In a world where jobs are practically impossible to find, many people as well as businesses may want to think about looking into internships. During this year I found myself being an intern at Smart Retailer magazine, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the experience.

Being an intern was one of the most beneficial and most challenging things I have done in my life; it gave me more experience than I could have ever imagined in the field of publishing. In my experience as an intern I was doing something different every day, so when I say that I got experience I mean it. Having worked in so many different areas and doing so many different jobs during my internship helped me to realize everything that went into publishing a magazine, and defeated my ignorance in thinking that I could just walk into a publishing job and only have to write articles.

My experience was beyond useful for me because not only was I getting experience firsthand, I also had a mentor there that was answering my questions and showing me how to get the job done efficiently. However, as much as Interns will benefit from this experience, the companies in return also have a great advantage by hiring an intern.

Some tasks I had to do were somewhat tedious. Updating the Industry News section for of the Smart Retailer website, for example. However, as much as I didn’t want to do this job, it did have to be done. A company can benefit from having an intern start off by doing the smaller more tedious jobs that a lot of the time get pushed to the side.

An internship is also a great way to help people experience your company, and that can send them bragging about how great the company is. Personally, I talked to people about Smart Retailer every day when I was interning there and I told them about how awesome the magazine was.

Having an intern can be great, and being an intern is more than amazing. Giving someone that experience that you want them to have to be able to work at your business really can benefit you in the end. As much as the intern learns, I would like to think that the employers in the business learn as well.

I couldn’t have asked for a better place to intern this year, and I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.

Maggie Connelly is a 2012 graduate of St. Charles North High School. She interned with Smart Retailer during her senior year. We wish her the best in her college and future careers. Thank you Maggie!