It Started as an Internship, But It Turned into a Career

At FMP, hiring summer interns is one of our favorite parts of the year! Over the years, we have been fortunate to hire a few interns every summer. Even better, many of our summer interns have ended up landing full time positions after they have finished school. Are you interested in applying for an FMP internship? Listen to the thoughts of four former interns who successfully converted to full time roles: Sherean Miller, Managing Partner (Interned in 2000); Mike Camburn, Managing Consultant (Interned in 2004); Angelica Garza, Senior Consultant (Interned in 2016); and Haylee Gans, Consultant (Interned in 2019).

Looking back, how would you describe your internship at FMP?

Sherean Miller: I was so grateful to be selected to be an intern at FMP.  I was the second intern we ever had at FMP and back in 2000, interns were typically hired to help support projects when a consultant went out on short term leave.  So, my job as an intern was to take over some of the responsibilities of a consultant staff member when they were out on leave. As a result, I had the opportunity to be fully immersed in consultant-level work and it was an exciting experience.  Since I was learning as I was going, I would need to work extra hours to “figure it out” and as a result got a lot of practical hands-on experience.

Mike Camburn: My internship experience was a realistic job preview of life as an FMP consultant. I was a contributing member of project teams and helping to develop work products. As a human capital consulting firm, FMP exemplifies the engaging, productive, and supportive culture that we help our clients to achieve.

Angelica Garza: The best way to describe my experience as an FMP intern includes diverse, hands-on project experience where I was able to take on (and even co-lead) as many tasks as I desired. From day one, I was welcomed into the FMP family and treated as an equally important and valued team member. Don’t get me wrong – it was not easy! I had to work really hard to learn new skills and how to develop deliverables that I had never done before. However, as an intern, when those challenges can be particularly overwhelming, I leaned on my colleagues and manager for guidance and support.

Haylee Gans: My internship experience at FMP was absolutely formative. I was given so many opportunities to grow and learn while an intern at FMP, which allowed me to truly understand what a career here would be like. I think one of the most valuable parts of the FMP internship experience for me was to be trusted with those formative opportunities and given the space to learn, with the support from my teammates, project managers, supervisors, and other FMPers.

What made you decide that you wanted to pursue a full-time role at FMP?

Sherean Miller: I really fell in love with FMP’s culture. My values, beliefs and approach were very much aligned with how FMP managed staff, projects and worked with clients. I really appreciated how customer-oriented FMP was (and continues to be today) and really felt a strong affiliation.  I also loved the real world, practical work that we do to help solve challenging human capital issues.  

Mike Camburn: As an intern, it became clear to me that I wanted a career at a place like FMP. I enjoyed problem solving with really smart and experienced people in a collegial environment. I still do! I was fortunate that FMP was hiring as I was finishing my master’s degree.

Angelica Garza: I first joined FMP as a full-time summer intern and by the end of the summer, I knew I wanted to work for this company in a permanent role. I still had one more year of graduate school, l but I didn’t want to lose out on what I saw as a great career opportunity. Fortunately, FMP felt the same and I ended up continuing my internship in a part-time capacity during my last year of school. In addition to the excellent developmental opportunities to apply what I was learning in the classroom, the flexibility that FMP and my project managers offered me was incomparable and made accepting my job offer a no-brainer. The social work culture and events didn’t hurt, either.

Haylee Gans: This is a two-part answer for me. First, I knew from the experiences I had as an intern, that I would always have opportunities to develop throughout my career, something that I knew was important to me going forward. And second, the people. FMP fosters an environment of collaboration, transparency, hard-work, and people who truly care. I knew that I wanted to remain part of the FMP family!

What advice would you have for someone interested in applying for an internship at FMP?

Sherean Miller: Apply for an internship at FMP!  As a former intern, it really helped me round out my academic studies and put into practice all of the theoretical information I was learning. I think it helps an individual to apply some of that theory and learning throughout your academic career so that you have a real world, practical understanding of how human capital, training, IT, etc. play out in the business world.

Mike Camburn: FMP is the perfect place to apply the knowledge and skills you are gaining in graduate school. Your experience at FMP will enhance what you are learning in school, because you will have real-life experiences that complement the curriculum. Regardless of where you land, approach it with an open mind and a learning mindset. Say “Yes” to opportunities even if you don’t think you are fully prepared; that’s how my favorite projects have started.

Angelica Garza: When people who are interested in applying for an internship at FMP approach me, I ask them to honestly consider the type of company, culture, and performance expectations they need to thrive. Some individuals are driven by internal competition or desire the culture that some large corporations offer. But FMP is a smaller, boutique firm whose leadership and employees work hard to support our tight-knit, collaborative culture. We are driven by a strong sense of customer service to our clients and our colleagues, which translates into very high standards and always going the extra mile to help each other out.

Haylee Gans: Ask questions! As an intern, it can be intimidating to meet several new people and try to navigate the start of your career, but one of the greatest things about FMP is that people are always willing to take the time to talk to you – to share experiences, give advice, troubleshoot problems, brainstorm solutions. FMP is full of people with varied backgrounds and career stories, so learning from them was particularly valuable to me early in my career.

Are you looking for ways to practically apply the skills that you are learning in school to help real clients? Do you thrive in an environment that is supportive, collaborative, and fast-paced? FMP might be the place for you to jumpstart your career.

Jessica Freim joined FMP in May 2020 as a Human Capital Intern with the AT&T COE working on organizational development and change management initiatives. Currently, she is earning her M.S. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and enjoys living in an area with so many beautiful places to hike nearby. When she is not working or studying, Jessica enjoys cooking, exercising, and cheering on University of Alabama sports teams.