For the past 12 weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to intern in the Washington D.C. Office of
Stanton Chase, one of the world’s top 10 global executive search firms. As a business
development intern, I worked on both short-term and long-term projects to acquire new clients
and grow the company’s portfolio.
My tasks this summer ranged from working on D.C. office-specific projects to alleviate some of
the branches’ workload to performing targeted research and memo-style reports for potential
clients and ongoing searches. The various assignments I performed helped me develop skills
essential in business, such as learning the process of pitching, understanding the corporate job
market and the structure of a business, and developing business assessments and strategies.
One of my favorite parts of working at Stanton Chase was getting experience writing clearly and
concisely. There was no length requirement for many of the research projects I was assigned;
the expectation was to provide all the relevant information a consultant may need during a
meeting in as few words as possible. This writing style tested my skills in the early summer, but
eventually, I became accustomed to it and came to appreciate it as a fresh challenge.
Another crucial aspect of the internship was working with a mentor consultant. Every intern was
assigned a company director who we got to shadow and work closely with to learn about the
day-to-day work of a consultant and how Stanton Chase conducts executive searches. I worked
with my mentor to find innovative outreach strategy plans, conduct research, and develop
materials culminating in centralized data sheets and industry reports.
Finally, I’m thankful to have worked with an experienced team of consultants and with an
effective intern class. Something I learned from the recently promoted Managing Director, Iris
Drayton-Spann, was during a team conversation on teamwork. Iris advised us to ask ourselves
throughout our career, “How are we influencing people?” “How are we influencing the culture?”
and to keep that in sight, no maYer our role as interns, associates, or directors.
