As a double-major in Finance and Marketing, I thought that I would have to choose between the two when finding a summer internship. Luckily, however, I was given the opportunity to gain experience in both departments through a joint internship, set to last 3 months. These first 6 weeks, I will be working with Marketing on Mondays and Finance on Tuesdays – Fridays. During the last 6 weeks, things will swap. Currently, I am working as a Finance and Marketing Jr. Analyst with Gynesonics, Inc., a start-up medical device company in Redwood City, CA.
Working as an intern within both the Finance and Marketing departments, has allowed me to experience two sides of the commercialization process. With a brand new Finance department (it has all been outsourced until 2 months ago) I am working alongside the new Controller to put in place Financial Procedures for the company. This has allowed me to gain experience in creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that will be used by the entire company, both now and into the future. This is exciting work for me to do because it truly allows me to feel like I’m leaving a lasting impact upon the company. Working alongside the Marketing department as the company looks into commercialization for the first time is great experience. I’ve been able to gather clinical information from our database which gives our Clinical and Marketing departments a clear snapshot as to how successful our current recruitment techniques have been. In addition, I will be assisting in Marketing Research efforts so that the company may have a clear idea of the market place that’s awaiting.
I’ve worked every year since I finished my Sophomore year of high school, so the work place environment is nothing new to me. Despite this prior experience, the world of an intern is a different place then I’ve ever been and it took a little getting used to. Up to this point, most of my supervisors explicitly told me what they wanted from me and what they expected. When given a project, there were typically set guidelines and they simply wanted me to put the information given into a structure they’ve already specified. That’s not at all how I was treated coming in as an intern with Gynesonics. I was treated as more than just “help” but as someone who could actually make a difference within the company. Both of my supervisors now simply tell me what they need, such as “we need a flow chart for our SOP”, and I’m expected to create one based on my own research of company procedures and needs. Once I’ve completed my rough draft, I’ll sit down with my supervisor and we discuss what I could change to make my project better and once more I’m sent on my own to improve it. In the end, my supervisors really encourage me to think for myself and create my own work.
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Bridget King, Senior
Finance and Marketing