Five Ways to Embrace a Growth Mindset as an Intern

Written by: Devon Stewart, Growth Intern (she/her)

As my journey as a Growth Intern at Razorfish Health comes to a close, I have taken the time to reflect on the entirety of my experience. Thinking back to my first day on the team, I remember being fearful of the unknown and unaware of how this position would later impact me. 

Now, 2 months later, I am able to identify how RFH has not only helped me expand my professional skillset but also forced me to grow as an individual. The experience has given me a solid foundation for my future career path as I take away both tangible and interpersonal skills. I could go on about new software I’ve learned to navigate, or marketing techniques I’ve mastered, but today I’d like to share 5 tips I’ve embraced that fueled my growth mindset as an intern:

Mistakes are meant to be made.
Coming into this experience, I had the desire to work with perfection and feared failure. As many of us do, I once viewed making mistakes as a result of not being “smart enough”, “good enough”, or “qualified enough.” 

However, when putting it into perspective, I was placed into a new environment, with new skillsets to learn, practices to develop, and unfamiliar faces to collaborate with. With any major transition in life, mistakes are bound to happen. Never was I punished for making a mistake as I once feared, rather my mistakes were reframed into new learning lessons which helped me thrive in the long run.

Networking doesn’t have to be scary.
I’ve always heard about the importance of networking in the industry and knew this was something I would have to face. The word felt so intimidating — like there was a certain formula to follow and right or wrong things to say. 

This summer, I set up 1-on-1 meetings with co-workers around the agency. Each individual I connected with was eager to educate me on their roles and responsibilities while expressing interest in my background and career goals. I was fed loads of impactful advice and experienced conversations flow just as they would with one of my friends or peers. I realized networking is truly just getting to know someone, engaging in simple conversation, and not something to be fearful of. 

You should question everything.
In the advertising industry, especially in healthcare marketing, there are what feels like thousands of terms and abbreviations to know. At the beginning of my internship, I would find myself rushing to Google when I heard something unfamiliar. I figured it was better to act like I knew something—with plans to figure it out later—rather than just asking for clarification or an explanation. 

As I became more comfortable in my role, I felt empowered to ask questions and seek answers directly. Hearing from an expert in the field was much more beneficial than sifting through a search engine, and these questions often lead to insightful conversations that would not have taken place without curiosity. 

Your mentors want you to be curious and ask questions—it truly is the best way to learn. 

Your voice will be heard. 
It can be hard to speak up and share ideas, especially when you are the youngest or least experienced person in the room. However, when I shared my thoughts or opinions, they were always valued and appreciated. 

I spoke up when I wanted more work, felt too overwhelmed with assignments, or when I wanted to explore different things. This only led to a more honest and positive experience for everyone. 

Always keep an open mind. 
In my role as a Growth intern, every day was unlike the next. My manager always encouraged me to take a stab at new projects and assignments, things outside of my comfort zone. 

It can be nerve-wracking to dive into the unfamiliar, but with this comes new skills, approaches, and ways of thinking. Yes, we learn from others, but we also learn from ourselves. If you are not being challenged and experiencing new things, you are not growing. 

This internship has been an incredible experience, but it was also a work in progress. I faced challenges and obstacles, messed up at times, but learned so much along the way. I am now much more confident in myself and my abilities than I was coming into the experience and will take every lesson I’ve learned away with me into my future endeavors. 

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Are you just graduating college? Are you wanting to make a career change? Or maybe you’re looking for a place to start your career? Check out our open roles to see if we have something that sounds like you. We know you are not your resume, we understand you are not your work, and we respect that you are so much more than a job description. You are you. So come be you and do you with us.