The Benefits

Internships are about learning what you do and don't like about the company you are interning for. That way, when it is time to choose a job, you have a better idea of what you are looking for and what type of company you would like to be a part of. My past internships have been with much smaller firms. My first internship for example was with a boutique Event Planning and PR firm- less than 5 employees. Now I am working for a multi-million dollar company that controls some of the top TV channels and is located in the heart of the world (in my opinion): Time Square. The benefits to working for both a small company and a large company are endless. Since I am currently at a large company, Viacom, I will tell you about the benefits I have seen thus far.

There is a cool website created for all the employees of Viacom. You can find any information necessary on this web site; the latest information about the company and anything affecting you as an employee. The site also has the daily menu of what is being served at 'The Lodge.' The Lodge is kind of like of cafeteria, but a lot better. Plus, the food is subsidized, so it is about half the price one would pay for food anywhere outside in Time Square. There is also an outdoor part of the cafeteria, where you can sit outside and eat your lunch with a great view of the city. Basically every conference room in the building (and the offices of important people) has the most fantastic view of the city. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate on the meeting with such and amazing view of New York.

MTV also has a lot of seminars for its employees. There was one about how to be a good dad in today's world, which I did not attend, but many other people did just because there was going to be a few famous people there. There was however another seminar with someone from Kaplan who came in to discuss Graduate School admissions which was pretty helpful. It seems they are going to have a test prep class here later in the summer.

Well, since I have not stopped talking about how great it is to work for a large company I must say something positive about my first internship with a very small firm. I think sometimes you can do more 'important' work relating directly to or with the client at a small firm because there are not as many people above you to do the job. If you have a crazy boss of course, you may be doing a little slave work on the side as well, but in a smaller company, more important tasks are likely to be assigned to you. Additionally, when working in such a small firm, you see, hear and experience EVERYTHING. In such a small office, nothing can get past you. There are not weekly secret meetings between top executives. And if there was a meeting in a small firm between the two top people, you are close enough to the room to hear just about everything that is said.