Liz Corrigan is a senior finance major who interned at Disney Media Ad Sales & Marketing this summer. For two months she analyzed the different Disney shows and social media channels and compared them against their competitors. Liz loved her work and the people she met, and I was lucky enough to hear all about it.

Madeleine: What’s your major and hometown?

Liz: I am majoring in finance and my hometown is East Meadow, Long Island.

Madeleine: Where did you intern this summer? For how long?

Liz: I interned at Disney Media Ad Sales & Marketing as an Ad Sales Research intern. I worked there from the beginning of June to the end of August.

Madeleine: What did you do for this company?

Liz: I had many tasks assigned to me during the summer. Most of my jobs involved using different research based programs and creating/updating reports to help my team respond back to clients or our ad sales co-workers. For example, one program I used allowed me to see our ratings across all of our Disney platforms (Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD) and how our shows performed against competing networks across various demographics. Our department mostly focused on kids and analyzed who performed best amongst boys, girls and kids overall. Another assignment was to see how each of our platforms did against competitors on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. This had been done for the past year and it was interesting to see how much the social media activity had grown since December.

Madeleine: How did you get the job?

Liz: I found the job opening by looking on the internet. I searched internships in New York City and found a bunch of interesting internships to apply for. I also narrowed my search after a while to analytical positions because of a previous internship I have had. In the summer of 2014, I worked at MLB Advanced Media in the ticketing department and I wanted to use the skills I gained at there at another company. When I saw the job opening of “Ad Sales Research Intern” at Disney Channel, I knew this was the internship I really wanted. I applied on their website and was fortunate enough to get an interview with my future boss. I went to the ABC building in Lincoln Center for an in-person interview which was really intimidating. I literally paced outside for a good 5 minutes before I actually went in. In my interview, they really liked not only the classes I was taking but also my previous experience at MLB. About two days later I got the call that I got the internship.

Madeleine: Did you like it? What was the best/worst part?

Liz: I cannot fully describe how much I loved this internship. The environment, the work I got to do, the people I got to meet, were so amazing and I felt so lucky walking into the building every day. The best part was the intern project that I got to participate in. All the interns involved with Ad Sales across the different networks of Disney, ABC Family and ABC were put into groups. Our task was to create our own TV show and pitch it to our bosses and executives of all networks. Once I met with my group a couple times, we truly became a team and I looked forward to working on out TV show every day. We created a really cute TV show for Disney Channel and the executives were very impressed with the show we created. They said they could even see it being on Disney Channel. I loved working with the other interns and helping create something we were all proud of. Throughout the project, we learned how all the different aspects of the company come together to create a show, promote it, select advertisers and so much more. All the work we did in three months was a fraction of the work that goes into creating a real show. It was truly an amazing project to get to be a part of.

Madeleine: Suggestions for underclassmen thinking about interning?

Liz: I highly recommend getting an internship during the summer and/or during the year if your schedule permits. Even if it is not necessarily in the field you want to pursue, it gives you experience which is essential to building a good resume. Do research about internship openings in your area and get a sense about what you would like to do or what kind of company you would like to work for. Also take advantage of the resources we have on campus. I went to the Center for Career Development for help and they looked over my resume, talked to me about what kind of internships I should apply for, and helped me get set up on Jasperlink. Also Jasperlink is a great starting place. Check there for job openings especially since they are looking specifically for Manhattan College students and alumni. Professors, advisors and other students are also great for advice.