5 things I learned as a Credera intern and campus ambassador

Allie Buckmaster and Abby Smith

5 things I learned as a Credera intern and campus ambassador

“The interns are coming!” has been in the subject line of many emails over the past few months. Every spring, it’s an understatement to say our Credera recruiting team is extremely excited to welcome a new group of roughly 60 students from across the country to Credera for the summer.

Credera offers our interns a 10-week experience with the opportunity to:

- Receive tailored onboarding and training with their peers.

- Work with a team of consultants on an assigned project.

- Receive guidance and feedback from formal mentors.

- Meet many Credera team members across all levels through various social engagements.

- Demonstrate full potential to receive a return offer at the end of the summer.

Additionally, for interns from select universities with which Credera has strong relationships, we offer them the chance to be a campus ambassador after their internships have concluded.

Campus ambassadors are the face and voice of Credera on campus, connecting interested students to Credera, spreading awareness, and participating in continuous relationship building and skill development.

An intern’s perspective

As a 2022 intern in the Houston office, Abby Smith was one of our most recent ambassadors. She graduates from Baylor this year and will join us full time in our Atlanta office in the summer of 2023.

As an ambassador, Abby was given the opportunity to:

Build relationships with Credera team members and grow her network prior to returning full time.
Improve Credera’s recruiting process by offering her unique perspective and support.
Practice the skills she learned during her internship through event planning, facilitation, and relationship building.
Encourage students through the recruiting process and share her experiences as an intern.

We asked Abby to share more about her experience as a Credera campus ambassador. Learn more about how her experience impacted her:

Participating in the campus ambassador program was a chance to help my peers have the same wonderful experience I did. Typically, the recruiting season is very stressful for college students. However, my experience with Credera was marked by friendly faces, kind interactions, and a feeling of belonging before I ever stepped foot in the office. After my summer internship and receiving my full-time offer to return to Credera in our Atlanta office, I was eager to share this experience with others to encourage them in the stressful process and hopefully consider Credera!

Specifically, I was given the opportunity to co-host a “What is Management Consulting” information session for Baylor students during my senior year. As a part of this panel, I was invited to speak on the ways the Credera internship impacted me and how it will benefit me in my senior year and beyond. Here is a snapshot of some of the things I shared:

Empathy is highly needed and an essential business skill: The best consultants understand their client’s needs and therefore can deliver the best results.
Asking questions is a skill you can develop: It ensures the work you are doing is accurate and valuable.
Taking a step back can sometimes bring the best results: Getting lost in the weeds may make you lose sight of what’s important.
You will face ambiguity and confusion at work: How you handle it reveals your character and work ethic.
Investing in people is always worth it: Sacrificing a few minutes of productivity to connect with your client and your team could be the difference between a good project outcome and a great project outcome.

I was so thankful for the opportunity to stand beside my future family and speak to the next generation of consultants. Being an ambassador has also given me an opportunity to see the other side of recruiting as a student, which has me even more excited to start full time with Credera in the fall!