jeansinjeans

How a college campus tour turned into an internship at a top company.

I loved my job as a college campus tour guide. I made bad jokes, came out with funny stories, and, most importantly, got to brag about my achievements. Granted, some may have fallen short of expectations, but I believe the most noteworthy was occasionally being the college mascot.

That job unfortunately ended when I left to study abroad for a semester. Upon my return, I took up another job at the admissions office, one that didn’t include campus tours.

So imagine my surprise when I was asked to give a special, VIP tour to a family.

I hadn’t given a tour in over a year. Did I even remember where the first-year dorms were? Or what time the dining hall opened? But I missed giving tours!! So I cautiously, eagerly said yes.

I was told that I would learn more about the family before I gave the tour the following week, so I brushed it off. I (ignorantly) assumed that the “VIP” would be something like a wealthy donor of the school who wanted to send her niece here. I went to a small school that no one really GAFs about. Oh, how I was mistaken.

The night before the tour, as I was finishing an essay I had procrastinated on, I received a message detailing the family and their campus visit. I then read who the family was…

The CEO.

Holy shit.

Me? Why me? I haven’t done this in over a year. Surely someone knows more about the tour route than me. I better start remembering how to do this.

I met with the family the following day, and the tour flew by. The family was incredibly kind and laughed at all of my classic tour guide jokes.

In the days following the tour, I was plagued by the question: “Do I reach out or not.” This tour was about their child, and I did not want to invade their privacy or make them feel uncomfortable if I reached out.

A few days later, I made the choice to send a short email: thank them, offer any information or help I could about the campus, and express my interest in connecting with anyone they knew. One email. Simple. And if I received no response, at least I tried.

I waited.

Then received an email back.

Holy shit.

We emailed back and forth a couple of times and they generously connected me with someone in the company. This person managed teams that I thought could be good fit for what I wanted to pursue after graduation.

I met with this person and at the end of our 30-minute chat, they said, “Unfortunately, we don’t have interns.” Bummer. That’s okay, I’ll keep looking.

During my job search, I applied for the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. A story for another time!

A few months go by. The new year starts, and my final semester of college begins. I received an email and was shocked. The CEO had mentioned my name and that I may be interested in the internship program.

Holy shit.

That’s about the fastest I’ve ever completed an application.

After many weeks of preparing for interviews and meeting with past mentors, I made it through the recruiting process. I waited. I received an email titled “Update.” Okay, here we go.

“Great News!”

Holy shit.

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At the end of my internship, I asked my boss if our meeting months prior to my interview impacted whether I got this position. They said it was not a factor (yesssss!!!), and they didn’t tell anyone else on the hiring committee until afterwards (YESSSSS!!!).

So maybe it wasn’t nepotism that gave me this opportunity. It was an opportunity that came out of a risk I was willing to take: reaching out and asking for it.

My biggest takeaway from this? Do things because you enjoy them, even if there’s no “point.” In a culture that values optimization and efficiency, taking the time to do an activity “just because” is so valuable. I loved giving tours, and even if there was no obvious career gain from this activity, it was something I loved and that was enough.

I got pretty lucky, too.

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