From Internship to Career, Cole's story
Major: Marketing - Professional Sales
Graduating Year: 2022
What is a skill you’ve gained as an Intern that you are using now?
Time management, 100%. Although it may be slightly different now in the role, the premise is the same. Try to block out specific times throughout the day for certain tasks, projects, and work and stick to it as best as you can as there are a number of distractions that can come up throughout the day that can disrupt your workflow and turn that task into something that takes a half hour to complete.
"A skill gained as an Intern that I use now is time management. Although it may be slightly different now in the role, the premise is the same."
– Cole Barroso, Account Representative at CDW
What is your biggest piece of advice for a student going through the interview process?
Have confidence. Know that your life and education path has given you a unique perspective and your own set of knowledge, utilize those strengths and focus on them. You earned that interview, remember that.
How would you describe CDW’s culture?
Supportive. Everyone wants to see each other succeed and will do what they can to help you out, all you have to do is ask.
What was your favorite memory from the summer internship?
My favorite memory from the internship was the Cubs game we all attended on National Interns Day. We took a bus up to Wrigley and spent the day watching the game and getting to know each other outside of the day-to-day work. It was a great time and a memory that other former interns and I still talk about as full time Account Representatives now.
What does a day in your role look like?
Depending on the day, I may work from home or a local office. After a commute of either walking downstairs, taking the train, or driving, I always start my day by checking my email and taking care of what needs to be addressed, and then making sure there aren't any last minute meetings scheduled that I had not planned on. After getting an idea of what my day looks like, I start to focus on making calls out to my customers. Although this may vary depending on the day and what is going on, I primarily try to make proactive calls before following up on existing tasks. A big part of our job is to grow our business so I try to focus on these calls before the day gets too chaotic and I end up down a rabbit hole. After these calls are done, I focus on ongoing projects and tasks that I've already been working on with customers and/or partners. Throughout the day I'm also attending meetings with my team, my customers and partners, along with other small tasks thrown in there. Finally, towards the end of the day I try to make time to watch trainings, clean up my email and set myself up for the next day as much as possible, but there are always surprises that keep me on my toes.
– CDW Coworker
Start your career journey with CDW.
Major: Marketing - Professional Sales
Graduating Year: 2022
What is a skill you’ve gained as an Intern that you are using now?
Time management, 100%. Although it may be slightly different now in the role, the premise is the same. Try to block out specific times throughout the day for certain tasks, projects, and work and stick to it as best as you can as there are a number of distractions that can come up throughout the day that can disrupt your workflow and turn that task into something that takes a half hour to complete.
"A skill gained as an Intern that I use now is time management. Although it may be slightly different now in the role, the premise is the same."
– Cole Barroso, Account Representative at CDW
What is your biggest piece of advice for a student going through the interview process?
Have confidence. Know that your life and education path has given you a unique perspective and your own set of knowledge, utilize those strengths and focus on them. You earned that interview, remember that.
How would you describe CDW’s culture?
Supportive. Everyone wants to see each other succeed and will do what they can to help you out, all you have to do is ask.
What was your favorite memory from the summer internship?
My favorite memory from the internship was the Cubs game we all attended on National Interns Day. We took a bus up to Wrigley and spent the day watching the game and getting to know each other outside of the day-to-day work. It was a great time and a memory that other former interns and I still talk about as full time Account Representatives now.
What does a day in your role look like?
Depending on the day, I may work from home or a local office. After a commute of either walking downstairs, taking the train, or driving, I always start my day by checking my email and taking care of what needs to be addressed, and then making sure there aren't any last minute meetings scheduled that I had not planned on. After getting an idea of what my day looks like, I start to focus on making calls out to my customers. Although this may vary depending on the day and what is going on, I primarily try to make proactive calls before following up on existing tasks. A big part of our job is to grow our business so I try to focus on these calls before the day gets too chaotic and I end up down a rabbit hole. After these calls are done, I focus on ongoing projects and tasks that I've already been working on with customers and/or partners. Throughout the day I'm also attending meetings with my team, my customers and partners, along with other small tasks thrown in there. Finally, towards the end of the day I try to make time to watch trainings, clean up my email and set myself up for the next day as much as possible, but there are always surprises that keep me on my toes.
– CDW Coworker
