Internship: IPG Lucky 13

Disclaimer: I'm an alum of IPG's Lucky 13 - so pardon my enthusiasm!

Hands down, if I had to make a recommendation for students looking for a comprehensive internship, IPG's Lucky 13 would be it.

I've heard countless stories of students who landed what they were hoping to be their dream internship, only to realize that the agency didn't know what to do with them once they're there. Not the case with The Lucky 13.

From day 1, I knew exactly what was expected of me. My Account Supervisor and the AAE who I worked directly under briefed me on the status of current projects and detailed what I would learn during my 10-weeks as an account management intern on the General Mills business. I still remember shuddering at their frankness concerning the workload.

By day 3, I was working on assignments side by side with the AAE, attending meetings at General Mills, and learning more things than most interns learn in an entire summer.

By the last day of the internship, I had learned more than I had throughout my entire college experience and felt ready to enter as a junior employee - which should be the goal of EVERY internship.

One of the things that I appreciated most about my time with Campbell Mithun, was the mentoring I received from not just my supervisor and AAE, but from anyone I came into contact with. It was through these interactions that I developed a very keen sense of the work CM does and the direction they're heading - but moreso, about what my role as an intern (and future job prospect) means to the agency.

Enough of the sentimentality - here's what The Lucky 13 do BEYOND their workload:

• Brown Bag Lunches - Weekly meetings with some of the agencies top reps from each division
• Speaker Series - Notable speakers explain what it means to work their field; followed by an hour of Q&A with CM's HR rep
  
• Social Activities - Including a BBQ with our Keepers (think mentors - I know, Keepers sounds creepy, but they're actually quite nice).
• Weekly Testimonials - Interns are emailed a question weekly and asked to record their testimonial in the "Confession Room" (think The Real World). At the end of the program the clips were created into a video (which I'm sure has leaked somewhere on the internet).
  
• Speed Interviews - It's like speed dating minus the date
  
• NSAC-Style Competition* - Interns were split into two teams and presented a fictional pitch to six judges comprised of agencies reps. The "client" - Grain Belt.
  

The deadline is rapidly approaching - so if you're interested, please visit their website. The application process is extremely intense, so dedicate the time necessary to stand out from the rest of the applicants.

If you want to see what my personal experience was like as a Lucky 13 intern, visit my other blog where I detail my life at Campbell Mithun & Minneapolis. You can also join the IPG Lucky 13 Facebook site, moderated by my favorite 13er, Val.




*For those of you who want to see the "campaign" we pitched as our final project, click here