Establishing a Reputation as an Intern: Evaluating Personality Credibility as a Newcomer
Using the attached case study.
Task 1: Evaluate credibility. Assume that youre evaluating Tias credibility at the beginning of her internship from the vantage points of the marketing team members at the Prestigio. Explain two ways in which she potentially possesses and one way in which she potentially lacks each of the following elements of credibility: competence, caring, and character
Task 2: Establishing credibility. Assume that you are giving advice to Tia about how she can establish credibility. Provide your ideas in the following contexts:
(a) gaining credibility among her colleagues while at her internship and
(b) establishing credibility with clients while at her internship.
Establishing a Reputation as an Intern
Evaluating Personality Credibility as a Newcomer
Topics
Credibility
Reference
Chapter 1
Chapter 16
Whos Involved
Tia Jarvis-Smith, marketing intern
Kip Yamada, marketing specialist
The Situation
Tia just accepted a marketing internship at the Prestigio Hotel and Resort. Kip Yamada, a marketing associate at the Prestigio, was the contact person for the internship. Hiring an intern for the summer was originally his idea, and he oversaw each stage of the hiring process. He received more than 50 résumés for the internship position. He narrowed these down to five applicants to conduct phone interviews. Next, he narrowed this group to two finalists for the position for onsite interviews. Tia came out as the clear choice in Kips mind.
During the phone and onsite interviews, Kip was impressed with Tias responses to several questions. On the phone interview, Kip asked her, Why do you want to work in a hotel? Tia responded, Well, I dont want to work at any hotel. I want to work at a hotel that holds great meetings and conventions. I developed a sense of community pretty early in my life, and I want to be part of bringing together communities of professionals. From what Ive learned, the Prestigio is a leader at doing this. She elaborated about her knowledge of the Prestigio and showed a good understanding of marketing for meetings.
Later, in the onsite interview, Kip delved deeper into Tias desire to market meetings, Tia, what kind of experience do you have marketing and running meetings for professionals? Tia responded, I dont have a lot of firsthand experience with organizing large meetings, but Ive been volunteering at our local Chamber of Commerce events for the past two years. Usually, I have minor roles like being a greeter or receptionist. But, Ive seen how they run events with 100 to 200 businesspeople. Ive talked to a lot of the participants and have some understanding about what they are hoping to get out of the events. As far as me organizing events, Ive done a lot with school clubs and summer camp events. Even though these events are all for small groups, I think Ive learned a lot about how to organize and schedule activities that appeal to people. Tia spent ten minutes talking about her many experiences organizing smaller events and showed an apparent level of sophistication about events that was rare for university students. Kip was generally strongly impressed with Tias excellent interpersonal skills and ambition.
While Kip was confident that Tia would perform well as an intern, he did have a few minor concerns,
which were sparked by comments during the interviews. Kip asked her how she dealt with difficult
people, and she responded simply, Ive never had a hard time working with anyone. I really believe that
if youre committed to learning and sharing with others, you wont have any big problems. Kip
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perceived this comment as somewhat simplistic and naïve. When he asked her about how well she met
deadlines, she said she usually met deadlines but was open to extending deadlines when other
priorities come up. She explained her philosophy that people need to be flexible and focus on the big
picture. Kip was somewhat perplexed by these comments but recognized that she had a fairly solid
record of achievements.
Next week, Tia will begin her internship. She will work with five members of Prestigios marketing team.
With the exception of Kip, each of these professionals will be meeting her for the first time. They each
have access to Tias résumé (shown below) and were briefed by Kip about her performance in the
interviews. Based on information from Tias résumé and interactions with Kip, complete the tasks below.
Where you feel the information is incomplete, feel free to make reasonable assumptions.
Tia Jarvis-Smith
Education
B.S. in Marketing, Minor in Hospitality Management (anticipated graduation: April 2016)
Achievements: Honor Roll every semester; 3.72 GPA
Coursework: relationship marketing, social media, business statistics, hotel management
Clubs: Marketing Club, Rotaract Club (service club sponsored by Rotary International)
Work Experience
Receptionist, Smith, Jarvis-Smith, & Spencer Law Firm
Greet clients with professionalism
Ensure that clients are treated confidentially and respectfully
Maintain schedule of appointments for ten lawyers
Volunteer, Chamber of Commerce
September 2013 to present
Assist with Chamber of Commerce events
Help with social media marketing
Summer Camp Counselor, Summer Retreat Camps
September 2013 to present
Summers of 2011, 2012, 2013
Acted as leader of summer camp groups (generally ten girls between 12 and 15 years old)
Scheduled fun and educational activities to inspire girls
Ensured all girls in my groups were safe and abided by camp rules
Hobbies and Interests
Touring historic/cultural sites, learning about Asian cultures, reading blogs about cooking
© 2021 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in
any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Task 1
Evaluate credibility. Assume that youre evaluating Tias credibility at the beginning of her internship
from the vantage points of the marketing team members at the Prestigio. Explain two ways in which she
potentially possesses and one way in which she potentially lacks each of the following elements of
credibility: competence, caring, and character.
Task 2
Establishing credibility. Assume that you are giving advice to Tia about how she can establish credibility.
Provide your ideas in the following contexts: (a) gaining credibility among her colleagues while at her internship and b) establishing credibility with clients while at her internship.
© 2021 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
