#CentroLife: From Centern to Full-Time

Centro kicked off its internship program last summer in Chicago with 15 interns – or Centerns, as they’re called. This past summer, Centro expanded its internship program to include regional offices. Of those 12 interns spread across our regional offices, 7 were hired on full-time.

We talked to two of those former Centerns about their internship experience, and how it prepared them for their current full-time roles.

Caroline Green, Associate Programmatic Buyer – Dallas

I graduated from Auburn University in May 2016 with a degree in marketing and finance. As I got closer to graduation, I was interviewing with different companies and unsure of what exactly I wanted to do, but I was very intrigued by the digital industry. I knew that I loved the creativity involved with advertising, but with a background in finance, I wanted to combine creativity with strategy and analytics. And someone told me about Centro. I’m from Dallas originally, so I moved back after college to work as a programmatic intern for Centro.

I learned so much about the programmatic industry during my internship – and I had barely any understanding of what programmatic was before. During my internship, I spent most of my time getting trained from current associates and buyers – which helped prepare me for my current role. They taught me how to bid on advertising spots, how to keep a campaign on track to spend in full and perform, and how to use all of Centro’s software.

I’m now an Associate Programmatic Buyer in Dallas. I would be lost without the knowledge I gained during my internship. It’s a little bit different now that I have my own accounts to “pace” (track spending), but I’m in a pod with three people, and it’s very nice to have others to lean on while I still have questions. I continue to learn more and more things every day that help me do my job.

My advice to a prospective intern would be: Definitely be willing to learn, and don’t get discouraged when things seem overwhelming or unfamiliar. I’ve never asked so many questions in my life, but everyone was willing to answer them, and it paid off to learn so much!

Emma Tapper, Associate Programmatic Buyer – Chicago

I am originally from Chicago, but I attended University of Wisconsin-Madison where I majored in journalism and minored in digital studies – and studied abroad in Cape Town!

After graduating in May, I was lucky enough to intern at Centro’s Chicago office as a Brand Exchange intern. I worked with both the supply and demand side on a day-to-day basis. I am still on the Brand Exchange team, but now I’m an Associate Programmatic Buyer.

My current role differs from the intern work I did during the summer, but the internship fully prepared me. Throughout the summer, we had different meetings with various departments, which helped all the interns understand how Centro operates and why each department is so important. And the atmosphere at Centro is absolutely amazing. I don’t know a single person who has had a comparable internship experience to mine. I would tell a prospective Centern to get to people at the entire company and in different departments – not just the team they work with day-to-day.

If you have more questions about our internship program or would like to apply to be a part of the program, please reach out to talent.development@centro.net.