Working in real estate might seem like a pretty vanilla experience on the surface – it’s a fast moving industry that focuses exclusively on the business to client relationship – but, as Swetha Amaresan (Class of 2019) can attest, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. This is especially the case with newer real estate offices looking for innovative approaches to marketing as well as new ways to enhance the client experience by providing giveaways, special events, and a consistent outreach that supports more than a one time transaction. It fosters a community.
Swetha Amaresan ’19
Swetha is a Marketing Communications major currently wrapping up an internship with New Wave, a Boston real estate group that encourages a fresh look on the industry. She’s been working as a Social Media Enthusiast, putting her skills to use in an office which lives by the mantras of “Positive Vibes Only” and “Be Disruptive”. Knowing that New Wave is starting their search for Fall interns, we reached out to Swetha to talk more about her experience and what insight she has to offer on working in real estate.
What was it that interested you in this internship?
“I was attracted to my internship because of the vibe of the company. It was obvious from my first interview that New Wave is a really young, fun company. Everyone here is positive, supportive and passionate about their work. I was friends with one of the previous interns Evan, and he was the one who encouraged me to apply”
Have you always been drawn to real estate?
“I never expected myself to be working in the real estate industry, but it has become so interesting to me. I’ve learned so much about the behind-the-scenes of the Boston apartment hunt process. Real estate always comes down to providing value for clients… [it’s] exciting because it is always moving and there is such a sense of satisfaction when a client signs a lease and gets to move into a new place… [Our agents] don’t just try to sell of clients to the first place they show; they genuinely want the process to be transparent and for clients to be happy with their decision.”
Speaking of your agents, what’s the culture like at New Wave?
“Our office culture can be summed up by the quotes we have on our walls: “Positive Vibes Only,” “Be Disruptive,” and “Always Bring Value”. We are constantly playing our Spotify playlist at work, full of upbeat, positive songs that get our mood up, even on Monday mornings. As I said before, everyone here is very passionate about their work, to the point of wanting to be disruptive and constantly create change that can benefit our company.”
How does this role tie in with your education at Emerson?
“My marketing classes prepared me in certain ways for my time at my internship. One class I took, Understanding Consumers, taught me a lot about consumer behavior and putting the needs and desires of the consumers first in any marketing campaign. Keeping this in mind, I have worked hard to ensure that everything I post on Twitter and Snapchat provides value to our clients and followers. Also, being Marketing Director at Atlas Mag helped prepare me for social media marketing. I was in charge of scheduling posts to promote the semester blog posts and any fundraisers or events we were holding.”
What did you gain from this internship skill-wise?
I’ve near-perfected my voice in script writing, as I write scripts for our Snapchat Stories every day. I’ve also gotten a lot of experience creating graphics… I’ve also really improved my research skills; I’ve gotten the chance to do a lot of research here on various social media topics (such as how to use email marketing to its fullest) and create implementation plans to put them into action.
What’s next for you?
After this position, I’ll be going abroad, but I’m hoping to get another internship next summer. Since I’ve gotten tons of valuable experience in social media marketing, I’d like to get an internship that focuses on a different branch of marketing, maybe public relations or advertising. I know these are all interconnected, so it will be really beneficial to have the experience I do in social media marketing as a tool in my next internship!
