Charles Aris interns talk careers, business and pursuing opportunities

By Olivia Kozlevcar

Our current Charles Aris interns come from a wide range of states, schools and backgrounds, but they are all determined to make a mark on their respective industries following their time with Charles Aris Executive Search.

To explore how these individuals landed at Charles Aris and what they plan to do next, we sat down with six current interns and asked more about their careers so far:

What is your major and alma mater?

Meredith Brosofsky, marketing intern: Marketing, Florida State University

Ansley Disher, marketing intern: Communication, NC State University

Kolby Hampton, research intern: Information Management Systems, UNC Greensboro

Taylor Rouse, research and former marketing intern: Communication Studies, UNC Greensboro

Eddy Ruggieri, recruiting intern: Philosophy, American University

Jade Keyser, recruiting intern: Criminology and Political Science, Howard University

What do you think about when applying for internships?

Brosofsky: “Especially in a major like marketing, you don’t get a lot of hands-on experience in the classroom. When I look for an internship, I am looking for something that gives me access to that.”

Disher: “I look for a company that is reputable and (for) internships that will provide me with an opportunity to grow my skill set, so when I graduate, I will have the necessary skills on my résumé to land a good job.”

Rouse: “Because my major is so broad, I want to gain experience to figure out what in communications I really want to focus on.”

Ruggieri: “The main thing I look for is a training program, or a company who really values training. For me, it’s about where I can learn the most and where I can build a foundation.”

Hampton: “Once I find an open position, I usually do a deep dive into past interns’ experiences, whether that’s on Glassdoor or reviews on Google, just to see what some of those experiences are.”

Keyser: “I look at what opportunities I’ll be able to gain in the workplace, as my goal is to learn and grow. I also look for diversity in the workplace; it’s important to me that a company makes it a mission of theirs to promote inclusivity.”

What skills helped you land your current internship?

Brosofsky: “I had 2-3 years of experience doing social media management for a restaurant in the beach town I live in. It gave me experience in scheduling and (marketing software), which we use here at Charles Aris. I also had leadership roles in college, such as the new member experience director in my sorority.”

Hampton: “My previous internship experience, but also some of my coursework, where I have a lot of experience with data, doing research and handling different tasks similar to this role.”

Rouse: “I think the most universal skill that’s helped me in both marketing and research at Charles Aris has been being detail oriented. In marketing, if spacing is a little wrong, it could throw a whole newsletter off. Likewise, in research, if one word is off in a keyword search, it won’t run.”

Ruggieri: “This is my third recruiting internship, so I had two experiences in two different areas (in-house and legal recruiting) under my belt.”

How did Charles Aris enter your radar?

Disher: “A recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn regarding Charles Aris and a recruiting event they were attending at my school. Most of my information about the company came from her.”

Hampton: “Charles Aris is frequently on my campus because they’re at a lot of career fairs, so they were a familiar face, and that got me interested. This internship was different from my past ones, so I said: ‘this is something I would like to look into and see what that would be like and broaden my horizons through that experience.’”

Ruggieri: “A recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn. I remember the first thing I saw was that they list every team member on the website. You’re important, and made to feel important from day one.”

Keyser: “The diversity of the workplace is really what attracted me to Charles Aris. I came into the D.C. office last summer for an externship, and (Ashley Davies) made me feel so welcomed. I was able to connect and build a bond from that day forward.”

What is your day-to-day like as an intern?

Rouse: “The first thing I do is check in with the team. I usually check my email, look at my calendar and prepare for any meetings I need to attend for the day and plan around that. Usually, I also have some projects for the week, and I use an excel sheet to keep track of them.”

Brosofsky: “On Mondays, I will film and edit TikToks so that they can be reviewed Wednesday. On Wednesday, I work on creating content and attending team meetings. On Friday, we put out content, and I work on my independent projects, like updating the website and creating a social media guide.”

Ruggieri: “The first thing I do is organize my day. In recruiting, that looks like going into (our CRM platform), going through all of your candidates and search projects and identifying which calls and emails you have to make that day. As an intern, I also do a lot of calling potential candidates and shadowing other recruiters.”

What have you gained from this role, and what will you look for in your positions moving forward?

Disher: “After every experience, I think about what I’ve taken away from it, and find a new opportunity where I can grow off of those new skills.”

Keyser: “I definitely think that working as an intern here has bettered my interpersonal skills. It takes more than just being outgoing to hold a conversation with a person, and my mentor has really shown me the inner workings of that. Moving forward, I’m always looking for diversity. That will always be a top concern of mine because I want to see how inclusive a company is with different social issues.”

Rouse: “My biggest takeaway is probably the confidence that I’ve built. As for what I’ll look for, Charles Aris has such a good company culture; they treat their team members well. Everyone is so kind and wants you to succeed, and that’s the kind of environment I like.”

Hampton: “I am definitely looking for this team environment at another company, or just coming back here, because it is definitely one that differs from my previous experience, and I really enjoy it.”

To learn more about interning with Charles Aris, visit charlesaris.com/intern-at-charles-aris.