Christopher Day is a senior who interned with Athenahealth last summer. Athenahealth is a healthcare technology company in Massachusetts. His product marketing internship comprised of doing competitive research to see how other companies are positioning certain products as well as helping connect the product development team and the sales groups to make sure they know the product and use the correct terminology. After working at a healthcare technology company, Chris realized a corporate setting is not as scary as he thought it could be. He said his department was great at answering his questions and he learned a lot about the company within a 15 minute meeting. Chris’s useful recommendation: don’t be afraid to put yourself out there!

Next, Chris described his most memorable moment at Athenahealth where he had to give an hour long presentation to employees discussing how other companies are marketing their Clinical Messaging and how Athena should frame their services on their website. Chris admitted, “I had to answer a lot of questions from people who have a lot more experience than me which was a pretty nerve-racking experience. In the end, I felt that I was able to answer the questions well.” His marketing classes helped him achieve this eye opening experience. When putting together his presentation, he thought back to the marketing concepts he learned in class such as the SWOT analysis to demonstrate how products should be marketed. His manager also appreciated his use of Excel and PowerPoint.

When asked about how Chris found the Athenahealth internship, he replied, “I was interested in the healthcare technology field and applied to a position in Product Innovation that I found on a job search site.” Sadly, Athenahealth did not have a spot for him in that field but recommended other positions which led him to product marketing. After completing his internship, Chris really enjoyed working in this line of work and will be applying to jobs in the healthcare technology field. This experience helped him narrow his job search and discover which jobs align with his strengths. Chris’s internship at Athenahealth meant a lot to him and created a great foundation for his future.

Chris’s advice to others: “Try to network as much as you can at internships. Your job becomes easier and more fulfilling when you get a better idea of the big picture of the company and what everyone is working towards.”