The Importance of Interns

Every summer, I  look forward to welcoming a brand-new class of interns into our IBM Marketing family. And with each class, comes a group of more eager, ambitious, and devoted students that are dedicated to bringing as much value to the business as possible. This summer, IBM Marketing has welcomed 125 interns from 20+ prestigious colleges and universities.

At IBM, our interns are challenged with real-life projects that will help them to adopt the “Agile” methodology while developing skills in project management, data & analytics, research, collaboration, and so much more. Our marketers have designed 38 projects for our interns that span across 5 of our U.S. Marketing Centers, with an average of 3-4 interns assigned to each project. Interns will work with leaders to identify needs, execute tasks, and present their findings and recommendations at the end of their program.

“We love working for a company that allows us the opportunity to collaborate on a project that will leave a legitimate impact on IBM. The trust and support that IBMers have provided us with make us even more eager to learn and excited to come to work every day.” -Marirose Aleardi, Sonia Lee, Synclair Gonzalez; 2019 North America Marketing Interns

I am a huge supporter of internships, and have always tried to encourage students to complete as many as possible before deciding on a career path. It is so important that an internship provides a student with tangible work experience that is both exciting and challenging. An internship that involves mundane tasks with no growth potential is a waste of time for both the intern and the employer.

From my perspective as a business leader, interns are a priceless addition to the workplace. One of the biggest traps that businesses can fall into is the inability to adapt to their ever-changing surroundings. Interns see things with totally different lenses, and have unique visibility into innovative ways that can maintain a company’s relevance. It is crucial that our business leaders are tapping into these perspectives and providing interns with the best experiences possible.

Internships are a symbiotic relationship between students and potential employers. The ultimate goal for the employer is to scope out the best of the best when it comes to talent, and hiring for a full-time position. Let’s be the best that we can be for our interns so that they are inspired to lead our companies into the business world of tomorrow.