Do you want to know what it is like to get an internship in a Fortune 500 company? Well, we have it for you.
Below, is an online interview with one of ASM's very own members, Jason Kellar. He tells us about how he got internships with Owens Corning and Marathon Oil and his first week experiences as an intern. Jason will be our featured ASM guest speaker this Spring. To hear the beginning of his story, read on...
OWENS CORNING
Why did you decide to get an internship? How did you get your internship?
"I did a lot of networking in order to get this internship. It took a lot of persistence and determination on my part to get into a company looking for extraordinary talent. It started out by my computer professor Seth Powless noticing that I went “above and beyond” in the classroom. He asked me to stay after class one day and asked if I would be interested in a networking opportunity with Owens Corning (luncheon). From there I introduced myself to leadership at the conference and continued to email and network with others I met at the Business Job Fair. After coming in for an interview in February 2008 and getting rejected, HR told me to follow up with them in the fall. Instead of giving up, I continued to network and they asked me to interview with them again in February 2009. I was the top choice out of the College and engineering college for IT they told me. I started my prestigious internship with Owens Corning in May of 2009 until August 2009. I decided to do an internship with OC because I knew I would get real world experience that I was looking for and I knew it was a good way to get my “foot in the door” with a company. Companies are looking for graduates with real world experience. Think about it, this is really one of the only ways to differentiate yourself from your peers."
What department/job you were placed in?
"I was placed on the Manufacturing Systems Team at OC. What an AWESOME experience this summer was working on this team. I had two really cool projects that I was responsible for. I was able to do a lot of traveling as well and speak with the clients as well as see the system first hand and how it impacted the company!
The on boarding process for me at OC was very smooth. My team took me out for lunch that first week and we got to know each other. Everyone on my team was very helpful when I asked questions and needed help with something. I was assigned a mentor who was great as well! At OC they really set you up for success, they don’t and are not trying to get you to fail! The first day, after a mornings worth of orientation I was thrown into a conference call on one of the projects I would be working on. Immediately I starting to build my project management skills and knowledge of what I would be working on by talking with the engineers and contractors that I would be working with this summer on that first phone call."
Quote: We had a luncheon with OC’s CIO and he said “You can be as technical as a computer nerd but if you can’t communicate you’re not going to be successful”
Quote: Jason Kellar: “Companies are looking for someone who is confident, outgoing, has interpersonal skills, and who can communicate.”
MARATHON OIL CORPORATION
Why did you decide to get an internship? How did you get your internship?
"How did I get this internship? I went to the Fall Job Fair and talked with HR. They asked me to come back at 4:00pm that day for an interview. This too was in 2008 and they told me they were not going to hire me because I need more IS classes since I had just added IS to my career track. I was starting to see a pattern here to say the least. She did tell me to stay in contact with them.
The following summer I emailed the supervisor at Marathon Oil Corporation in Findlay to let him know what I was doing for the summer. He invited me to lunch in and gave me some helpful advice. I spoke with him and HR at the fall job fair again that following fall and I received a call during homecoming week with an offer for an internship!
So, as you can see it took a lot of persistence and determination but it was well worth it!"
What department/job you were placed in?
"IT-Tax,Treasury,Law & Governance is the name of the Team I was put in for my Fall Co-op that is lasting one semester (August thru December) in Houston, Texas! I’m getting a completely different experience here at Marathon Oil Corporation. I’m working on a lot of different projects at once such as TeamView, Risk Assessments, SharePoint, and another project involved with creating documentation called DSP’s (Decision Support Packages) for converting our legacy Access databases to SQL.
If you would like to know the details of my internship work and resulting job offers, be sure to attend the ASM meeting in January. I will be the featured guest speaker and I will share the rest of my story with you then."
