no idea what they're talking about. I don't know any of the J. And I. That was kind of like one of the things coming in. I was like, okay, I have to learn what SEO stands for and I have to learn what PPC stands for. If I can learn that, I'm golden. And so coming into that Program. That was kind of just how I came in. And I was able to pick up so much knowledge. This program. Like, not only do I know what they are now, I can probably do them on like the most basic level, which is really, really cool because a lot of people my age probably can't do that. And I had that experience going into my next summer, going into the working world, saying, I've had exposure to this. I know what it is, I know how to do it. That's really, really cool. And I'm really, really grateful for that.

And I might add, when you're being marketed to now, you'll be like, I know what they're doing.

Right? I know why this is following me around the Internet.

Yes, indeed. Okay, so now think back to your first day. This will be important for anybody that's looking into the program. Your first day on the intern job. What was that like?

Gosh, that was so long ago.

Exciting, stressful, scary, all in one.

Yeah, I know. I got here like really, really early, so. Because I live a little bit farther away. So I left my house like an hour and a half before I had to be here. So I was sitting in the parking lot, I was like, it is 7:45, I don't have to be here till 8:30. So definitely I was very, very nervous. But coming into it like that very first stand up, I had like no idea what I was coming into. And it was really cool because they were like, how was your guys weekend? Like, talk about what you did just this weekend. And I was like, I read that was just kind of how I spent my weekend. And it was really cool because like you got that first exposure to that company atmosphere and then going from there, it was like, oh, okay, this is the way the HR policy works. You did all the normal onboarding, but then you got to take a tour of the facility in space. It's just amazing. Totally.

And I think like, I was so stressed out because I didn't know what to expect. But getting into the office, like everyone was so friendly, everyone introducing themselves and just creating conversation and really get to, you know, experience that, that company atmosphere and how close everyone was. And my worries and anxiety totally disappeared. It was super awesome experience. It was an awesome first day.

Yeah, great, great. All right, we're down to question number five. So it's been eight weeks. Time has just flown by, hasn't it?

Yeah.

You guys each had a four week sprint in a department. What was your first sprint and what did you do? So what was the first department you Worked with. And how was it when you were going into that, like, what was your feelings? So go ahead, Lauren, you can go first. Lauren.

So I first worked with the SEO team. I was very grateful I first worked with them because like I said, I had no idea what SEO meant. I did a quick Google search before I even got here that day. And I was like, okay, search engine optimization, now I don't know what it stands for, I don't know what it means. And so that really first, very first day I first got here, we did like a two hour presentation and they were like, this is what SEO is, this is what it does. And I was like, okay, now I don't feel like so confused anymore. I have kind of have a good idea.

Right.

I spent that first week just in trainings, learning all the different software, really working with the team. And they were really awesome at like sitting down and explaining things to me in ways that I understood it. I was lucky. I've had a little bit of coding background. So they were like, okay, I can explain this to you in a code way. Which is really, really nice to like have that technical SEO side of it. But in all honesty, I'm so grateful I got to work with them first because it was like, okay, now I know what I'm capable of. So when I went to pbc, I was like, okay, I know what I can do now.

Yeah, you got your chops worn off a little bit. Okay, good. Lauren, what department were you in?

Kayla.

It's okay.

It's okay. So the first four weeks I was working with the PPC team and the first week it was just a lot of exposure to like what PPC is and like, like, Lauren, I had absolutely no idea. So once Kyle kind of like walked through everything with me and was able to like really teach me what PPC is, I, I felt pretty confident in my, in my capabilities. And I really think my favorite part of that four weeks was being able to put my knowledge to the test and start working on different projects and different client accounts. That was my favorite part of everything.

Okay, good. All right. So you did that for four weeks and then you switched. So each of you guys went to the opposite departments. Going to the next department now it's probably a little bit easier because you had each other to talk to and be like, what was it like? What did you go through? Right?

Oh yeah, uh huh, for sure.

Okay, but even still, when you switch, what was it like when you switched to the next department? Was there any apprehensions? Was there just curious. What your thoughts were there?

I think at first I was a little like, oh, I'm just getting in the groove of ppc. Like, I wonder if I'm going to do well in SEO, kind of all that. And me and Lauren were talking about, oh, I wonder which one we're gonna like better.

Yeah, but I.

Do you have an answer for that? Do you know which one you like better, Lauren?

I don't know.

I think there are aspects to both that I really liked.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't know. Coming in, like, when you did the switch, it was interesting because, like, she had her experience with PPC and I had my experience with SEO, and part of my SEO experience is I did give a presentation about, like, what I learned, so. So she kind of had a little bit. Knowing what she was kind of getting into and just talking with her, doing all of our other things together, I kind of understood what she had gone through. And it was interesting measuring up how our experiences were same but different. We learned a lot of the same things. We all worked on different accounts, worked at different projects. So it was cool to compare and contrast our experiences because they really were unique to us.

