Finding an internship can be hard. Especially if the internship you find happens to be located in a different city than where you live. Personally, I have found that a lot of internships are located in similar places: New York, D.C., and Los Angeles (and I live in Seattle). This has discouraged me from applying to internships because they have been so far from home, but as the ‘real world’ looms closer, I wanted to learn more about internships and about living somewhere new—even if it is just for the summer.
So, I talked to one of the resident experts on doing an internship that is not in your hometown: Margo Ghertner—one of the campus correspondents for Her Campus at BU! Margo is originally from Nashville, but has spent the last three summers in New York. Her insight is extremely valuable and her advice will be helpful to anyone looking to live in New York or do an internship in any city.
What I first learned from talking with Margo is that you can find an internship through other means than just looking at LinkedIn or another networking site. Margo found her internship at Roxanne Assoulin—a jewelry company—with the help of social media.
She first saw a bracelet of Roxanne Assoulin when she was reading Man Repeller. Then, she started following the jewelry company on Instagram and interacting with them on the platform. When she saw that the company was hiring a PR intern for the summer, she applied because she wanted to push herself and explore a different landscape before she graduated. And then, in a couple of weeks, she got the internship!
Source: Margo Ghertner
The internship was in New York, which Margo was excited about because New York was familiar to her and she already “knew her commute like the back of [her] hand.” While she spent her first two summers in NYU housing, she stayed in the School of Visual Arts housing this summer, which Margo definitely suggests for anyone looking to stay in New York over the summer.
Margo’s advice for anyone looking to do an internship (in any city) is to do your research and know as far in advance as possible about your internship and where you might be living. Living in a city for a summer is a “good trial run” for finding out where you might want to live post-grad, Margo said.
Source: Margo Ghertner
New York “already feels like home” to Margo and she knows that’s where she wants to live after college.
Margo’s time at Roxanne Assoulin taught her a lot about PR and taught her to hustle more. At her internship, she was able to “think more strategically about marketing.” Working at Roxanne Assoulin also showed her that she might want to go to business school in the future. Margo is “itching for more” and “gets joy from keeping [her] brain sharp.”
The biggest thing she learned throughout her time in New York is that “all experience is good experience.”
“You can always learn something from any experience,” Margo said.
At Roxanne Assoulin, she did things she had never done before, including working with the fashion industry. At first, Margo was nervous about the change in the job sphere because you never know what you are going to get with an internship, but Margo said that she had an eye-opening experience interning at RA.
Since Margo did spend her last three summers in New York, I had to ask her about the city and what she loved to do in her free time (including the best spots for food). Below is Margo’s list of her best spots in NYC.
- Going to see tapings of late-night shows—she recently got to see Watch What Happens Live
- Visiting the MOMA
- Walking the High Line
- Going to bookstores—her favorite is Books Are Magic
- Shopping at the Union Square Green Market—the best farmer’s market ever
“Produce from the Union Square Green Market!”
Source: Margo Ghertner
Don’t forget about the food! Here are her recommendations:
- Rubirosa—for pizza
- The Smith—for the best chocolate chip cookie
- Juice Generation—for smoothies
- The Blue Box Café—if you want to have Breakfast at Tiffany’s
- Big Daddy’s—for the classic diner experience
Talking with Margo made me feel hopeful and encouraged to apply for internships, I hope her advice helped you too!
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