Action Plan

So I had my phone interview this week with Sara Owen and it went really well! I found out that I am doing as well as I hoped I was and it really made me realize how much I have loved this experience. I really have learned so much from doing this internship and feel so prepared to enter the “real world.” My boss did suggest I prepare a portfolio for interviews, which is a wonderful idea and so I have already started doing that. I hope to have it done by the end of the week. I am going to post my action plan, not only because I think it shows what I hope to achieve, but it shows what I have learned and how I have improved this semester.
So, without further ado, here is my action plan:
This semester has been both challenging and rewarding. Working for CityPass, I have learned a great deal about the tourism industry from the inside, as well as marketing and communications. I am grateful to have had such a rewarding position with a great company, and I know that the skills I learned while working there will serve me in my professional career going forward after graduation. In particular, I have accumulated skills that will assist me in marketing myself, which in turn will open doors to more experiences in customer service, event planning, and management.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of my internship experience has been the opportunities I have had to further develop my portfolio and gain new contacts, which in turn will assist me in marketing myself to future employers and customers. Throughout this internship, I have helped design projects, including a stimulus package, and I have also been responsible for re-writing the rules and regulations for an international travel media competition. The responsibility of these important projects taught me a lot about accountability and time-management, and the end results of both proved to me that I am capable of taking on significant tasks, and more than finishing them, I can produce results that surpass expectations. In addition to these gains, I have also learned that I am a self-starter. I am able to motivate myself to complete the tasks I take on, and I am eager to start new projects that will challenge me and help me develop my skills even further. However, while actual skills are an important, if not the most important, component to my future success, I have also been able to meet people who are already established in the industry and to form relationships with them that will aid me in my future career. By maintaining these relationships, I will be able to find a good job, and network effectively within the industry to further promote myself and the work that I do. The combination of skills and contacts that I have gained this semester will aid me in marketing myself through providing me with references and representative examples of the work I am capable of doing in this industry.
There are many opportunities open to me to gain more experience in customer service, event planning, and management. In terms of customer service, I can increase the time I spend answering customer service e-mail at CityPass, as well as managing those calls that come in on the direct line. These types of hands-on experience allow me to develop my skills in interpersonal communication that are vital to provide quality customer service. Additionally, the opportunity to handle the different issues that arise will allow me to experience first-hand how such problems as do arise should be handled. With International Tourism Powwow approaching in May, I will have a wonderful opportunity to get involved in many aspects of event planning, as CityPass is sponsoring the event. I will be able to help with booth placement, and I intend to create an organizational system for the “press room,” which is where each individual company puts additional packets and brochures for different media outlets. Finally, in my position at CityPass, I help coordinate operations between our main office in Victor, Idaho and our small office in Scottsdale. While I am still only an intern, I am still delegated many responsibilities that require coordination with other offices, and so I have had, and will continue to have, opportunities to manage projects on a long-distance basis, requiring me to essentially manage other people to get the information that I need when I need it.
My semester has been very productive. Not only have I had the opportunity to experience working in the field of my choice, but I have developed skills that will assist me in finding a job and performing that job exceptionally. I now have experience and contacts that will serve me well as I embark on my career after graduation. Happily, the opportunities to learn have not stopped just because the semester is rapidly approaching its endpoint. There are several opportunities in the future that will allow me to further develop my management, customer service, and event planning skills, and I look forward to the challenge.