Sally Ruan's ePortfolio

A City Tech OpenLab ePortfolio

Internship Experience & Presentation

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Youtube Link to Audio: https://youtu.be/XQQEl6LuEz0
alt= “A person being happy about their internship”
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This semester was a great new experience for me. At first, I did struggle with what I was assigned, mainly because the topic was something I have never done before. Health and wellness were something I am not familiar with. After many revisions on my work, countless research and designing, I started to understand the topic more. I have learned a lot from my supervisor’s feedback on what I can do to change my designs to be a better fit for the Instagram account.

Throughout the internship, I have worked on real world projects with a real target market and turnaround due dates. I have also learned a lot about a new design application named Canva that can be used on the phone or by website. I improved my skills on design applications such as Photoshop and Canva. I have strengthened my time management, professional communication, the understanding of Instagram stories and reels. This internship has helped me prepare for my future job.

Internship Presentation

Youtube link to Presentation: https://youtu.be/FIDOAvpzAZ8

Types of Designs

In my internship, I am a social media intern. The app that I focus on is Instagram. On Instagram there are many types of designs you can do. Some of those include posts, stories, reels, covers and many more. For the past few months, I have been working on reels, covers, and stories. Instagram Reels are basically videos, similar to TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Instagram covers are thumbnails of the videos. Instagram stories are like a 24-hour news feed of your account. I work on Instagram stories the most because even after posting on your story, you can make a highlight. The highlight can stay on your page forever and people can view it until you delete it. Instagram stories are also very popular because it can keep track of who views your stories, and it has interactive tools like stickers and polls. Social Media is one of the most powerful and fastest growing ways to reach different audiences. I feel that there are so many different things I can work on.

Current Internship Progress

Image Source: Commaconsulting.com

I have learned a lot throughout the past month of internship. There were many new things I did not know about and have to research a lot. I learned about strategies and how to create designs that would keep the attention of viewers for Instagram. I also have to use a new application to create the designs. The work I’m given is similar to my class projects, but it’s based off a real world target market and not just an example. I work on Instagram Reels, stories, and posts that match the account’s branding. I am also able to get feedback on my work from my supervisor, which has been very helpful to me. Through this internship, I will be better and more prepared for the future.

Working Asynchronously

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During the past few weeks at my internship, I have been doing all the work assigned to me independently. Every week after completing the work, I would get some feedback from my supervisor on how I can change the designs to make it even better. The assignments I am currently working on do not require any group work. I believe that working independently has many benefits, as I can use my own imagination for my assignments. Collaborative work may require more time from each person to make it work because of everyone’s different schedules. Especially when it’s remote work, it will be harder for everyone. The downside to working independently is that I am not able to see what others do and cannot learn from each other.

The First Project

The first project that was assigned to me was to create Instagram reel covers. This project has taken me a lot of time to do. I was first required to research reels that involve recipes of healthy food, and download the ones that I think would be good to post. After downloading the reels, I have to type up the credits and recipes of the video, so my supervisor can give credits when posting the video. After approval of the reels I downloaded, I have to create a cover with the title for each video. Then I have to organize every video together in different separate folders with their own recipes, video, and cover. This was a very new experience for me because I had to go through many videos for days to see which one would match the aesthetic of the Instagram page I design for.

The App I Design With

Image Source: https://medium.com/canva

In this internship, I have been using Canva for the Instagram designs I do. Canva is a website and mobile app that can be used to create designs of anything easily. Canva already has the layouts you need. You can easily use the designs in Canva to create Instagram posts. I have never really used Canva for any of my design projects. I mainly use adobe programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Since Canva was very new to me, it was a little confusing to use. After using it and studying each tool, it is a great tool. It is an easier version of Adobe programs, simplified and combined. The only problem is that you cannot edit photos or remove backgrounds. If I were to use photos and want to remove the background, I have to use Photoshop first to remove it, then use the photo on Canva. There are many designs I can use on Canva to design, but I believe adobe programs are better because I can create my own designs.

My Remote Internship

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Working remote has been going well for me. My internship is fully remote, and I have only seen my supervisor through Google meet. It’s definitely an interesting work experience. I really enjoy working remotely because it gives me more time to work on the projects given. It is very flexible, I can do my work based off my own schedule, and it will not get in the way of my class schedule. I save a lot of time from traveling around compared to in person work. I have meetings every week with my supervisor to keep up with what I am working on and what my next steps are. My supervisor is also from another state and travels around a lot, we are able to communicate and work together, despite the distance. Being able to work from home or anywhere with internet access is really great.

My Responsibilities

My responsibility at the company is a Social Media Intern, my job is to research trends and help design Instagram Reels, posts, and stories to help grow the Instagram account I was assigned to. Since the Instagram account I was assigned to work for is based on Health and Wellness, I have to do a lot of research. I have little knowledge of health or wellness blogs. I have to search what other influencers and bloggers do to promote their page and learn from them. This is a whole new experience for me compared to what I usually do and learn from school. Every week, I have a video call meeting with my supervisor to review my work and also assign me work.

My Internship

I am currently interning at a privately owned company. I got the internship through my professor’s recommendation. The company provides marketing services through social media. It is a private company that was launched in 2015. The company’s clients are influencers, celebrities, companies, and people that need help to promote or manage their social media accounts.  The account I am interning on is an Instagram account that is linked to a blog. It is about health and wellness and promoting a healthy lifestyle to others. I am looking forward to learning more throughout the internship.

Searching for an Internship

Image Source: https://ryanglick.com/when-is-the-right-time-to-start-your-internship-search/

I started searching for internships during summer before the internship class started. During the summer, I was looking for a paid internship because I wanted a source of income after deciding to not continue with my summer job to fully focus on my last semester. I was planning to earn money and credits for the internship course at the same time. I applied to an internship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I passed the first round of interview but would need to wait for the second round after companies reach out and it would be risky not knowing if I was going to pass or not. By the time a second-round interview was scheduled, I was already provided with an internship given by my professor. I decided to decline Brooklyn Navy Yard because I would not have time for my current classes and Internship if I were to do all of them at once. The internship the professor recommended was a marketing internship where I have to help manage a social media account.

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