the life of a clevermethod intern.

August 11, 2015

Internships can be truly rewarding experiences, both for the intern and for the company. By allowing students to immerse themselves in their specified fields of study, gaining real-world experience is made easy. If you are fortunate enough to land a good one, it can help you decide what you really love, or don’t love, to do before graduating college. We interns here at clevermethod were among the fortunate ones.

Cailey Bardwell
Marketing Analyst Intern | Rochester Institute of Technology ‘16

When I heard that clevermethod wanted me to join their team for the summer, I was ecstatic. It was everything I wanted in an internship: a marketing agency, focused on the digital side, and a young, casual company. As excited as I was, the nerves naturally set in as the first day approached. However, they subsided just as quickly as they emerged. I was greeted with warm smiles from the friendliest of people. I was given a tour of the newly-renovated office, met my new co-workers, and was immediately put on tasks for exciting clients. As the summer went on, I became more and more comfortable in my new environment, but how could I not? We had regular company catered meals, played KanJam on lunch breaks, and worked closely with each other across departments, sharing ideas and getting to know each other.

Any college student’s biggest fear when searching for an internship is that they will spend their summer running out for coffee for the office in between streaks of boredom stuck in their cubicle, but that was far from the case for me. At clevermethod, I was able to dive right into the company and immerse myself in a number of different areas, giving me the asset I lacked most: experience. I had the opportunity to work on social media, analytics, content creation, app development, and even project management. More importantly, I was able to see the ins and outs of the agency world as a whole. But aside from all of this, I was able to experience the kind of company culture that I will now look for in all of my future jobs. I had fun at work and I liked the people I worked with, making my internship enjoyable. I was excited to come into work every day and I cared about the work I produced. Even when I was on my incredible summer vacation, I found myself wondering what was going on back at the office and wishing I was there working on one of my various projects. I know I will be doing the same when I am back at school this fall.

So, to say I had a great summer internship is an understatement. I absolutely loved my time here at clevermethod and I will most certainly miss it when I am gone.

Jacqueline Colello
Marketing Analyst Intern | Rochester Institute of Technology ‘18

It was definitely a long shot, or at least I thought. A timid freshman in college (at the time) scouting out an internship at a career fair filled with upperclassmen. After being shot down by what felt like endless companies because of my “lack of experience,” the discouragement set in. Just then is when I spotted clevermethod’s table, and their colorful logo that instantly caught my eye. I was initially nervous to approach the two stereotypical, nerdy-looking men standing at the table. Okay, okay, so they weren’t nerdy-looking. In fact, they were actually pretty tall and intimidating, but I soon realized I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

What began as a casual conversation with my age and college year level having no influence, eventually turned into an interview a few months later. After meeting one of the partners and being interviewed by my soon-to-be manager, I anxiously waited for the email that hopefully asked me to join their team. When the email finally came, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic to be given the chance that I know most freshmen don’t get.

So here I am. A “clevermethoder,” if you will. As my marketing internship quickly comes to a halting end, it’s safe to say that I’ve learned more here than I did my entire first year in college. They really weren’t kidding when they told me I’d be thrown directly into real projects, with real clients. And as Cailey mentioned, I didn’t have to go on a single coffee run! Not one! I feel confident and prepared for whatever my future endeavors may be. Whether they’re in the workforce, or throughout the remainder of my schooling, I know that clevermethod has provided me with enough experience to take on anything, and not to mention an absolutely awesome team that helped me get as far as I am today.

Thanks team!

Evan Stoddard
Web Application Developer Intern | Clarkson University ‘19

So I never thought that a kid just out of high school would get a job at a place where games for Mattel are being created and groundbreaking apps are being developed, but here I am.  Finishing up my internship at clevermethod.  I too, like Jackie, thought there was no chance of being hired.  I figured I’d get a chuckle and a “come back when you’re older kid.” I showed them some of the apps I had worked on (nothing ground breaking and some weren’t even finished) and they said that I’d be a great addition to the team.  I started the following week.

Ask anyone here and they’ll say that they were thrown right into a project.  That is absolutely the case and I was indeed thrown right in.  I was given features that needed to be added and updates that needed to happen.  Some things needed to be reengineered and some things needed to be learned.  Coming into this job I had no idea what dispatching processes to the main thread meant.  I knew very little about core graphics and SQLite.  I knew that it was required so I learned.  Everyone was willing to listen to my questions and help me find resources that would help me along the way.  I’ve always heard that learning never stops and this job has definitely reinforced that statement.  The skills I learned at this job are ones that can’t be taught in school and the teachers here are definitely more interesting than those that taught me math.

Leaving clevermethod is like leaving family from out of state.  We would eat lunch together at long tables and we’d play KanJam or bubble hockey.  Other’s cracked sarcastic comments as if they were talking to their siblings.  Everyone genuinely cared about each other.  At the end of the day I knew that people were glad to see me and I was glad to see them.  I got to work with people I wanted to be around and people that I genuinely cared about.

So I must say goodbye to my family now.  Thank you for the great memories and time we got to spend together.

So, as all three of our personalized internship experiences come to an end, it’s safe to say that we’ve all developed new skills and capabilities that will stick with us far into the future. Whether an application developer or a marketing analyst, clevermethod truly provided each of us with an individual, real-world work experience that we will never forget.

Thank you, clevermethod, for an awesome summer!

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