Kolbi: My Life as an OMG SEO Intern

As a native Texan, my journey to becoming an SEO intern at Monstrous Media Group was rather obscure. Entering into the final semester of my senior year at The University of Texas at Austin, I was bartending at a hotel downtown and desperately - major emphasis on the desperate part - searching for an internship to fulfill a requirement to graduate. Enter in Brad as I’m working, and we strike up a conversation where I begin to describe my studies as an advertising student in the TexasMedia Sequence. Coincidentally, just as I was in desperate - there’s that word again - search for an internship, MMG was seeking someone with my exact same credentials. Fast forward a couple months, and here I am working with the company full time after proving myself and my abilities throughout the semester (or something like that). Before we get to full time talk though, I’ll walk you through my semester with MMG and describe some of my roles and responsibilities as an intern.

For an SEO intern at MMG, a typical week includes reviewing SEO data for our clients, tasking site maintenance issues out to the development team, and working with them to get them solved in the most efficient manner as well as compiling and sending out client reports. I also try my hand at some blog writing and other SEM tasks. This really only begins to scratch the surface though. Because of our small size, I’m granted more responsibility than a typical intern at most other companies or agencies. Not many 21-22 year olds are entrusted to execute the tasks I do on a daily basis. The responsibility was a tad intimidating at first, but I knew that was only fear trying to hold me back; I knew I was prepared to take on the role. I just needed to put my head down and work hard, and I did. Because I acted in this manner, I get to stay with MMG fulltime and expand upon my abilities while helping to grow the company.

From the above description of my duties as an SEO intern, it’s pretty apparent I’ve gained a plethora of new skills including soft ones such as how to handle client relations, internal communication, new business as well as more technical skills such as how to effectively execute SEO, SEM, and web development. The fact that I’ve gained such a wide array of new skills is what I like best about working for MMG. My work is varied in a way that makes each day different. Not only do I get to learn about SEO and how it applies to work on clients with businesses in a number of different business sectors, I get to learn about web development, social media marketing, and content production as described above. I think it’s essential to operate in this way to get a more holistic view of how all the moving parts work together to form one cohesive product for the client.

Now that I’ve graduated, I reflect back to when I was bartending and in desperate search for someone to take a chance on me and can’t help but feel beyond grateful for where I’m at now. I do realize that I may sound like an idealistic young professional unaware of how cruel the business world can be, but that’s okay because as I’m entering into this next phase of my life, I do so confidently with MMG by my side. Not only is everyone with the company smart and capable; they’re also witty and funny and good people doing the best they can every single day. We are small, but we are mighty. We produce exemplary work matched by few, and although I’ll be working remotely from our new office in Austin, Texas, I couldn’t be more proud to call this company my new home and these people my family.

If you or someone you know is interested in an internship, contact us to see if we have any availability!  {contact-form}