August is in full swing and that means two things. One, it’s still hot as Hades in Texas and two, “back to school” is upon us. As we previously wrote, we were fortunate (and grateful) to employ three bright interns from three different schools this summer. Their willingness to learn and get the job done well have by far exceeded our expectations. We think we did ok in recruiting the “right” talent for DMA Solutions because, well, our interns have decided to stay.

That’s right! Deanna, Marcus and Baharan will work remotely from their respective schools as they continue their education this fall. They are excited for the opportunity to extend their professional experience and we are thrilled that they are willing to continue supporting us with their unique talents. In fact, each of them brings something special, and as we look back on what they did to win us over we can’t help but share with you the things that stood out to us. Perhaps as you build your own internship program, the insights on each of our rock stars below will support you in your decision-making process.

Marcus

What He Did Right to Get Hired

First of all, he did his homework. As a fresh produce industry native, Marcus found us through the PMA Foundation’s listing of industry internships. He wanted the job and he told us so in his interview. He was confident and seemed eager to learn more about DMA Solutions and the work that we do to market our clients effectively. He also wore a suit jacket and tie during our Skype interview which was impressive (even though we guessed that he was wearing shorts and flip flops too).

Areas of Strength

Marcus has proven that he is proficient in data mining and reporting. As he told us during the interview process, Microsoft Excel is no foreign concept for him. During his time at DMA Solutions, he was able to shed some light on our blog’s analytics performance and challenged us to think differently about the way that we view success with our content and readership. Marcus also is a quick learner and his communication style on Facebook resonates with our audiences.

Baharan

What She Did Right to Get Hired

Baharan can write! Her resume absolutely stood out amongst the other resumes that we received because she humanized herself and showed her creative skills by describing her talents in writing. No doubt about it, her show stopping resume had us at “hire me.” But, she didn’t stop there – Baharan engaged with us on our blog and social media outlets, which kept open lines of communication. Her face to face interview was simply the icing on the cake as she proved the smarts behind her creativity.

Areas of strength

Baharan loves food and cherishes fresh produce, which makes her a top candidate for marketing just that! Her foodie passion coupled with her creative writing abilities has proved us right for adding her to the team. We have enjoyed her support on copywriting projects as her “social speak” is incredibly relatable, especially in headlines and catchy phrases. Plus her task-oriented work ethic is stellar as she almost always beats assignment deadlines!

Deanna

What She Did Right to Get Hired

Deanna was a 2012 Career Pathways student at Fresh Summit, so we had the chance to get to know her in Anaheim and she made a connection to fresh produce that blew us away. It was obvious that Deanna is confident, well-spoken and thorough. She stayed in touch with us through the spring and her persistence convinced us that she was a great candidate for our program.

Areas of Strength

Deanna listens patiently and asks plenty of the RIGHT questions when sorting through projects, which she always sees through to completion. Her maturity level and the experience that she has gained working in her family business and in her clubs at Texas A&M has certainly prepared her well for being successful in a small business. Deanna emerges from most every meeting with an outline of action items that very rarely needs to be reworked. We appreciate the ideas she generates, especially for thought-provoking Core articles. We are grateful that we can depend on Deanna to get things done!

Though the summer has come to an end and we are sad to see our interns leave the office, we are grateful for our continued relationship. We have high hopes for these talented young professionals and can’t wait to see how they, as well as their potential to become fresh produce marketers, develop in the coming months.

Did you have a summer intern that completely rocked your world? Tell us about them!