Reba Nazish is a junior at Gonzaga University who works in the Career and Professional Development Office. Mary Ritter Heitkemper is the Director for Career and Professional Development.
Nazish says that the Career and Professional Development Office offers many resources for students including Internship 101, which is offered every Tuesday at 4:15pm and every Thursday at 12:15pm. She says that Internship 101 provides students with insight on what companies are looking for in an intern. Heitkemper says that Internship 101 focuses on the process of searching for an internship.
Additionally, Nazish says that Career and Professional Development will also be offering Internship 102, which will cover encountering sexual misconduct in the workplace as an intern. Heitkemper adds that Internship 102 will be offered starting in March. She says that Internship 102 focuses on how to get an internship in a specific city and goes in depth on how to make an internship successful.
Heitkemper says that applying for summer internships is different than applying for internships during the school year because students get to be more entrepreneurial. She says, “there are many good businesses with great opportunities but that have not formally created an internship program yet.” Heitkemper says that summer internships offer students an opportunity to create their own internship. Nazish adds that summer internships allow students more time to invest in the internship.
Nazish suggests to students applying to summer internships that they see a counselor at the Center for Career and Professional Development. She says the counselors can help students with their resume and cover letter anytime Monday through Friday 1pm-4pm or by appointment. Nazish says the counselors can help students gear their resume and cover letter to a specific internship.
Nazish suggests students also do mock interviews with a counselor at the Center for Career and Professional Development. She says students can make an appointment for a counselor to go over some sample questions or questions provided by a company to prepare for an interview. Nazish says they can practice either a Skype, phone or in person interview. Heitkemper states that it is important for students to be prepared for phone, Skype and in person interviews.
Nazish says that the Center for Career and Professional Development also does a Mock Interview event where companies send in representatives to interview students as practice. The employers give general interviews and students get to practice their elevator pitch. Heitkemper says that the Mock Interview event occurs in the fall but in the meantime students are welcome to have a counselor at the Center for Career and Professional Development assist them in preparing for interviews.
Nazish says that on February 25th from 2-6pm there will be the Convention Center Partnership Fair at the Spokane Convention Center and buses will be provided to take students. There will be over 100 employers at the career fair. She says there will be both employers from Spokane and regional businesses at the career fair.
Nazish says that Gonzaga’s Career Center will also be holding an event on February 23rd from 6:30-8:30pm called Step-Up in the Jepson Lobby that will feature a few of the employers that will be at the career fair on February 24th. The event is designed to give Gonzaga students an additional opportunity to connect with employers.
Nazish says that ZagTrax is an excellent resource for students. According to Nazish, on ZagTrax students can apply for internships or register for Center for Career and Professional Development events.
Heitkemper adds that another great resource found through the Center for Career and Professional Development website is CareerBeam. Heitkemper says that on CareerBeam students can practice interviews by videotaping themselves and they can tailor the questions to a specific interview. Students can also elect to send the taping to the Center for Career and Professional Development for feedback.
If a student does not have a contact at a company they wish to intern for, Heitkemper suggest that they check with the Center for Career and Professional Development because usually someone at Gonzaga or an alumni of Gonzaga knows someone who works there. Heitkemper also suggests that students do their research on the organization and impress the company with their interest in the internship.
Heitkemper suggests that students apply to three to five internships but that it really depends on their field of study. She adds that the key to getting an internship is to start early and to tailor the application to the opportunity. Heitkemper says, “we used to suggest that students have two internships before they graduate but now we suggest three to four internships but it really depends on the major.”
Heitkemper says that if a student wants to intern in a city where they do not have housing, she suggests they use the Gonzaga alumni network. She says alums are always willing to help out fellow Zags. Heitkemper adds that there are Gonzaga alumni chapters in many of the major cities. She says that current students can register as a member of the chapter and connect with alumni that way. She also suggests that students work with the Center for Career and Professional Development to talk with Jesuit sister universities and see if they can connect students with housing options in the area.
Amelia Wright is a junior at Gonzaga studying public relations who acquired an internship last summer. Wright was studying broadcast and public relations until her internship last summer when she realized that broadcast did not align with what she wanted to do. Wright interned with a news station in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Wright heard about the internship through a good family friend, asked how to apply, was referenced to human resources, interviewed over the phone and was hired. Wright says that getting the internship was all thanks to her networking.
Wright says that her interview for the internship asked her about her academics and what she hoped to get from the internship.
Wright advises that students do their research on the company they want to intern for. She says that students need to be able to sell themselves to the company and they cannot do that if they do not know the projects and programs of the company. She also advises that students have a strong resume that is creative and tailored to the specific company that the student is applying to. Furthermore, she suggests that students take the Myers Briggs test because it provides the student with strong buzzwords for their strengths and weaknesses.
Wright says that she is grateful for the internship because, “it helped me to realize that broadcast was not for me and that I wanted to work more in public relations.” She says that on day one there was a 10am meeting between the anchors, reporters, web staff and others. She was expected to go to the meeting and figure out what people needed assistance with. It was up to her to make connections and introduce herself. Wright says that she spent the majority of her time working with the web team.
Wright says that the classes that most prepared her for the internship were writing classes. Wright says that the public relations classes at Gonzaga do a great job at preparing students to be effective writers. She says that being a strong writer made a significant difference in getting the internship. Wright did not find the broadcast classes to be tremendously helpful with the specific internship she had because the internship ended up being more writing based. She did not spend much time behind or in front of the camera, which is what the broadcast classes focus on.
Starting this coming summer, Wright will be interning with Let it Shine Media in Spokane. She heard about the internship through her Facebook network and contacted the owner. Wright is excited for this internship because it is a public relations geared internship and they are focused on storytelling. She says that their motto is “Speak well, lead well.” The owner is a motivational coach who works to raise funds to provide literacy programs to students in Jamaica. Wright is eager for this new opportunity.
Although she does not have a specific organization in mind that she wants to work for after graduation, Wright does know that she wants to pursue public relations because she enjoys being a storyteller and advocate. Wright plans to go to graduate school and study strategic communications or a related field.