When I started my summer internship at Koddi, I knew very little about metasearch. Not only was I was nervous to work in an industry that I had no background in, but I was even more nervous to be an intern in a corporate office where I thought I would need to prove myself. But I found that my nerves were quickly calmed as I entered the office on my first day and was directed to my very own desk where my own company laptop and notebook awaited me. This was not what I expected by any means– wasn’t I the intern? Shouldn’t I be refilling the snack cabinet and making coffee runs for the senior analysts and account managers? Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize that things were going to be different at Koddi.

Not Your Typical Internship

My favorite part about being an intern at Koddi was that I didn’t feel like an intern at all. On day one, I was adopted by the client services team and given a mentor to shadow and learn from. The first week consisted of many one-on-one introduction sessions with a number of different analysts. This allowed me to learn the basics of metasearch and what Koddi does, as well as get to know my coworkers, mentor, and supervisors. These sessions included a walk-through of the publishers we work with, a crash course on DAT, and an in-depth explanation of occupancy bidding.

After my first week, my agenda shifted and I was able to become more integrated into everyday Koddi life. Of course, I wasn’t optimizing accounts or implementing bid strategies, and I wasn’t expected to know how to do these things yet either. My mentor and teammates understood that there is a lot to take in here at Koddi, and it was reassuring to know that they didn’t expect me to be an expert. All they wanted was for me to do my best and ask as many questions as I needed to, which I was able to do by working one-on-one with my mentor. Sitting in on phone calls, working on special projects, and pulling data for daily pacing sheets were just some of the opportunities I was given to be actively involved and learning from hands-on experience. It was rewarding to know that the experience I was gaining came from making a difference in the company.

Turning Ideas into Actions

There were a lot of cool things that I was able to be a part of at Koddi– such as phone calls with Google, company videos, and product launches. But the coolest thing I was able to be a part of was heading up my very own project, based on an idea that my mentor and I came up with. We had a theory about consumer behavior, related to the highest-converting times of day when clicks are most likely to turn into bookings. Koddi allowed me to take this idea and run with it. After running my own test and daily data pulls, I wrote a blog post on my findings that was published to the Koddi blog. I don’t think most interns find this opportunity at other companies, let alone have the chance to shape their internship into the experience they want it to be.

Koddi let me feel like a valued member of the team, rather than a coffee-fetching, file-organizing, college-student intern. In one of my interviews, I expressed that I was looking for a mutually beneficial experience in my summer internship. Not only did I seek to gain an educational job experience, but I wanted to truly make a difference and contribute to any company I worked with. I found that Koddi took me seriously and gave me the chance to make an impact greater than what you would expect from a typical “intern.” I was able to learn as an intern and gain the first-hand experience of an intern, all while feeling like a true part of the team who made a real difference. I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned at Koddi this summer. This internship has really set the bar high for my future job search.

Want to intern at Koddi?

We’re always on the lookout for smart and passionate people to join our team. Check out our careers page to see our current openings and apply today.