Sun Devils at Work: Business major uses diverse experiences to land Boeing internship

Bailey Harris is a business management major at ASU’s Tempe campus and will be a senior this fall.

This summer, she’s interning with Boeing in Mesa, Arizona. Harris shared her experience securing an internship with an aerospace giant and tips for other Sun Devils.

ASU business management senior Bailey Harris

What will you be doing at your internship?

I will be working on the property management team. This works with the government property at the Boeing facility.

How did you find out about your internship?

I found out about this internship from different mentors at ASU and then found more information on Handshake.

What was the application process like?

For the application process I was required to submit a resume and a statement as to why I wanted this internship. I also added a letter of recommendation from my employer to my application.

I then had a single interview with the property management manager over the phone (as many other candidates were out of state and they wanted the interview process to be fair). Many of the questions in the interview were in the STAR (situation, task, action, result) format.

What did you do at ASU that helped you get your internship?

At ASU I am a member of Delta Sigma Pi and Order of Omega. Both of these organizations taught me valuable skills that I believe helped me with my interview.

I also learned a lot about this position when I was a W. P. Carey WPC 101 facilitator, as my mentor was previously an intern at Boeing and helped to give me advice for applying.

I also attribute a lot of my experience to a recent study abroad trip I took to Costa Rica through ASU. This gave me a lot to talk about in my interview in regards to challenges and adapting.

What are your tips for future interns?

For anyone looking for an internship I would advise having good [community or on-campus] experience.

When you are in college, employers do not expect you to have a ton of work experience but they do like to see participation in clubs, community service and other activities that show your willingness to learn and grow. Learn a lot about the company and then take any opportunity you can to connect with them.

For example, in the spring Boeing came to ASU a few times to teach Excel and ethics workshops. I made sure to go to every workshop I was able to attend and then talk with the employees afterward about their experiences. I was able to get a lot of good advice this way!

What are your career aspirations?

I have always wanted to work with Boeing because I love the aerospace industry. I have worked on aerospace government contracts previously and want to stay in the business operations or project management side of things. I'm hoping that this internship can open some doors for me to continue at Boeing after I graduate this December! I then plan on getting my MBA in the next couple of years.