WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

I interned as a management trainee intern for Enterprise Rent a Car. My position included several responsibilities and I was basically treated like a full-time employee. Throughout the day I helped our branch of the company bring in revenue and deliver high levels of customer service by checking customers into cars, making reservations, setting up accounts with our insurance company and marketing the “Enterprise” brand. Our main source of business is customers who are going through their auto insurance and need a replacement while their vehicle is being repaired, next being dealership customers with their cars under warranty and then the customers renting for things like vacation.

And yes, our slogan is “We’ll pick you up,” so we will actually pick our customers up! The cool part about this was that as an intern I got to drive brand new 2014/2015 cars, some of which were a Camaro, Challenger and BMW!

HOW DID YOU FIND THIS OPPORTUNITY?
I never imagined myself working for a car rental company when I first started applying to internships however I just applied to as many companies as I could to see what opportunities would present themselves. I applied through an internship website not really expecting to hear back, but got a response about a week later to schedule a phone interview! I completed the interview and made it to the next round with an in person interview with the area manager where I would be working. After about two weeks I got a phone call and was offered the position!

WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?
The experience at Enterprise was priceless. I learned more than I could have imagined in just a few short weeks. I can now say I have extensive experience in customer service, marketing, leadership, prioritizing and time management, effective communication to both colleagues and customers, sales, and learning how to run your own successful and profitable business.

I can also say now that I have had a position in sales and actually have been ranked competitively in my sales among our other full-time employees.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER STUDENTS?
Don’t get discouraged. I applied to several internships and did not hear back from many and that was okay. I found one and had a great experience with it. Try your best to stand out, be the one that the hiring manager and recruiter remembers, even if you have never met them in person. Even just emailing the hiring manager of the company and expressing your interest instead of just filling out the same application as everybody else can set you apart.