Corporate Communications, 2024

I will be a fourth-year student at The Ohio State University and recently completed my summer internship at Worthington Enterprises in the Corporate Communications department. I had such a great experience and I’m going to attempt to break it down into the top five things I learned as a Worthington intern.

1. Knowing what a company stands for is so important.

   I have loved working for Worthington because of the values they hold. They value me as an individual on top of being an employee. They lead with a people-first mentality which you can see every day. Worthington has taught me to seek out individuals and businesses that match my values because the work wouldn’t be effective without it.

2. Expertise comes from both hard and soft skills.

   I’ve grown my hard skills immensely in my time at Worthington. However, an area I was surprised to grow in was my soft skills. Worthington taught me to understand and communicate my ideas with others, to be constantly curious and ask questions, to speak up even when it might be difficult, to manage my workload and to effectively solve problems. These soft skills have made me a better team player and employee.

3. The key to success in a group is working with a range of skills and strengths.

   The intern experience helped me discover what my strengths are but also showed me how to capitalize on the strengths of others to achieve success. Worthington emphasizes that “Our Differences Make Us Better,” and I’ve seen this play out firsthand. Combining our strengths with the strengths of others is what makes us successful as a whole.

4. The details matter.

   I’ve always been a person who values efficiency. While this may be a positive trait, it’s also important to take the extra time to check your work to avoid those seemingly small errors. Attention to detail is what will really make you stand out. More than likely, the bit of extra time will go unnoticed by your team, but the quality of work will be seen and appreciated.  

5. There is an art to understanding a company’s brand.

This might not apply to every intern but is at the forefront of my mind as a communications intern. Just like people, every company is unique. The voice of Worthington is prevalent in every word, image or post they share. Being able to understand how to communicate in the tone of your company will only make you a more effective employee. It all goes toward shaping the reputation and personality of your company and is crucial to communication.