As 5 Stones Media continues to take ground as a marketing firm, the number of hopeful college students and recent graduates applying for internships increases. To date, we’ve had interns work in just about every aspect of the company including graphic design, marketing, social media, public relations and video production. While the skill set is somewhat unique for each position, there are common traits that have landed some interns into permanent team member positions. Here are three traits that I look for when selecting permanent team members:
INITIATIVE
As 5 Stones Media’s Art Director, it’s my responsibility to guide projects to completion. That doesn’t mean that I want to micromanage every aspect of each team member’s workload. What I’m looking for are individuals that try to anticipate what the art department needs and pushes him or herself to do exemplary work. That might include a graphic design intern developing a series of thumbnail sketches – on one’s own time – before discussing a project with the team.
TEACHABILITY
I’ve had the privilege of working with several graphic design interns. The two that I’ve hired as team members could readily receive feedback from peers and myself. Moreover, they were eager to learn outside of the formal internship experience.
HEALTHY SELF CONFIDENCE
I have no use for those that are prideful or feel inferior. That may come off as harsh, but both are unhealthy, self absorbed identities that undermine teamwork. However, the self-confident individual will believe that he or she can bring something valuable to the team while not undermining other ideas in the process. This is the individual who will put team success over personal gain.
