Fourteen short weeks ago, I found myself in a new city, a new climate, and a new internship doing what I have felt, for some time, that I was meant to do. In that time, I experienced grueling days with unending tasks and days that bored me out of mind, but all of which taught me something. I improved my prioritizing skills, mastered my multi-tasking ability and quickly got over any fears I had within the first few days because once you’ve been thrown in the mix, anything and everything will come your way and you just have to go for it. And on days when you’re left with nothing to do, you find something to do that will benefit you or the company, whether it be organizing work areas, adding contacts to the database or researching new ideas and venues, there is always something that can help.
At MKG, I quickly realized that rank is hardly evident in this kind of workplace because the whole team is intertwined and everyone helps each other with what needs to get done. Whether you love everyone you work with or can’t stand any of them, you have to learn to work with your team & your clients because your least favorite person might be your greatest asset so there is no sense in burning bridges that you know, at some point, you will need to cross.
I experienced something like this first hand at MKG when, at the start of my internship, I chose to be the exact opposite of another intern who was always the first one to ask when she could leave, questioned every task that was handed to her and who was never ashamed to barter for compensation for anything that required extra effort. Instead, I was sure to offer to stay as long as needed, I performed each task fully and doing my best to do what was needed before it was even asked for. Basically if they said ‘Jump,’ I said, ‘How high? How far? How many times? Do you need anyone else to jump? Should there be any floral, lighting, furniture, step&repeats or celebrities? And is there anything thing else I can do while I’m up there?’ Towards the second half of the internship, I can tell you that nothing was ever said to her for her undesirable behavior, but anytime a producer needed an intern to help with an event they would always offer the opportunity to me first and ask me not to mention it to the other intern. This fact alone made me feel like a valuable part of the MKG team and I can attest to the fact that even though your co-workers or superiors might not always acknowledge your hard work & dedication (which is not the case here, they ALWAYS said ‘thank you’ & ‘great job!’), it will not go unnoticed.
For me the only real problem that I had, and addressed, during my internship was the transition of intern supervisors after the lay-offs. The intern supervisor role was handed to one of the production coorinators, who was definitely qualified, mind you, but almost to busy stay on top of us. He was a great delegator and allowed us in on as much as he could, but he didn’t have the time to set us up to do our Final Project, that they have every intern do before leaving MKG. In the Final Project, each intern plans their own event from start to finish with all of the contracts, designs, and renderings as if it were actually going to be activated. I was so excited for this part of the internship and to get to have such a valuable souvenir and future reference material to take with me. So, even after sending him a few reminders, it was to my disappointment that it was never accomplished.
Nonetheless, I did come away having learned a great deal about the interworkings of event production.
I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds as a person and as a professional in this short time. I have grown in my respect for those who work in the industry, for differing opinions, and for the little companies that may just be ‘vendors’ but without which we would not be able to pull off half of the events we do. My business sense and knowledge of how a production company works has dramatically increased since all of my prior experience in event planning was volunteer. Many things change when you’re hired to produce events and I have come to learn the vital back & forth cycle of client interaction. MKG Productions is still considered a small company, under 25 employees, and in working for a small company I was instructed on the value of brand identity and conforming every piece of communication and collateral to display the “MKG” brand so that the logo becomes a symbol of recognition that will help to grow the brand into the future.
As I embark on my professional journey, I am gradually realizing the sacrifices that somtimes have to be made to progress in the events industry. I know that the best job might not be where I am and the best experience may not be the most enjoyable. At this point, I stand ready for the next step in my career one that will teach me and mold me into a professional well on their way to pursuing the dream of being a business owner that will be known for going the extra mile and giving clients exactly what they ask for and then some!
