If you told me in May of 2017, when my professional career with Reynolds and Reynolds began, that I would be where I am today, I wouldn’t have believed you. Back when I started, I was an intern on the marketing communications team and like any intern, I was anxious about the position and what my summer experience would hold.

My Internship

To my surprise, my internship was different from any of my previous work experiences. The entire summer I was working on real projects, not busy work. I consistently met with and shadowed full-time associates to better understand their job roles. I partnered with people to create and launch real customer-facing marketing campaigns. I even worked with another intern and the recruiting department to create a video that explains a day in the life of a Reynolds intern.

During that time, I quickly learned Reynolds values its associates. Why else would they put time and effort into helping my career? They worked to help me expand my skills and knowledge so I could become the best employee I could, regardless of where my career took me. Because of this, I decided to stay and work part-time while I finished my degree.

My Part-Time Position

Once I began as a part time associate, I took on my own solutions and responsibilities. I was able to start working on projects without the need to shadow or share with another associate. My skills and professionalism quickly expanded as I learned lessons with each project. Working closely with sales teams and product managers, I was able to better understand key solution functions. I utilized this knowledge to better tailor marketing to align with sales and resonate with customers.

The more responsibility I took on, the more I wanted to improve my skills and grow my knowledge. What didn’t change was the fact I felt valued as an associate. Between tackling new responsibilities and growing as a professional, I knew I wanted to continue to work for Reynolds.

My Full-Time Position

After graduating college, I moved into a full-time position. Making the transition from part-time was a bigger leap than I expected, and I ended up taking over more solutions and responsibilities. Several large projects fell in my lap right off the bat:

• Efforts to discontinue a product, requiring letters, emails, and web pages for customers currently using the product.
• Large updates to flyers and presentations that were outdated.
• Major product campaigns utilizing eBooks, videos, and emails to regain customer interest and traction in the market.

With these new responsibilities came new goals and milestones. I also was working to expand my training, trying to better understand my products, dealerships, and the automotive industry.

Within six months of starting full time, I won “Marketeer of the Month” for my efforts on the discontinued product. Within a year and a half, I won Rookie of the Year for the entire marketing department. In that same time I was promoted to marketing communications specialist. These achievements came from my professionalism, ability to attain product leads for the sales team, contributions to an overarching marketing campaign for the Reynolds brand, and quick rise as a leader on the marketing communications team.

I could take credit for these achievements, saying it happened because of me and my efforts, but that’s not the whole truth.

I believe I made these achievements in part because of how valued I felt as a Reynolds associate. During each of my major projects, stressful times, and hard days, never once did I feel like my leadership team didn’t believe in my ability to get the job done. Yes, I had a lot of drive; and yes, all I wanted was to succeed and grow in my position, but without the support of management and peers, I know it would have been much harder to accomplish.

My Lesson Learned

I learned quickly that in order to succeed you have to want to succeed. It doesn’t happen naturally, it doesn’t happen quickly, and it doesn’t happen simply because other people believe you can do it. Support is great, and assistance makes a huge difference, but true success comes from personal drive and hard work. It comes from staying positive through stress and difficult projects. It comes from fully utilizing the resources available to you: peers, supervisors, learning tools, and more.

My Advice to You

Whether you’re a recent college graduate just starting your career, looking for a new career, or a tenured associate, my advice to you is to discover a place where you feel valued and inspired to succeed. Once you find it, stay driven and work hard to achieve your goals. It will make your career and life more enjoyable and rewarding.