Mitchell van der Noll is a senior Marketing major with an interest in sports and entertainment. This past summer, Mitchell interned at City Football Group, the owner of football-related businesses in major cities around the world, including Manchester City Football Club and New York City Football Club.

As a Partnerships Intern, Mitchell assisted his supervisor in reaching out to new partnership prospects and establishing connections. He would research companies and brands leading up to their meetings with his supervisor, and used this information to help in creating outreach emails to further establish a knowledge base on potential partnerships. Major projects are where he feels he learned the most, as himself and another intern went through the full process of researching 2 companies, Logitech G and Airbnb. Their research culminated in a presentation on CFG and partnership activations between themselves and other brands, given in the form of a roleplay to everyone on their team who gave them constructive feedback to help them in similar settings moving forward.

Mitchell worked with about 10 people regularly in his position, collaborating closely with his supervisor, the department head, and the Director, Partnership Sales. The team covered all the responsibilities associated with partnerships and sports, with tasks ranging from current partnership activations to social media and event marketing. Mitchell found himself welcomed in quickly, and found the team to be ambitious and passionate for what they do.

One of the biggest takeaways from Mitchell’s position was recognizing the value in asking for feedback and advice. Throughout his projects, there were times where he was unsure of next steps, but through connecting with his colleagues he was able to stay on track, and learned more in the process.

Outreach and networking were key factors in Mitchell securing this position, and he emphasizes the value of reaching out to people at brands you are interested in working for directly. “Completing an application is great, but it doesn’t establish a personal connection,” he says, “To anyone looking for an internship or job, consider finding someone in your department of interest and sending a short introductory email. It might lead to something more, and it might not, but if you don’t try, you’ll never find out.”

Katherine Maroney ’16 is now a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Enterprise Holdings, but she attributes her successful transition from undergrad to professional life to her time at UConn. She encourages students to get involved, whether that be in organizations that directly relate to your major or not. Katherine was involved in both a sales, marketing, and management fraternity as well as other clubs that helped her build skills in communication and leadership.

As for her path to her current role with Enterprise Holdings, she was first exposed to the company at the UConn career fair. She met with a representative that had graduated from UConn and within a year and a half with the company, was running her own store and driving a company car. As a senior, Katherine wasn’t sure exactly what type of career she wanted to pursue and was attracted to Enterprise because of the options that they had, allowing her to learn every aspect of a business and move her career forward based on what part interested her most.

In her current role, Katherine acts as a business partner to the hiring managers of Enterprise’s rental divisions and departments. She recruits and hires for Enterprise, National, and Alamo locations across three states, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Western Massachusetts, using reporting to assist hiring managers in determining staffing needs. In addition to this she attends career fairs and networking events on college campuses to recruit students for management and sales trainee programs, staff accountant roles, and auto detailer opportunities. Aside from recruiting and interviewing, she also coaches managers and employees on best interview practices, providing support for external applicants or interviews for promotions.

For undergraduate students looking for summer internships or full-time roles, Katherine advises them to get in front of as many employers as you can. “The more employers you include in your search, the more you can learn about exciting career opportunities you never knew existed,” she says, “the more you participate in career fairs and networking events the more comfortable you will become.” Follow up and engagement with different employers can set you apart from other students that are applying for the same roles, helping you secure that dream position.