About the Author:

Melissa Lawhorn is a senior at Indiana University and holder of multiple internships. With multiple internships under her belt, Melissa provides her perspectives and advice for fellow college students to get the most out of their internship experiences. Follow her weekly column in The Internship Chronicles.

Opportunities can be hard to find. Especially PAID opportunities. That’s why I went out of my way to establish a connection that was then taken out of my hands… But before I ask for words of wisdom, I’ll share the story.

Way back in May, the ladies of Deer Park Manor (also known as myself, my internship coordinator Sue, and the other intern, Kellie) traveled to downtown Indy for our first group outing since Kellie had begun working with us. We were heading downtown to a magazine premiere party – the magazine is tailored to a certain area of the state, discussing wedding trends, vendors, and concepts that work in that particular area. We were really excited to go and check it out, especially after receiving a cute invitation in the mail that had few-to-no details on what the evening would entail.

The drive downtown wasn’t long, about an hour, and the event lasted about the same time. We didn’t stay for too long after the event, so we didn’t really have the opportunity to network with anyone. The whole time, though, I thought how awesome it would be if I could get involved in some capacity. Any capacity, really. I like writing, I like social media (and they NEED to work on their SM presence), and obviously I love weddings – it was the perfect fit!

About two weeks after the event, I got in touch with the advertising editor to further discuss the magazine, and try to get involved. She was extremely receptive, and interested in taking me on in the fall in a paid (or at least with a stipend!) internship position to coordinate their social media and work on connecting with more vendors in the area. She also was interested in coming to the Manor to consider using it for an upcoming COVER SHOOT. I couldn’t believe it! Not only was I looking at an opportunity for myself, but also for the Manor, in the form of a cover shoot AND advertising in every issue this year. It was huge.

And it was appreciated! As we got further into planning the concept for the photoshoot and choosing vendors to participate, they were all gracious enough to express their thanks to me for getting the ball rolling. It certainly could have happened at some point (DPM is an AMAZING venue, and one of the best in the Bloomington area), but all of the local vendors were gracious enough to thank me for my involvement and getting things going.

Then, suddenly, talks with my internship coordinator became what can “you [Melissa] and Kellie [the other intern] do for [the magazine]? It would be great if we can get you both positions!” *crickets* I was pretty upset. I had worked really, really hard to establish this connection, and I was pretty distraught that our other intern was also going to gain a position from my hard work…

There’s a part two to this story (next week!) but first, I have to ask, what would you have done in this situation? Am I making a bid deal out of nothing? Should I have said something? Or is it a good thing tolet other people also benefit from the opportunity you created?