September 2, 2011
I recently joined the mentor team at 1 Semester Startup, a new undergraduate incubator at the University of Texas Austin. I’m inspired by the passion and vision of these students, and honored to be working with such an amazing team of Instructors (Josh Baer, Bob Metcalfe and John Butler) and other mentors (Joel Trammell, Laura Beck, Rudy Garza, Damon Clinkscales and many more!).
They recently posted this David C. Cohen article “The Mentor Manifesto” on their Facebook Page, and I wanted to also share it with you. I found it to be true in mentoring, and also true in life.
Find the full post here.
The Mentor Manifesto
- Be socratic.
- Expect nothing in return (you’ll be delighted with what you do get back).
- Be authentic / practice what you preach.
- Be direct. Tell the truth, however hard.
- Listen too.
- The best mentor relationships eventually become two-way.
- Be responsive.
- Adopt at least one company every single year. Experience counts.
- Clearly separate opinion from fact.
- Hold information in confidence.
- Clearly commit to mentor or do not. Either is fine.
- Know what you don’t know. Say I don’t know when you don’t know. “I don’t know” is preferable to bravado.
- Guide, don’t control. Teams must make their own decisions. Guide but never tell them what to do. Understand that it’s their company, not yours.
- Accept and communicate with other mentors that get involved.
- Be optimistic.
- Provide specific actionable advice, don’t be vague.
- Be challenging/robust but never destructive.
- Have empathy. Remember that startups are hard.
If you are are just starting off in your Marketing career, check out his other blog post on How to Find and Engage Great Mentors.
March 11, 2011
We’re so excited to be speaking at SXSW Interactive this year. Join us in our Core Conversation “Creating an Effective Marketing Intern Program” on Friday, 3/11 @ 3:30 at the Hilton Garden Inn. Hashtag #interns
For those that joined us, thank you. We hope you found value in our discussion. And for those that missed it, here’s some excerpts.
And be sure to check out our free Marketing Toolkit.
Links to Austin Area College/University Job Boards
Marketing Intern Job Description Template
TITLE: Marketing Intern, Paid, Summer Internship
At <company name>, we do these things <123XYZ>. We are looking for a strategic marketing intern to help us execute on our business objectives as we <do what in?> the market.
The intern will be in a tutoring and mentoring relationship, reporting to the <enter the hiring manager position>. The purpose of the internship is to <example: “carry a consistent message to market, and to gain awareness and exposure that brings in new clients. “>
The intern role consists of <sample tasks>:
- Social and Email Marketing program management
- Writing and editing for the company blog
- Content creation and execution
- Pulling Market Statistics and Research
- Blogger and Community Outreach
- Metrics Reporting
The Internship requires <sample requirements>:
- Efficient time management and responsible project planning
- A love of writing and the discipline to edit
- No fear of numbers
- A willingness to reach out to strangers
- A <Fall/Spring/Summer> semester long commitment
An Intern will be successful in this position with some experience in < sample skill sets>, which <is/is not required>
- HTML
- WordPress Blog platform
- Customer Service
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel)
This position offers <sample offering>:
- Flexible Hours, some remote.
- Approximately 20 hrs/week
- College Credit & References Available
- $10/hour to start
- Potential to remain on staff as a part-time employee
<A paragraph about your company. If you have a PR boiler plate, it’s good to use a paired down version here.>
To apply, send a cover letter by email to <email address> telling us why you would make a great <company name> intern, along with your resume.
