Intern Confidential: My Internship Taught Me The Greatest Life Lesson

My summer 2008 internship at MTV was a pivotal turning point for me and I'm positive it's not what you're thinking and if you've learned this lesson already I'm super jealous because you've probably been winning more than Trump! I'll try to make this as short and sweet as possible because it’s pissed me off for years but before I share the lesson let me share my E! True Hollywood Story!

We’re talking 11 years since I roamed the iconic floors as an intern at MTV headquarters in Times Square, NYC. I was your age, a bright-eyed, balding 21-year-old sophomore at the University of Central Florida (the true 2017 National Champs) and I was obsessed with MTV since I was a kid – particularly a little show called Total Request Live (TRL). Back then, and maybe it still is today, an MTV internship was considered the Ferrari of internships so you know I was on one when I stepped into the Viacom building at 1515 Broadway on my first day feeling like the Fresh Prince! 

I was in the Music and Talent Relations department so I got to do some pretty dope things which included: attending new album listening sessions, assisting with artist photo shoots, running to Walgreens to buy Robin Thicke an electric shaver, sharing my last piece of Bubblicous watermelon gum with Katy Perry, helping with the encoding of new music videos airing on MTV.com, and a whole lot of other less glamorous standard intern duties that I won't bore you with because you'll be doing them shortly. 

I, as you should, treated my internship like a job interview so I busted my tail from 8am-4pm three days a week which quickly shifted to five days a week. I figured if I’m going to pay good coins to leave school for the summer to take on an unpaid internship, live in the great borough of Queens, and take the infamous F-train an hour to the city to get to work then I’m going to go really hard above and beyond the call of duty.

On the first day of work my boss took me and the other music and talent intern, who worked on the opposite days I worked, on a tour of the building. We’d be working on the MTV.com floor because of space issues on the floor that our actual department worked on. One of the first people she introduced us to was an amazing woman who managed the floor named Keely! “This is the most important person on this floor” she said and she wasn't lying. I heard that and you know Keely became my bestie and mentor. She was the Oprah of 1515 and she taught me to treat my internship like a job and pushed me to do as much as I could to stand out. She also taught me how to walk like a true New Yorker around Times Square when dealing with thousands of tourists which I still owe her for. Following her advice of going all in, I ended up going in on my two days off to work with Keely and eventually others on different projects. This gave me an extra two days to meet more people, help more people, push myself, and prove myself! 

By the first month I had learned a lot and I remember feeling like I became the “go-to” intern for anyone who needed something big or small. One manager gave me the nickname “TI” and she wasn’t talking about the rapper. "TI" stood for "The Intern" AKA this guy! I got to know some amazing influencers in the music industry who now have major roles in companies like Spotify and YouTube. I got to help Buttah Man prepare for a few episodes of his show Hoodfab on MTV. He was a real one. 

You couldn’t ask for more as an intern. I was feeling alive. Eventually my boss moved our desk onto her floor too which I was super excited about until I learned I wouldn’t be with the other interns who were sitting altogether in the pit. My desk was in the copy room, all by myself. The sound of the copy machine and the guests that would pop in to use it was my habitat. Shoutout to a girl (now mom) named Marnie who would make light of the situation every time she came in reminding me I was allowed to listen to music in there because after all it was MTV! You’re too young but click right HERE real quick and you’ll get an accurate idea of how it went down. Anyways, I wasn’t going to as many photo shoots as before and I'll be damned if I wasn't getting assignments that I swore to be busy work to keep me at my desk. Things went from 100-0 real quick as the kids say.

It was another normal day when the boss lady called me in for a little afternoon chat. It was probably the longest human to human conversation I’d ever had with her. It always seemed like she couldn’t be bothered with an intern so we never talked much. She started with a few nice words I think but it was just lathering me up for the cut. She was annoyed with me. She didn’t like my sunny disposition. She didn't like that I had made a name for myself around the office. She didn’t like me helping out her colleagues although it never took away from the duties she gave me. She once told me I was making her look good. She didn’t like me coming in an extra two days to work with Keely even though I rarely saw her on those days. She didn't like that I wouldn't be confined to a copy room.

I left that meeting with one line that has stuck with me since. It was something to the effect of “there is a thin line between being helpful and being annoying or pushy…” I can’t remember it verbatim but I remember how it made me feel – very small and very confused. 

You already know I spent the next few days clandestinely roaming around the office taking a staff survey on whether I was a bother to them or not. The consensus was that I was nothing but helpful and doing what any intern who was interested in getting hired after graduation should be doing. Quick shout out to Jeffrey in media services who became my therapist and amazing friend!

Now here comes the lesson (finally I know…)

When I put boss lady's perspective up against my survey of the staff, I was woke and realized the greatest lesson that my internship taught me:

there is going to be someone (and it might turn out to be your internship boss) who wants to stifle your success, stunt your growth, or dim your light because of their insecurities or agenda which won't have anything to do with your talents

Yes you’re young and working hard towards your dreams so you’re going to get more advice than you can store on your 256GB iPhone XS (rose gold edition) from people in positions of power and why shouldn’t you? They are working at the company you think you want to be a part of someday, they are bigger, they are better, they know what you should be doing, right?

WRONG! If I had listened to my boss' advice I probably wouldn't have been invited to work the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards that summer and again in 2009 where I was a talent assistant for a new artist named Lady Gaga. I probably wouldn't have ended up working for Gaga after graduation. I probably wouldn't have earned my master's degree. I probably wouldn't have had the chance to work for Floyd Mayweather. I probably wouldn't have gotten my real estate broker's license. I probably wouldn't have [ insert your accomplishment here ]. I probably wouldn't have succeeded at even shaving my own head because it just so happens that you need to be intentional, and aware, and persistent, and consistent, and a value-adder, and hardworking to get to any place that's worth a damn being in life!

Oh yeah, thanks boss ;)

DR

www.raananrepresentation.com