For me, the completion of any laborious task always is accompanied by a massive exhale that I feel through my whole body. It’s an exhale that portrays not a sense of relief, but rather a sense of “I did my best and whatever happens now is out of my hands.” This past Friday, I completed my internship with Books & Such Literary Agency. I had an amazing four months with their agency and I especially loved getting to know my boss Janet. She is such an incredible mentor and I know that my relationship with her will only continue to grow.
That being said, after concluding the final presentation on the business behind writing and what it means to be an authorpreneur, I stood there, just waiting for my exhale to come…and then I stood there some more…and a bit more…
Nothing. Nada. No exhale.
This may not seem weird to anyone except for me, except for the fact it always happens naturally. I mean, yeah, I could have forced an exhale out but that’s not the same! That was cheating! So there I stood, very confused as to what this all meant.
After some thinking, I realized that the reason there was no exhale was because I am so sad to see the end of this project. I learned aspects of every career path I am interested in: publishing, marketing, editing, writing, publicity, sales, etc. How many people can say that their internship taught them the basics behind each department of their desired job?
As soon as I realized this, I knew I needed to send similar words to Janet. I wanted her to know how much this internship positively impacted me and how I have grown because of her generosity.
However, this email has more than one effect: Not only does it express my gratitude to Janet, but it also establishes a lasting relationship. (Yay Networking!) One of my favorite parts of the interviews I conducted with the graduates this summer was reaching out to them just last month and updating them on the project. They had all expressed during their interviews how ecstatic they were to learn more and how much they wanted me to keep in touch. I didn’t really understand the extent to which these emails were building relationships. However, now looking back, I can see that I now have 13 women I can reach out to if I ever want to learn more about a specific career field or maybe even if I am interested in an internship at their company. One woman wants her daughter to come tour Scripps with me; another wants me to test her homemade chocolate chip cookies (okay… maybe I suggested this task…). I built relationships that go beyond the interview—ones’ that edge into every day life and are built upon more than just a work-related foundation.
My relationships with these women and Janet will have nothing but a positive impact upon my future and me—and look how easy it was to establish them. I encourage all of you to use networking to your advantage—no matter how simple or how unserious the connection may seem. Anyone can be a connection and you never know whom he or she knows. Your mailman? He could be best friends with Taylor Swift’s manager…and excuse me? Who wouldn’t want an internship with them? (If your mailman is TSwift’s manager’s best friend, please give me their name and email address now. Please and thank you.) Emailing is your best friend, and luckily CP&R is there to help you construct those emails that seem so scary at first. Don’t be afraid to go for what you want. Reach out for your desires instead of letting them pass you by because you think the connection is not “sophisticated” enough. You never know…you could get some cookies out of it 😉
What was the strangest connection you ever made that led you to a new opportunity? Did you have to take a leap to make this connection? If yes, tell us about it and tell us about how it felt!