Internship Spotlight: Bryan Pearson, Michael Grant Motors

Bryan Pearson '23 BSBA (Business Management) was a Global Intern at Michael Grant Motors in Dublin, Ireland.

If you worked on a big project during your internship, please describe what you did to help.

During my time at Michael Grant Motors, I headed up the marketing and social media projects for the company. I created an Instagram for them to boost online exposure and hopefully extend Michaels audience. Within this Instagram creation, I also decided to add a promotional ‘Mike’s pick of the week’, where we feature cars that we think will sell fast or cars that have been in stock the longest. These posts have proven to get a bit more traffic. I was also working on a sponsorship of a community event, but two months was not enough time to plan and set that scale of event into action.

What did you find most challenging about your internship?

The most challenging thing, aside from learning to drive manual cars on the other side of the road, is learning what I needed to know about the Irish economy and market as well as where the car industry sat in reference to those. Learning an entirely new economy with its own issues and trends was vital for knowing both how to buy cars and how to market cars. The Brexit ordeal happening in the UK has affected the Irish car import industry as most of the traffic coming from the neighboring UK is no more. Because of this, it is harder to find cars to buy and put back on the market. This also means that the industry of used car sales is far more competitive than it once was.

What advice do you have for other students that are also considering interning abroad?

I strongly urge other students to intern abroad. There are so many new experiences and opportunities that you are exposed to for the first time, and it truly helps mold you as a person. Not only did I gain a lot of knowledge from this, but I became more well-travelled than I was previously. Being able to visit other close-by places while you’re abroad and seeing the rest of the world with your own eyes is amazing and should be considered essential.

How did Eller (or your previous coursework) prepare you for your internship?

One of the ways that Eller has prepared me for this experience is what I have learned about marketing through classes. I have learned a great deal about target markets and learning how to appease them. I have also learned the importance of market research and have Eller to thank for putting an emphasis on that. Eller also placed on emphasis on how important it is to understand and function in other cultures, which is exactly what I am doing in Dublin.