Article From Intern to Full-time Teammate: An Interview With Lauren Kawalec
By Laila Hachem / 11 Oct 2023 / Topics: Culture & careers
Lauren’s web content internship helped develop her love for writing — and created a pathway to become a web content strategist and writer at Insight.
Lauren joined Insight three years ago as a web content intern in the Summer 360 Intern program. Her interest in the technology industry was ignited during her internship, so after she graduated, she joined the marketing department full time. She says the people at Insight are what has kept her here. She believes the values ring true after all these years.
How was your journey through Insight from intern to now?
As a web content intern, I worked on a lot of the projects that I do now in my job every day as a web content strategist and writer. I got to work on writing web pages, blogs, articles and client stories. I also learned a lot about search engine optimization, which has prepared me for my role today.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I knew I wanted to work at Insight. I was first hired as a marketing coordinator on our Insight Public Sector marketing team. I transitioned to my current role as a web content writer and strategist about eight months later.
It’s so rewarding that Insight gives their interns real-world projects and assignments. I feel I’m well equipped for my job now because of the skills that I learned in my internship. During the internship program, I was probably just gaining my footing a lot. Now that I’ve been in my role long enough, I really understand the processes and strategy behind my work. It’s been a great experience to transition from an intern to a full-time teammate.
“It’s so rewarding that Insight gives their interns real-world projects and assignments. I feel I’m well equipped for my job now because of the skills that I learned in my internship.”
Which learning and development opportunities are available to interns and teammates?
As an intern, you’re given the opportunity to take a lot of professional and personal development courses. I remember we did some on wealth management, time management and how to boost your LinkedIn presence.
All those opportunities exist for full-time teammates as well. If you’re curious about anything, or just want to learn more about anyone’s job, the opportunities exist to reach out to anyone. You can reach out to someone in the department or Insight in general, just to learn more about a new area that you’re interested in. We have training and certifications — that’s probably one of my favorite parts of working at Insight. They really do foster a lifelong learner attitude.
What initially attracted you to the intern program?
The thing that initially attracted me to the program was the opportunity to work in the technology industry — it’s exciting! Fast-paced, and always changing. It’s never boring. The opportunity to get my foot in the door was thrilling. Even now, years later, I still feel the same way. I write about new topics all the time because as technology has changed, so has my work in a lot of ways.
Which upcoming projects or prospects are exciting for Insight’s future?
The most exciting thing to me about the work Insight does is seeing the results of helping our clients. We have case studies about how we’ve helped hospitals reduce their patient length of stay or how we’ve helped provide a wireless connection a community in need. One of my favorite parts about working at Insight is seeing the difference that we make in real people’s lives and real communities.
“One of my favorite parts about working at Insight is seeing the difference that we make in real people’s lives and real communities.”
How would you describe the culture at Insight?
Everyone is very supportive and encouraging. Our core values are hunger, heart and harmony. Everyone here would tell you that Insight and its people really do embody those values. Sometimes you move to a company and hear about values, and then when you’re inside, you don’t necessarily see them anymore. That’s not the case at Insight. There are so many opportunities to learn, grow and challenge yourself.
What are the characteristics of a person who would thrive at Insight?
Someone who is curious, wants to learn, try new areas and take on new challenges. I think that if you’re not curious, you would probably not thrive at Insight. Insight is always encouraging teammates to try new things, test the waters and learn something. You have to be hungry to really succeed at Insight.
Is there any advice you would give to someone early in their career or during the internship program?
Don’t be afraid to take on new challenges. When I started as an intern, I had writing experience as a journalism major. I also took a lot of public relations and advertising classes in college. I always had an interest in communication strategies and marketing research. But I didn’t necessarily have any experience writing for websites or doing search engine optimization work.
Once I got to Insight, I was provided the resources to help me learn those skills. The same can be said about my first role at Insight as a marketing coordinator on our public sector team. At that time, I was doing a lot of work with marketing campaigns — including email marketing and paid media — which I didn’t previously have much experience.
Regardless, I learned those skills, and they shape the way I think and how I complete my work today. I didn’t have much experience in those areas, but because I was willing to try something new and take on a new challenge, it set me up for success in my current role.
What is your favorite thing about working at Insight?
My favorite thing about Insight is really the people. I have a great team and a great department. Even the people that I’ve worked with outside of my department have always been so supportive and helpful. It’s been so wonderful to finally meet the people that I work with after working remotely when I first started at Insight. Now being able to come into the office and work with my team every day has been pivotal for my career and professional development. Working with such a friendly, supportive team has been so important in such a transformative part of my career.
My favorite memory of my career so far is the first day that we came to the new office here in Chandler, Arizona. I had been working remotely for a couple of years at this point and meeting people in person that I had worked with for several years was such an exciting opportunity. Everyone was so glad to be here and be together again.
What advice would you give to future interns?
Be hungry. Reach out to people about and ask what they do. Even if you don’t think you have an interest in their role. I set up a lot of informational interviews during my internship. I met with people in different departments in areas like user experience, project management and digital marketing. Doing this really exposed me to a lot of different careers paths that I didn’t know existed when I was in college. I was able to learn about the work that people were doing and opportunities that were available to me that I hadn’t previously considered.
Insight is about encouraging teammates and clients to ‘be ambitious.’ What’s the most ambitious thing you’ve accomplished?
The most ambitious thing I’ve ever done is move from the east coast out to Arizona. When I was hired as a full-time teammate after my internship, I was hired for a remote role. But I had always really wanted to move somewhere new after graduation. I wanted to try a new city and have a new experience.
Even though I was in a remote role, I moved to Arizona. I now work at the headquarters, and it’s been a really great experience. I get the opportunity to work with my team in person. I can work on a hybrid schedule. Moving so far away from everything I’ve ever known was definitely very ambitious, but I’m proud of it.
Let ambition grow. Discover roles at Insight.
Laila Hachem
Summer Marketing Content Intern 2023, Insight
