Mia Thomas

Describe the steps you took to obtain your internship/research opportunity/fellowship.

I started reading the weekly College of Business email newsletters from the Career Center, which posted current job opportunities and internships. I saw the posting for Iconic Group, who was hiring an HR intern and Finance intern for the Spring 2018 semester. I sent my resume and a cover letter to their recruiter, who contacted me back and said they would like to set up an initial phone screen. I completed a phone screen with one of their HR Assistants, who then asked if I would like to phone interview with their recruiter. After doing a phone interview with their recruiter, I was invited to interview in person with their HR Director and HR Manager. Following this interview, I was offered the position of HR intern for the Spring 2018 semester.

How far in advance did you prepare and begin applying for your experiential learning opportunity?

I applied for this internship in October 2017, but my search began way before this. As soon as the new school year began, I started searching for internships for the following Spring.

If you used any Career Center services, resources, or events to obtain your internship/research opportunity/fellowship, what were they? How did they support your application process?

I used the Career Center's weekly email newsletter that is sent out to all of the College of Business majors to find this opportunity and take the necessary steps to apply. They were completely supportive of my application process by answering any questions I had about how to get in contact with this organization and its recruiter.

Describe some of your responsibilities or duties during your experiential learning opportunity.

During my internship, I was responsible for creating an On-boarding Guide for all new corporate hires. There was no official "on-boarding" process in place when I joined the team, and they wanted me to work on this project in order streamline some of their processes they already had in place. I also helped with the day to day operations, including recruitment of seasonal, part-time and full-time hires as well as sitting in on interviews where I was able to give my feedback to our managers and directors.

What was a typical day like "on the job?"

Every day "on the job" was different. Some days, I would work with managers and employees from all of the different departments to bring together material for the on boarding program. Other days, I would screen resumes for potential new employees and conduct phone interviews to screen these candidates. I was there to provide support for the entire HR team in whatever way they needed me that day, so it allowed me to touch a lot of aspects of the organization.

What are some major takeaways from your experience? How will these help prepare you for the next step after graduation?

The major takeaway from my experience is that I was able to really feel like a valued employee of the organization and work with an experienced, knowledgeable team that helped me grow my professional skills. I had many mentors that worked with me and really cared that I understood the company's values and was able to contribute what I knew to make the organization grow and thrive. This helped prepare me because I gained real, work experience and was able to apply my classroom knowledge from FSU in a professional capacity.

Did this experience help clarify your career path? If yes, how so?

This experience definitely helped me clarify my career path. Prior to this internship, I worked in an accounting department. I learned quickly that I did not want a career in accounting, and needed to try something different. By working in a Human Resources department, I was able to see other aspects of business that I didn't have exposure to before and it helped define what I would like to do in the future.