InternshipRatings.com

By Mike Figliuolo
Managing Director
thoughtLEADERS, LLC

How incredibly glorious is it to intern at Goldman Sachs? Or Google? Microsoft? Apple? I mean, hey, you’ll have a huge brand name on your resume when you eventually seek employment. You’ll work at beautiful corporate headquarters next to movers and shakers. How much better can it get?
News flash - as a hiring manager I don’t care where you did your internship (and to be clear - in my “corporate” days I hired plenty of new hires who had prior internship experience). I say this for the same reason that I don’t care about your degree. It doesn’t matter. What matters is what you got done and what you learned. Given that, let’s explore your potential internship experience at a large company.

Most likely, you’ll be under the supervision of someone with the title of Manager (or Analyst). These folks will usually have 4-8 years of corporate experience. They’re responsible for teams of 1-10 people and may have some budgetary authority. The scope of their projects is typically within their division or business unit. The project you will be assigned is likely the next one on the priority list that said manager’s people simply can’t get to (and also because the manager is on the line for your results and is more interested in mitigating the risk of you screwing up than anything else).
Your large company internship experience, therefore, will consist of running a small, intra-departmental project of limited scope. You’ll do so under the guidance of someone with as many years of experience as you have years of school. Two questions for you: how much will you learn in that scenario and how large will the impact of your internship be that you can explain to future prospective employers? (I’m using a little trick here known as the Socratic Method…).

So a large company internship isn’t attractive any more you say? Here’s another option: do an internship with a small company. Sure they won’t have the pizzazz of a brand name on your resume. They will have things that are much more valuable.

Firstly, you’ll work directly with senior management. Why? Small companies are SMALL. They don’t have a huge staff of managers and analysts (and that’s why they’re so eager to have you come help). The senior management of a small firm will have between 15-30 years of experience. They’ve been around the block. They’ll teach you things you’d never learn at a large company (let alone in a classroom or textbook). You’ll daily drink from that font of endless business knowledge (yes, I know I’m being hyperbolic here).

Secondly, the projects you’ll take on will likely cut across multiple functions of the company (purely due to the small size of the firm). You’ll get exposure to sales, marketing, IT, branding, operations, finance, HR, etc., etc., etc. The projects will be meaningful as senior management is more interested in the growth and success of the business than they are in protecting their own careers/office politics. Senior management has already “made it” therefore they’re likely more willing to take a risk on you tackling a larger project that drives value versus drives a mail cart.
Am I biased here? Somewhat. Yes, I run a small firm. We serve big clients. As an intern, you’d get to work directly with me and my peers (all of us have several years of experience in running P&L’s, strategic planning, etc.). I don’t say this to puff out my chest. I say this to get you to look at the exposure, coaching, and development available to you in internships at small companies. And yes, I’m always looking for help. Drop me a line - there’s always something going on here. The projects are fun, big, and meaty. You’ll learn a ton (just like you would at every other small company internship). Be brave. Go against the grain. Go small. You’ll be glad you did.

- Mike Figliuolo is the Founder and Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC. He graduated from West Point and served in the US Army. After the army he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., a Director at Capital One, and a Vice President at Scotts Miracle-Gro. thoughtLEADERS offers training courses that build solid leadership, communication, strategy and operational skills. thoughtLEADERS’ instructors are differentiated because they are practitioners of the concepts they teach. Visit Mike’s thoughtLEADERS blog here.