I’m blanking on what to write for this post.
One of the biggest sales you’ll ever make it selling yourself. Whether it is landing a job, internship, or just making a strong first impression, how you present yourself matters.
I recently applied for several internships through the E+I Fellows program. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit every table at the Preview Night because of my night class, but one of the three organizations I did speak with– Humotech— felt like a great fit.
I actually was upfront with them (the CEO & COO) about being nervous (I’d only ever experienced the event from the other side, since I work for the entrepreneurship department and helped set it up). They laughed (good-naturedly), assured me I was doing great (it really didn’t feel like it) and after I asked, started explaining what their company does. They then turned the conversation towards me, asking about my time in Portugal and my dad’s business, where I interned. My dad, as I’ve mentioned in another blog post, is a loan officer, currently only licensed in Florida. I told them I was helping him get licensed in other states, BUT if they happened to be looking for a nice beach house, away from the negative temperatures we were experiencing that week, they knew who to contact! Anyways, even though we didn’t talk for long, it felt like we genuinely connected.
Sure enough, within the week, I had received an email from the department saying that they wanted to interview me! After my interview, I sent a follow-up email, and now… I wait to see what happens next!
I will say, I wish I had stayed longer at the Preview Night. After talking to the team at Humotech, I felt a lot more confident about approaching other groups, but unfortunately, I had to leave for my night class. Frankly, I should have skipped it– networking would have been the more valuable opportunity. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: life is this.
SchrieberBE23 
FrenchJA21 
andersonsa22
I think this is a great example of selling yourself in a sales environment. Even if your were honest about how you were feeling nervous in that moment, they still saw potential in you for just being confidently yourself.
Hey Leyla, you have a pretty good example here of selling yourself. I wish you the best of luck getting into the E+I program, I think you’d be a great candidate for it.
Hello Leyla from the past. This is Nathan from the present speaking to past Leyla.
YOU GOT THE INTERNSHIP! yay! Go team!
I think you will do an excellent job if you can fit it into your already comically packed schedule. I think keeping your prior commitments is a good thing, so it is probably a good thing you went to class, however, stopping to live a little and maybe doing some sales along the way isn’t a bad thing either.