3 Tips to Help You In Your Internship Search

Shannon Russell

With summer fast approaching, we are officially in internship season. As a student, I know how grueling and stressful the internship search can be. 

During my college career, I have been fortunate enough to have three vastly different internship experiences at a museum, software company and travel bureau. Each opportunity gave me unique insights not only into the communications industry but the entire internship application process. 

Now, as I prepare to graduate this May, I hope to share some of the things I learned about finding internships to help you as you begin your search. Check out my top three tips for getting an internship this summer below. 

Look Local

It is easy to find big-name internships with dream companies like Disney, the NFL or Apple. As fun and life-changing as these experiences may be, they are often hypercompetitive. Although it can be super exciting to apply for these internships (and you should), I recommend looking for opportunities at smaller, local companies as well.

Two of the three internships I completed in college were at organizations near my hometown. I was a marketing intern for a local museum I frequented in my youth and a sales and marketing intern at a software company based 30 minutes from where I grew up. 

Although these internships were not with nationally recognizable companies, the experience I gained in these positions was no less valuable, and the interview process was a lot less competitive. 

In these positions, I got exposure to event planning, social media management, graphic design, copywriting and industry tools like Hubspot and Wordpress. With these experiences, I expanded my resume and skill set, which helped me land my third and final college internship at the more competitive Destination Cleveland. 

I’m not saying to stop shooting for the stars, but just be careful not to overlook the valuable opportunities in your own backyard. 

Take The Chance

Looking at the requirements for certain internship positions can be daunting. Some call for multiple years of experience or proficiency in a dozen different platforms. As students, we tend to be hard on ourselves and not apply to positions unless we check every single box. 

I’m not advocating apply to positions you’re highly underqualified for, but if you hit 7/10 of the requirements, don’t be afraid to apply. With two of the internships I landed, I did meet every single requirement, but my passion and eagerness to learn that I conveyed in the interview set me apart. In my experience, interviewers would rather have someone with this passion who meets 80% of their wishlist as compared to someone with less enthusiasm who meets 100% of their wishlist. 

Always be sure to be transparent and honest about your skills and experience, but don’t be afraid to apply to internships even if you don’t hit every requirement because you never know what can happen. 

Market Your Transferable Skills

As college students, especially in the first and second year, we may not have the robust resumes of some of our peers. It can feel intimidating to navigate an interview without professional experiences to reference and speak to. But even if we don’t have formal job experience in the industry, we often practice core competencies valuable to communications professionals in our day-to-day lives.

Were you a multi-sport athlete in high school? This shows you have organizational skills. Do you have a retail or customer-facing job? Use this to market your communication skills. That Instagram or Pinterest account you made to showcase your hobbies? This shows you have experience in content creation, social media management and a value for creativity. 

If you can identify these instances from experiences in your daily life and show how you will apply these skills on the job, it will certainly increase your chances at landing the internship you were meant for.

Final Thoughts

Finding an internship will never be easy. We all are going to inevitably face rejection and periods where we feel defeated. But by keeping these tips in mind and not giving up, I am confident that each and every student can find an internship experience to help kick-start their career.