Skate Blog Intern Blog

Here’s some tips to help those lost souls on applying with BambooSK8.

1.  Read the entire posting.  I hate cover letters, and specifically ask for “NO COVER LETTERS”… yet I always get full page cover letters that are cookie-cut.  Last thing a skateboard brand wants is cookie-cutter; we want creativity and originality, but just as important – can you follow a task?

***No cover letters please!***

2.  I always ask 3 questions at the end, which I specifically say:   If you are ready for the challenge, then please answer the following questions with your submission and by all means – let us know what questions you have.

1. What are you looking to get out of an internship in relation to your future goals?
2. What do you feel makes you a qualified candidate?
3. Why have you chosen BambooSK8?

For some reason though, some people fail to answer these questions and I ponder why?  Again, by not answering the questions, it shows that you can’t follow a task and most companies don’t want to hire people that can’t even follow simple requests.  If you failed both 1 and 2 – I just delete the application…I don’t even care if you went to Harvard.  You can’t follow a task.

Now, being a nice guy, I often take the few seconds to write people and tell them that they made these mistakes and they should focus on all the details, as this might help their chances with getting hired.  Today, I got an email from a kid who wrote this:

G,

you are asking for free work with no specifications on pay.., what kind of complete weirdo are you for sending me such a rediculous reply.

T

Again, being a nice guy, I take the few seconds to email him and ask him to show some respect.  I took time out of my busy day to help you, when I didn’t have to.  Next, if you read the posting, you would see that it is a non-paid internship, not once, but twice.  Last but not least, rediculous is spelled “ridiculous”.   Again, my point is – this is someone who doesn’t not only know how to pay attention to details, but they can’t even spell nor structure a sentence.  Not going to work for our company, or most for that matter.  Now, most people don’t write back negative stuff, they are typically thankful but my point is – don’t burn bridges and black ball yourself; this industry is small and tight and people talk. 

3.  When you get a chance to interview, please be on time, be yourself and be prepared to ask intelligent questions.  Always follow up with a thank you email after the interview.  Furthermore, you should display your passion for wanting the internship and why you feel you are a great fit for the organization.

thanks,

geoff

I can’t believe my internship is wrapping up. The experience has been amazing and I’m honestly reluctant to let it go. In a previous blog I provided some insight as to where I came from – so I’ll just skip over that and just talk about some of the things I will be walking away with (aside from the free Monsters I got…hah!)

Last year I went back to school to better educate myself…but I really didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with it. I just knew I wanted and MBA for personal reasons, but I wasn’t sure how I would parlay my educational experience into a career. Basically, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after graduation. Well, I think I now know – an intrapreneurial role within a startup company.

The time with BambooSK8 has been pretty rad. It definitely was not your typical internships and Geoff is definitely not your typical boss. Aside from actually working, I was basically able to shadow him and see all of the day-to-day decision making that occurred. He let me see, and often be a part of, some of the major decisions that a President of a company faces. Now, compare this to a my previous tax consulting job where I worked for two years and never stepped foot into the CEO’s office.

Going forward, I now know how I need to position myself in order to get into the type of company that I desire. I know what type of skills I need acquire and the steps I need to take in order to obtain my career goals.

So, to BambooSK8 – I’d like to thank you for helping to build my foundation and giving me a running start. The experience was truly invaluable.

Cheers,
KT