WebMD By Savvy Intern Thursday, October 5, 2006

Age/Grade: 20/College Jr

School: University of Maryland

Company Name: WebMD

Industry: Health Information Services

Location: New York, NY

Dates of Internship: June 2006 – August 2006

Overview of Job
I worked in Sales Operations and Agency Sales, splitting my time between the two. Overall, the purpose of my internship was to assist with the maintenance of contracted advertising campaigns and to track their performance. This internship was paid and located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. There wasn’t much training; however, there were a few workshops to give us an idea of what the company was about, as well as to teach us about the sales aspect of the company. Dress code was very casual. Jeans and a button down were appropriate attire any day of the week.

Tasks/Responsibilities/Projects
I was responsible for helping to maintain advertising campaigns by drug companies such as Pfizer, Britol-Meyers Squibb and other large firms. This entailed updating HTML source coding that was placed in specialty newsletters sent to doctors and health care practitioners across the world. In addition, I was to make sure that the advertisements were the correct ones displayed and up to date. I also supported and tracked these advertisement campaigns via daily analysis of traffic data. This involved working in Microsoft Excel to model and forecast pacing of the campaign to ensure the contracted delivery of impressions (pageviews).

Rather than one project, I was put on many different campaigns. I collaborated often with the other interns, but I also had a lot of face time with full-time employees and managers. I very much enjoyed the work experience. Unfortunately I did not meet or speak with clients. There are many others who are properly trained to deal with their issues.

Typical Day’s Schedule
I would get dressed for work and walked from my apartment to arrive by 9 AM. Depending on the day of the week and time of the month, a typical day would be to update source coding and HTML for certain websites and placing them online. Some new, updated advertisement creatives may have been sent that day, in which case I would upload the files and link the images and advertisements to the proper website and place it within a newsletter. When newsletters were sent out, I would help to proof them to make sure that the correct advertisements scheduled were properly placed, as well as working. I then later would help to track performance of the advertisements. There are contracted goals that we guarantee the client, and it was my job to create excel reports outlining the goals and pacing, as well as to alert key managers in the event that an expiring contract was behind or not met. I was mostly busy, but there is always some down time throughout the day. The company was very lax with my schedule, open to whatever conflict I may have had.

Industry Profile
The company provides health information to both consumers and professionals. There are other companies that provide similar services, such as Yahoo! Health, but WebMD dominates the market of information. They have done a tremendous job of setting up a fruitful future, acquiring other companies and integrating them into the WebMD family.

How You Got the Internship
My mom’s friend works as a sales rep for WebMD, going to large drug companies such as Pfizer and selling them advertising packages. She helped to set up my interview with the Director of Sales Operations. I went up to New York to interview, which went very well. I would suggest doing research on the company and industry to understand what they do, as well as their competitors. Be personable and honest. Make sure you can relate your schoolwork and past experiences to what you bring to the table. Most important, be relaxed and be yourself.

What the Internship Has Done For You
I learned about communication and teamwork. We ate lunch often, chatted often, and supported each other often. It was important to constantly be in touch and communicate our thoughts and ideas. The internship opened doors to networking for future jobs in the healthcare industry.

Overall Comments/Reflections
I liked that the job was serious yet fun and casual. I got to do real work, but in a comfortable and friendly environment. I would definitely suggest working at WebMD, as they are leaders in their industry, offering a great experience in a great work environment.