Matt's blog
Class of 2009, Communication Major, from Waukesha, WI

I probably picked the perfect semester to blog about getting an internship because I have been through it all. From my four month long interview process at Best Buy, I have seen it all. I have now been to three interviews and one shadow day. I was told this past week that by the end of this week I should know if I got the position or not. As of now, I feel confident and I am happy the way I have interviewed, but I am still unsure if I will get the position. I was told that there are two or three other candidates up for the same position.

I don't know what to expect, I have put all of my eggs in this basket and if I do not get the position, I did not leave myself with many other options. If I do find out that I do not get the internship this week, that leaves one week before summer starts to get an internship. On top of exams and other papers and projects due this week, this is pretty stressful! As much as I hope to get the position, I need to prepare for the worst case scenario. If I do not get the position, I will need to start me search over again.

Luckily, there are more positions online now since summer is near. I will have to send out e-mails and make phone calls to potential employers and schedule interviews. Since I have been through the entire process of interviewing, I would feel confident looking elsewhere. This is just a frustrating and stressful situation, but hey… that's college!

Unfortunately I am still waiting to hear something from Best Buy. I have not heard anything back from them since March 14. Last week I emailed the GM of the Green Bay store again stating that I still want the internship, but I will need to know within a week or two. Since it is already April and school is ending in about a month, I need to find an internship. I will wait about a week from my last email and I will follow up with a phone call if I do not hear anything.

This waiting process is actually pretty stressful. I started the interview process over 5 weeks ago and I still do not know if I have the internship or not. Now, I need to start looking around again. When I last talked with Best Buy on March 14, we left on great terms. I still think I am going to get the internship, but if I do not I need to know ASAP. By the end of this week, I will continue looking for internships. I guess I will just have to wait and see!

My Best Buy interview process is going well. This past week I sent out an email to the General Manager of the Green Bay store to see where I stand and what the next steps for me are. The GM stated that she will be in contact with me sometime in the next week or so. From my Shadow Day, it sounded like I might have options with Best Buy after graduation in May 2009.

Over spring break I went to visit family in Atlanta, GA. I talked with my cousins aunt from the other side of their family (the side I am not related to). I had heard she had a great job with a great company, so I really wanted to talk with her! She works in pharmaceutical sales and research. This profession has always been something that has interested me, but I never pursued it. After talking with her, my interests came back.

When we talked over dinner about potential opportunities, she said she had two pages of recruiters she would pass my name and resume along to. The other night I sent her an email with my resume attached. She said she would get me some names later this week. I plan on working with Best Buy if I get hired, but now that I have options after graduation, it make me that much more excited about my future career.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I have been in the interview stage at Best Buy for their Leadership Internship Program. I have had two interviews already and was waiting to hear back from Best Buy's GM about the next steps. A few days ago I received a call back. The call was to schedule a Shadow Day so that I can see what I would be doing if I got the internship.

I was given three days to choose from, but unfortunately I was unable to make any of those dates due to class and projects due. I asked if there was any other day available and we decided on Tuesday, March 11. The Shadow Day was really interesting. I started at 9:00 a.m. and finished at 5:00 p.m. I was able to ask questions and follow managers around. I tried to use this opportunity as an extended interview because I am still in the interview process. I met with 2 supervisors that day and looked at different areas of business.

After the Shadow Day, I realized that this is an internship I would like for the summer. I was told as I was leaving that I will be hearing back from Best Buy in the next week or so with more information about the position and what the next steps are. The process seems long, but every time I hear more about the position, the more I want it!

Over the past few weeks I have worked on a few different parts relating to my internship search. The major thing I have been working on has been my resume. I have moved passed grammar and spelling errors, now I am focused on structure and the way it looks visually. I have probably reread and revised my resume five different times since my last blog. The other thing I have been working on is applying for internships. I am currently in the process of interviewing with Best Buy. Two weeks ago I had my first interview with Best Buy. It ran for about 45 minutes and then I was scheduled a second interview. Last week I had my second interview with Best Buy. There, we discussed the position in more detail.

The position is a Management/Leadership internship position within Best Buy. This position allows the intern to learn all management areas within a Best Buy store. The unique thing about this is that the program is brand new only being its second or third year. Interns at Best Buy will be given a lot of responsibility and a lot of opportunity for future advancement.

In a few weeks I will have a 'Shadow Day' at Best Buy to learn more about each position. From there, I was told I will have another interview and a decision will be made after that. The interview process seems to be long, but it is worth it. I am getting great interview experience and an opportunity for a great job after college. I am not sure if I will get the position or not, but I am staying optimistic! When I hear more from Best Buy I will write another blog. In the mean time, I am going to continue to look around for other opportunities because I do not want to "put all of my eggs in one basket". If by chance Best buy does not work out the way I hoped, I could still have something else waiting for me.