Every college woman has to weed through all our options and figure out what we actually need to do to make our future bright and plentiful. I spoke tp Super Intern, Molly McCurdy, about the necessary steps she took to make herself a marketable senior here at UT.
Her Campus: So Molly, exactly how many internships have you had?
Molly McCurdy: Well, where do I begin? I initially entered college thinking I wanted to be a news broadcaster, or least do something with television broadcast. So my first
major internship was at WBAL in Baltimore (where I’m from, which is the local news station. Then during the school year, I worked for Journal Broadcast Group in Knoxville, where I worked with radio promotions.
Then, this last summer I was an intern at TBC, a public relations firm in Baltimore. Now, (as she’s almost out of breath) I’m an intern, or a campus rep, for Universal Pictures for the University of Tennessee.
HC: (I’m catching my breath just from listening to her) Woah. Did each one teach you something new about yourself?
MM: Absolutely. I would never have known that TV broadcast was not all it was cracked up to be, or at least what I thought it was cracked up to be, if I hadn’t applied for my WBAL internship. From there, I thought promotions might be my thing, so Journals was great experience for me. But still, I didn’t find my niche. Then working in PR for TBC, I realized this is what I could do for the rest of my life, or at least for a few years after graduation (Molly’s laughing). And my Univerisal Pictures internship is something that is really for fun, I enjoy working with promotions still and it’s going to be amazing experience for me in the future.
HC: Where did your motivation come to try your multi-talented hands at all these internships?
MM: My motivation? Well it’s simple really, I just wanted to know what I wanted to do. And the best way to know what you want to do is to also know what you don’t want to do. And now I know both.
HC: So wise. What was the toughest internship to attain for you?
MM: Obviously the first one is always the toughest, but once you get that one done and on your resume, then you’re going to be a lot more comfortable applying for your second or third. But my most competitive internship application was definitely with TBC, just because a big PR firm in a big city is always going to be intimidating and they know that they have the ability to be selective.
HC: That’s got to feel good to be selected for such a pretisigious internship. What advice do you have to give about internviewing?
MM: RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. Take the time to know the company because they will throw curve balls at you. Honestly, I love phone interviews because I can my notes in front of me, yet, I hate them because I don’t feel like your personality can shine quite as well through a phone. I also “mock-up” my interview before it happens, where I practice and read through all my notes, don’t feel ashamed to do that.
HC: No shame in that girl friend! Have you utilized any of the UTK opportunites on campus, not just outside internships?
MM: Have I ever! I’ve worked for UT TV and WUTK 90.3 The Rock. UT has awesome opportunities for whoever is willing to try it. Every major, not just journalism, is like this.
HC: Now, being the not-self-proclaimed Super Intern, what’s your final advice for college women who are attempting to figure out how to make their college time useful once we leave this beautiful orange playground?
MM: Try everything. This is only time in your life when people are going to give you a seperate, usually better, opportunity because you are a student. Also, this is the only time in your life when you’re not going to feel completely useless not getting paid for your work, although it doesn’t feel good, ha. In order to know what you want to do, just apply, interview and try every opportunity that comes up.