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How to Stand Out In an Internship or First Job with Lilly Pulitzer®

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If you “like” Lilly Pulitzer on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed that they’re having a contest for colleges. Not just any contest though… It’s a competition to see which school Lilly will go to for job recruitment. Um, can we all just take a moment here… Dream. Job. Alert.


The HR team at Lilly wrote this guest post about how to stand out in your internship or first job with Lilly. (The advice is great and applicable to really any internship or first job!)
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We receive tens of thousands of resumes for full time and internships every year. So you landed the job, but how do you stand out?
We have such a great leadership team in place at Lilly. They are eager to teach, mentor and develop young associates. That being said, we are a culture of “doers.” No one is going to hand hold and tell you exactly how to do your job and get noticed. It is up to you to stand out!
Be aware of company culture– Lilly has a great company culture and set of core values. As an intern or recent hire we saw the spirit of our culture in you during the interview process. Now is your chance to really immerse yourself into our day to day environment and embody those values.
Be Proactive– You should be anticipating what is going to come down the pipeline next and be ready to step up, get involved and bring in good ideas.    
Always be prepared– Go to your meetings with a pen and paper. Take good notes. You never know when a senior leader is going to stop by your desk and see how it is going and want to know what you are working on (trust us- they will stop by and check in on you!).
Think outside the box– Our President once said “I never want to hear you say ‘this is how it was done in the past so that is how I am going to do it.’” We want you to think outside the box and always challenge yourself to one up yourself on the projects from year to year. So don’t be afraid to speak up in a meeting with an off the wall idea! You never know if your crazy idea for a college recruiting program will turn out to be a company initiative if you don’t speak up 🙂
Communication– You have to have solid communication skills! Whether it is presenting, having a conversation with co-workers or sending emails, if you want to be taken seriously you must be able to communicate effectively.  
Network internally– Spend time getting to know other departments and line managers. Send an email or meeting maker for a coffee chat or lunch. Come prepared with good questions to help give you prospective of how their department fits into the cycle of business.  

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Check out which schools are still in the running and be sure to place your vote! They’re down to the Top 8 right now and the voting for this round ends tonight at midnight!! You can follow more of the fun on Lilly’s Instagram and the hashtag #LillyDreamJob.

Schedule of events:
October 7 – 9 at 5 PM EST: Top 8 Schools
Oct 10 – 11 at 12 PM EST: Final 4 Schools
Oct 12 – 14 at 11:59 PM EST: Championship
Oct 15 at 5 PM EST: Winner announced on Lilly Instagram

xoxo

PS If your school isn’t in the running anymore, check out this blog post from Lilly about how to land a dream job there.

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8 Comments

YoonJeung Eum

These are all very helpful general tips.
On a side note: I have to say though, Lilly Pulitzer came my school for recruitment events several times past few years and frankly LP did not stand out, to say the least.
I think LP can certainly amp up its recruitment table and events with some proactive promotional materials. Just my two cents here.

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Lesley Crews

Thank you so much for this post. My school, UCF, is no longer in the running, but your last link really helped a lot!

xoxo,
L

lesleyrcrews.wordpress.com

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