We’ve all heard it before – intern intern intern – right? Well, its true. Although higher education will help you obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the professional world, the truth about many industries is that it is about who you know, in addition to what you know.
For those who wish to work in business, marketing, advertising, publishing, writing, communications, public relations, or a variety of other fields – internships are absolutely essential. As Boston University students, we have the advantage of having the city of Boston at our fingertips. Boston offers enormous amounts of internship opportunities for undergraduate students in a variety of fields, so you really have no excuse not to start looking. The more internships you do, the more contacts you gain, and the better positioned you will be to land a job after graduation.
I began my first internship as a freshman, and am currently working on my third internship this semester. Needless to say, I’m becoming somewhat of an internship pro. So, I thought, as a way to share my knowledge with you – I would start tracking my internship ups and downs this semester – hoping that you can learn from my experiences!
So a little info about me:
Having just transferred here as a junior advertising major, I took a risk and landed a part time (unpaid) internship at a small marketing firm downtown. They specialize in social media, search marketing, and public relations campaigns, and have a very versatile client base that makes for a really fun group of individuals. I transferred from the University of Pittsburgh just this semester, where I was a dual major in communications and business. This has given me the utmost appreciation of Boston and BU – so if I seem overly positive, you can blame my optimism :)
The truth is, all internships have their ups and downs. Sometimes you will have six projects to finish in the three hours you’re in the office, and other times you’ll be sitting around waiting for an assignment or opportunity to present itself. Sometimes you will love your coworkers, and sometimes you will hate them. But learning to get the most out of your internship and being able to work with all sorts of different people is an awesome skill to have.
Tune in next week as I dish out the good, the bad, and the ugly of Internship Week Two!
*my place of work will remain anonymous throughout these posts, but my advice will be adaptable to all interns.