They were. Yeah.

And it was also super cool because after that first four weeks, I was able to give Lauren some advice on PPC and help her with her projects as she could give me some advice on SEO stuff. You know, help me through my stuff, especially with the SEO project. Like, Lauren was a big help.

So.

Thank you, Lauren.

Yeah, definitely. Having a buddy probably made it a little easier.

Yes, for sure.

So if you're new looking into this program and you're thinking about these different departments that you'll be working with, whatnot, tell me your experience with the teams. Did you guys feel like you were just thrown into the fire and you had to figure it out yourselves? Did you feel like you had a lot of support? Too much support? I mean, sometimes people can overshadow that kind of thing. Just tell me a little bit about that experience. Like, what kind of resources did you have available to you?

I thought it was perfect. Honestly. Any other. Any question I had, any concern? I had, both the PPC team and the SEO team were there for me without hesitation. Honestly, everyone explained things so well to me and, you know, just they were great mentors in the sense of they never got frustrated with me. Even though I felt like there are moments where I was kind of asking a lot of questions, I was like, oh, I really hope I'm not being overbearing.

They were.

They were super awesome.

And I Will say, everybody here, like just in a normal job, everybody's really busy, but they're not too busy to make time for you. And that was something I really appreciated. I know I said this other times, but like Mike Chaidez is like the goat right now, in my opinion. I shared like the desk area with him and he was just really awesome. When I was working with the PPC team, if I ever had a question, he was just right there. I could be like, hey, Chaitis, could I ask you a quick question?

And so he was always so willing to help too. Even with me, I'd be like, hey, hey, can you come over and help me? He'd be like, yeah, totally.

So Chaita's is amazing. The SEO team is amazing. Brian, Donna, Nathan, just working with them even. And the rest of the PPC team, they were all just so willing to help you with the drop of a hat. They had a meeting, they might just like slack and be like, okay, give me like five minutes. But they were always just so willing and available to help you.

Okay, good. You know, it's interesting too. With the world changing a bit as it has with COVID the working settings have adjusted quite a bit too. So you came into the program where we were mostly remote. We had maybe a few, a handful, I'd say a third, less than third of our team that was in office versus everybody else being remote. Did that impede you in any way? Did you feel like you still had access to folks? Did you feel like that? I mean, looking at it now going, huh, the feeling of rocket, did you feel anything? I'm just curious. As we look at the new working world and how people are adjusting things.

Yeah, I know. So Nathan on the SEO team lives in Ohio. He's like three hour difference right now. Um, he was a little bit harder to get ahold of just cause there's such a time difference. But I mean, I would get up early and just slack him and be like, hey, I'm up, can you like help me with something real quick? Um, and it was nice having that little bit of change and like being able to work a little bit remote as interns because there were things that came up. We're both home for the summer and when you're home for the summer, you do have to do basic things like doctor's appointments, dentist visits, things like that. So it's nice to have that freedom to be able to work from home when you had those things come up. Things like you just don't see come up very often. So that was nice to have that, and it was nice to be able to connect with people on Zoom. More than likely, you probably wouldn't really have been able to connect with them any other way besides Zoom.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think that's the beauty of the program is we had the opportunity to come in and see people in person and, you know, get that in office work experience. But like Lauren said, I had multiple appointments that I needed to go to, and I was able to work from home and still feel like I could get all my stuff done while, you know, if I had any questions. Like, all the. All the co workers were able to zoom me immediately and, like, help me with anything that I needed help with, and it was awesome.

Okay, good. Glad to hear. Okay, next question is. So in addition to the two sprints that you guys had, you were assigned a team project you worked on together in tandem that was presented to you at the first day, I believe. What was that project experience like? Walk me through that a bit, because I know I helped you a little bit with that, and a lot of people helped you with that, I'm sure. But what was that like? Because that was a different thing. You kind of had your own beat, right? You're like, we gave it to you and said, okay, you're gonna project. Manage it yourself. You're gonna run it yourself. Put the onus on it. You.

I feel like this project was unlike anything that I've ever done before. Honestly. I've done projects at school, but I did, like, we literally started from scratch.

We did.

Which was super interesting. I really didn't think I would be capable of doing something like that. And it turned out awesome. It exceeded my expectations, for sure.

Yeah. And just so everybody knows, our project was like a marketing campaign. So we just created a marketing campaign from scratch. I had a little bit of experience with it. I was a DECA student in high school. I've done a couple case comps in college, but I really hadn't done it from scratch, really. Just the two of us, and we were brand new. We really hadn't met each other. And just being able to form that connection, I think, and form that partnership is really, I think, what helped us do really well on the project because we were. We weren't afraid to be honest with each other. We weren't afraid to say, okay, I like that idea, but how can we build it and change it? We weren't afraid to say, okay, maybe we shouldn't do this, but let's try something else. And I think that honesty and that building that relationship is really what helped us do really well in that project because we weren't afraid to be honest with each other. We weren't afraid to throw out some ideas that we knew were probably pretty bad, but we ended up turning them into great ideas.

