By Reagan Van Cleave
Ahhh. Internships…so overwhelming. As if just getting your schoolwork done was not enough. Now its time to use what little time you do have not spent writing papers and studying for midterms to start your internship hunt. Internships are intimidating. You know you need real world experience in order to get a job when you finally get out of here. Competing with hundreds, maybe even thousands of other hopeful college students to get those few positions at that fancy PR firm downtown. If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking what makes me so special? My brochures on InDesign sure could use some love…hire me? Not to mention as a junior in college I have absolutely no internship experience. Well kid, you’ve got to start somewhere.
Start by sifting through that overly crowded bulletin board in the stairwells or outside your department’s office just filled with promising opportunities. I would consider this search the hardest part as an internship newbie. Just about any internship sounds like it could benefit someone like myself who has no experience. Social media coordinator for the Indianapolis Pacers? I don’t know much about sports, but hey I can definitely rock some gold and yellow pinstripes. Media relations for Joe’s Trash Service? This could make me more well rounded. Perhaps I will give it a try. Then reality sets in and you realize you have less than a month to polish your resume, get letters of support from professors who still can’t remember if your name is Reagan or Megan, and get writing samples, which you somehow have not done in your three years of college. Great. Time to pick my two favorite internships and hope for the best.
Getting that first internship is always the hardest. You have to market yourself against individuals with resumes that look like scrolls detailing all of their experience and awards. Just remember that everyone started here. Even if you get that internship that makes your desk the copy machine and classifies your pay as some fancy word like “pro bono,” you’re starting somewhere. Make it another notch in your belt that you look back on and laugh when you’re sitting in your luxurious office in New York City. Remember it as the frustrating, but rewarding first step to following your dreams.
Ahhh. Internships…so overwhelming. As if just getting your schoolwork done was not enough. Now its time to use what little time you do have not spent writing papers and studying for midterms to start your internship hunt. Internships are intimidating. You know you need real world experience in order to get a job when you finally get out of here. Competing with hundreds, maybe even thousands of other hopeful college students to get those few positions at that fancy PR firm downtown. If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking what makes me so special? My brochures on InDesign sure could use some love…hire me? Not to mention as a junior in college I have absolutely no internship experience. Well kid, you’ve got to start somewhere.
Start by sifting through that overly crowded bulletin board in the stairwells or outside your department’s office just filled with promising opportunities. I would consider this search the hardest part as an internship newbie. Just about any internship sounds like it could benefit someone like myself who has no experience. Social media coordinator for the Indianapolis Pacers? I don’t know much about sports, but hey I can definitely rock some gold and yellow pinstripes. Media relations for Joe’s Trash Service? This could make me more well rounded. Perhaps I will give it a try. Then reality sets in and you realize you have less than a month to polish your resume, get letters of support from professors who still can’t remember if your name is Reagan or Megan, and get writing samples, which you somehow have not done in your three years of college. Great. Time to pick my two favorite internships and hope for the best.
Getting that first internship is always the hardest. You have to market yourself against individuals with resumes that look like scrolls detailing all of their experience and awards. Just remember that everyone started here. Even if you get that internship that makes your desk the copy machine and classifies your pay as some fancy word like “pro bono,” you’re starting somewhere. Make it another notch in your belt that you look back on and laugh when you’re sitting in your luxurious office in New York City. Remember it as the frustrating, but rewarding first step to following your dreams.
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