Many students who do an internship find the experience leads to their first job. For UNH Manchester alumnus Sean Khan, he hopes his internship sets the groundwork for a successful business career.
Khan graduated in May with a business degree. That same month he was hired as a business development representative by Newforma, a Manchester-based software company. This wasn’t the first time Khan had worked at Newforma. That same spring he had completed an internship in sales operations.
“I got into a company that’s growing quickly. I’d love to stay here and work my way up in the company,” said Khan. “I’ve always been kind of a loyal person and I definitely want to be in New Hampshire. It’s a great state to be in.”
Khan grew up in Milford and started college at UNH Durham. After a few semesters, Khan decided to take some time off. His focus at that time was deciding what direction he wanted to take his studies, and ultimately his career. He began taking part-time classes at UNH Manchester and since he was living in Milford, he quickly realized the commute to UNH Manchester was much shorter than driving to Durham.
After taking a few classes, Khan became certain about his major.
“I decided a business degree was the way I wanted to go,” Khan said, and that included an internship within the business industry. After asking UNH Manchester’s Internship and Career Planning office about opportunities, he was referred to the UNH Job and Internship Fair held twice a year in Durham. There, he spoke with representatives at Newforma about interning with the growing company.
“What the internship did for me was it got me acclimated to every day formulas and programs we use at Newforma,” said Khan. That included using Excel and the company’s own sales software. “Having that under your belt really helps to give you a leg up on competition.”
What Khan enjoys most about his job, though, is the challenge.
“I’m not bored at work and I love the people I work with,” he said.
Andrea Kokolis, Vice President of Human Resources at Newforma, said students who are smart, resourceful and look for a challenge are the kind of candidates the company looks for.
“I always tell people that I can teach you about the industry and the software application, but I can’t teach you how to be smart,” she said. “I look for these characteristics in students who want to be interns or new hires, and it doesn’t matter what school they come out of.”
Khan’s advice to students who are looking to eventually work for a large company is to go out and get experience at one.
“My internship helped to get me acclimated to an organization in general,” said Khan. “Prior to this I had a job at a small business and I had no clue how a national organization was run until I was actually in it. It gives you a whole different perspective.”
Request more information about the Business Program at UNH Manchester.