Awesome. Okay, good. All right. So today you kind of concluded your term with us. You had your presentation. Talk about that. I know you guys both were here early and you guys did a little warm up beforehand, so I know there's a little bit of nerves involved, but. And you got to probably feel a little bit relief now that that's accomplished. Right? So talk about that presentation today.

Well, for me, I have always had a hard time presenting, so I was.

Really proud of myself for, you know.

Putting myself out there. And Lauren, she's absolutely incredible at presenting, so I was able to, like, you know, get some advice from her. And she definitely, like, helped me through the process and like, gave me really good pointers and tips on how to become a better presenter. Thank you.

So thanks a lot. Thank you for that. Kudos. No, but I. I mean, I'm definitely glad it's over. I know it was like a really big stress for us, but I mean, I love creating slide decks. I think I could do that for a job if I got paid for it. But doing that presentation, like, it was so cool to like have all of our co workers and everybody we worked with, whether they be virtually or in person around us for that period of time. And they were like, really just supportive and they were like amazed by everything we did. And Kayla is selling herself. She's selling herself short. She did amazing. She really did do amazing. I'm really proud of you.

Thank you.

I really think that we had just an amazing presentation.

Yeah, it was a really cool experience to be able to put everything together and just to see all the co workers come together at the end and totally support us and ask us questions about it. It was awesome.

It was great to have that experience, like presenting in that half virtual, half in person environment. I think that's probably gonna be that way for a really long time. And so it's just great experience to have that. There were a few technical difficulties, but everyone was just so understanding and helping us learn, even in that way. Like, you're always learning here.

Indeed you are. Okay, good. So thinking back on this eight week journey, where do you feel you are now with regards to your digital marketing experience? Do you think you'll be able to use this experience in future potential career opportunities or in your schooling.

100%. And it's funny that you bring that up, because I have a trainer. And he. I was telling him, oh, yeah, like, I got this super cool digital marketing internship. And he was like, oh, my gosh, like the SEO stuff, right? And I was like, yeah, how do you know? He goes, I. He goes, I'm trying to learn that, like, I need help. Like, after this, you think you can help me? And I was like, totally. Yeah. Like, I would love to put what I've learned into practice, and I think that's gonna be a really cool thing to be able to help him market company.

Yeah, that's indeed. Yep, that's how it starts.

Yeah. I mean, I think this is just anytime you have real world experience, I think it's invaluable. I think there's so much you can learn from it and apply it to everything else, whether it be, like, the small things, like the actual industry things, like, what is SEO? What is ppc, what is content? How do you do it all? But also the things that just come along with having an internship. How do you create and manage a Google Calendar? How do you reach out to people professionally, but also like, personally? How. How do you form those connections in office and on Zoom? I think all of those things, whether they be industry specific or just general, are important things that you're always going to put into practice, whether it be continuing school or just going out into the working world.

Beautiful. All right, last question for you. Number 12. What advice do you have for future interns looking to join this program? This is a trick one, I guess.

Do you want me to go or.

Do you want to go?

Okay, so some future. Some advice for future interns. I'd probably say, like any internship, especially your very first internship, can be very challenging. And this was my first internship, so I had some nerves coming into it. But it's really important to make sure you stay positive, ask questions, and just really put your all into the program.

Okay, good advice. How about you, Lauren?

I definitely agree with that, and I second everything you just said with your first internship. This is my first internship as well. Honestly, with any internship, you're going to be nervous. You're not always going to know exactly what's going on. And it's okay to not be the smartest one in the room. You're not supposed to be. You are supposed to be there to ask questions, to learn. It's okay to come in knowing nothing and ask questions and come out knowing a whole bunch of things and just being willing to be vulnerable. You can be vulnerable, professional, and personable all at the same time. And this is just a really, really great and a really great environment to figure that out. You're able to kind of have that professionalism, and you're also able to have that personal connection and creating connections with everybody in the office and getting to know everybody. And I think that's something that's really important, especially in a first internship to learn. And I'm really grateful I got that experience.

Awesome.

Yeah. Definitely take full advantage of this opportunity because it is such a privilege to be here. Rocket is amazing and you definitely put.

In when you get out. So if you put in the effort, you're here early, you stay late. I mean, if you as long as you put in what you want to put in, you're gonna get out so much.

Awesome. Well, we're very appreciative of you both being here and going through the program with us ladies. You did a great job. For those that are looking to join the Rocket internship program, just head over to our website and go to our careers page. You find some information on that. We are pretty much taking applications all year round. We currently are doing a summer internship program. We're kicking around the idea of maybe doing a winter one as well. So keep your eyes open for that. Thank you both for being here. This has been a lot of fun.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Ben.

Alright, bye. Bye.