John Sauls ’21, business administration, like most college students, has worked part-time during college. Sauls had been at The Home Depot for more than three years when the store manager mentioned to him about the corporate internship program, which accepts only two percent of applicants nationwide.
Three interviews later, Sauls was offered one of the 211 spots.
This summer from May through July, he was assigned to the Online Merchandising Pricing and Promotions Operations team and worked virtually on a promotion strategy used both in-store and online. He learned the company’s internal processes and interviewed many different stakeholders, including legal and online marketing professionals. “I didn’t realize how much strategy went into the website, and that surprised me. It’s not just all backend or coding,” Sauls said.
Sauls had a partner intern, something new Home Depot is piloting, but most teams have only one intern. He met with some of the others virtually. Each intern worked on a different project, so he found it very interesting to hear what they were working on and how their projects interconnected with his.
At the end of the internship, Sauls and his partner intern made suggestions to executive leadership based on their summer research and stakeholder interviews. This work will be used going forward as Home Depot continues to grow their website presence.
The internship led to a full-time job offer at Home Depot’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, after he graduates in December. Sauls credits the skills he learned in his business communication classes for giving him an edge in the competitive internship interview process. “I’m glad I put extra effort into my resume and cover letter, and I prepared for about a month before the interview.” Back to working part time until starting his full-time career, Sauls advises students to explore many options in their job search. “Don’t be afraid to apply for something!”
Published September 9, 2021