Caden Buckland developed outbound sales skills at Echo Global Logistics as a summer intern.
How did you get your internship?
I found out about this company through my brother, who did the same internship at the company last summer. I reached out to one of the sales recruiters via LinkedIn and told her I was interested in the role. I told her where I was from, what my major was, and expressed that I would love to set up an introductory call. Before the call, I filled out the application online and was eventually offered the position.
Why did you choose this internship?
I chose this internship because I really wanted to get into sales. My family and friends recommended sales as an area that I should try to get into. I also liked that the location was in my hometown of Chicago and close to where I live, which would make the commute much easier. Finally, I was recommended this particular internship because it is very hands-on and the work you do as an intern is similar to what full-time roles look like at Echo.
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
A day at Echo consisted of checking my emails to start the day to see if I got any messages from my clients. Then I did lots of cold calling to try to bring in new clients and business to the company. I would also track shipments and call different carriers to make sure everything is going according to plan. In the office, I got to interact with the other interns and people on my team to get to know them better and learn some new things. At the end of the day I would do some lead generation so that I could get some conversations started to have people to call the next day.
What skills did you practice during this internship?
The transferable skill that I developed during this internship that stands out was learning how to communicate and interact with clients. I learned to match their energy and adapt to their preferred style of communication more quickly. I learned that responding to their questions or emails right away always gives myself an edge over our competitors. I also learned how to deal with clients when there is a problem or frustration and how to resolve them.
What was the most satisfying part of your internship?
The most satisfying part of the internship was securing my best client at the end of the day on a Thursday. This is meaningful to me because I remember doing my cold calls that day, and it was getting late in the day and I had just completed 15 to 20 calls in a row that all went to voicemail. Then I made another call which ended up being my best call of the day, and it was when I least expected it. Making the call and getting that new client that ended up being my best client was my proudest moment from my internship.
What did you find most challenging about your internship?
The most challenging part about the internship was waking up at 5:00am in the morning Tuesday through Thursday to make the 5:57am train. It was hard to wake up that early and know I had a full day of making calls and responding to emails ahead of me. I was tired and some days felt especially long when I wasn't making progress in my cold calls or getting any responses back via email. So I would say the hardest part was having that early morning schedule and also wanting to accomplish so much each day.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for their internship?
The advice I would give is to apply to as many as you can and be patient in awaiting responses back. I would also recommend going to the career fairs at school so you can see and hear about some possible companies you can work at that you hadn’t considered. My final advice is to apply for a client sales position at Echo! Even if your major isn’t directly related to sales, this internship provided a lot of hands-on experience and now I feel a lot more prepared for my future.