Ethan Lai (COM’26), participated in his intership during the summer of 2023. He worked at Vector Marketing in Brownsville Texas in Cameron County.
How did you learn about this internship opportunity? What career resources from BU or elsewhere did you use during the application and interview process?
I actually found out about the company through a letter in the mail regarding it. That’s it, just a letter in the mail talking about the benefits of working there.
Why did you choose to apply for this particular internship?
The letter described a flexible schedule, as well as opportunities such as scholarships and letters of recommendation.
What were your job responsibilities as an intern?*
Work hard, push yourself out of your comfort zone, but most of all, provide a service.
What was the most rewarding part of your internship?
My job, essentially, was to provide a service to customers, inform them, and provide the opportunity to show CUTCO knives. Due to this, I was able to meet a variety of people I would have never thought I would meet. From older couples who owned businesses to stay-at-home moms who do all the cooking for their kids. It was rewarding, to say the least, to bond and meet all these new people.
What was the most challenging part of your internship?
The calls, for sure. Not the no-sales, the calls. Throughout my time with Vector/CUTCO, in order to book appointments with customers, I must be personally recommended to them. Only then could I call them to book an appointment, and as you can imagine, not all people were as friendly as they may seem.
What skills, technical or soft, did you develop during your internship?
For one, the ability to enter a stranger’s home, pitch an idea, and walk out with a new relationship at hand. Simultaneously, the ability to book meetings or appointments over the phone on a day-to-day basis. I also learned a lot of skills regarding the selling of an idea, product, and more through each appointment I completed.
What was the most memorable moment of your experience?
I very much enjoyed my time meeting fellow sales representatives and being commemorated for my hard work at the company. I also very much enjoyed the learning experience I had through Vector, my manager is one of the coolest I know, and it was an awesome experience doing training with him. But above all, meeting all the customers was the best part of it all. Being able to go all over town and see all different types of people was just something that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else.
What is the biggest takeaway from your internship experience?
I would say the ability to pitch, sell, and learn from your mistakes at a marketing level.
Is there anything you wish you would have done differently during your internship?
Not necessarily, because I believe all mistakes are lessons to be learned. Although it’s a mentality I’ve adopted since little, it is one that is especially important to keep in mind throughout anyone’s experience at Vector.
What advice would you give to another student about making the most of an internship, job, or other career-related experience?
Learn from your mistakes, even if they weren’t mistakes. Know when to implement things that can be improved upon. It is the only way anyone can be better than the day before.
Please share any notable accomplishments or milestones you achieved during your internship.
As of now, I have Sold over $7,000 of CUTCO Been promoted to Assistant Manager, been promoted to sell for the South Texas Events Team, been enrolled in the Managers in Training Course (Allows me to own my own office and become a branch manager, and hire sales reps just like me)
BU + Beyond 