My overall experience at the Chicago Tribune was a combination of task management and hand-on; know-how in understanding the different aspects that distinguishes corporate marketing from client-based marketing. From start to finish, I felt that I was a valued member of the team and was invited to contribute my thoughts on project and assignments which were heard respectfully by the employees and some my ideas where even implemented! A majority of people don’t know that the Chicago Tribune actually plans and hosts about 25 social events each summer for variety of advertising clients and promotional buzz for the newspaper. It’s the marketing department job to publicize and handle all; the details that come with hosting these events. So if you LOVE event planning; this is the job for you. My main responsibilities were usual intern jobs (helping with set-up and breakdown, make sure there enough food, stuff like that). But secretly it was a great way to network with different people within the Tribune Company and with outside industry people. By the end of the summer, I had a stack of business card I had collected from just attending the event as part of my job.
The internship also entailed assisting the sales staff with different marketing services like mailers, writing sales letters, and everyone’s favorite; assemble the media kits (I must have made over 500 before the summer was over…I’m not joking). But from that I was able to suggest to my boss that placing the media kit online with similar interactive capabilities similar to USAToday.com, would benefit the company and our clients. Since then, you can go on their website and look at the full media kit.
The Chicago Tribune definitely makes good use of you while you’re working for them, however they expect you to be outspoken, dedicate, and generate results. As they see it, just because your intern doesn’t mean you can’t influence the company. But I certainly learn a whole lot and I would absolutely recommend it anyone looking to have a different task to solve when you walk through the office doors each day.
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Personally, I landed this internship from a contact I had in the human resource department at the Tribune. When talking with the other interns most of them had an established connection with the company; either they had a family member who worked there or was recommend through a friend. I don’t know how many people apply, but I would guess that it was highly competitive; since it was paid internship and you were working at the Tribune…that in its self has a huge draw.
From people with a connection to the company, I would advise just calling the main phone for the HR department and asking them about potential internship opportunities at the Tribune. The people who work there are extremely nice and really helpful in assisting you in landing the internship. My HR person gave me advice on the interview and what to expect on my first day. She even came to training so she could introduce herself and make sure I didn’t have any questions.
Very competitive. We actually had two interns who dropped out of the program because they couldn’t handle the fast-paced environment that we were working in. In addition, they expected results from the interns, which can be a challenge when you haven’t had experiences in the industry or knowledge you gained from related coursework in college. I think that was the main reason the two interns decided to leave. But, it was a really fun atmosphere to work in.
All the departments worked well to gather, which was good since there’s a lot of interaction between different department such as marketing and graphics and, sales and editorial. One thing I did feel the marketing interns missed out on was the interaction with the editorial interns. Not only were we located literally on the opposite side of the floor, but we really never network with each other. My only encounter was during an event we all attend, but that was a short conversation since we had different agenda about our responsibilities for being there.
My interaction with my boss was great. He listened to everything I said and answered all my questions. He even acknowledged the fact that I could take more responsibility by assigning me more lucrative projects that involved working with clients on special advertising features and allowing me to led the design of a promotional advertising spread that was featured in Chicago Magazine, which the Tribune owns.
The interview process was the usual; a one-on-one interview with the marketing manager and then were told you’ll hear back in two week. They seem to like asking about your extracurricular activities you’re involved with at college over your work experience. But prepared to have examples on how you handle difficult situations and your leadership persona in college clubs. In the end, just be yourself and show a true passion for the industry. It doesn’t hurt to use marketing jargon when talking; they eat that right up.
Other questions they asked were what commercials do you think best advertise their product or service and why and the opposite. I believe I said the Nike commercials for the best and the Geico for the worst. But other than that it was very easy, no stumpers and no behavioral-related questions; very standardized and predictable.
Not a job specifically, but they offered me the intern position for the fall and the upcoming summer. Unfortunately, because I go to college in the Northeast, I couldn’t accept the position for the fall. I end up not accepting the position for the summer as well because I received a better offer from another company.
Summer 2006
Paid
Chicago, IL
Reviewed on 03/25/2008