Several students who just finished summer internships answered an e-mail survey to gather feedback on how they landed their internships and advice for students looking for internships of their own. Below are their thoughts.


Junior Haley Beck, The State Journal, Frankfort, Ky.

The job:
I got to work on a more diverse range of stories than what I expected coming into the internship. However, I was given less guidance than I would have hoped. It was more kind of getting thrown into things and figuring it out as I went along.

Landing an internship:
I think it was difficult in the sense that I had to send out a lot of resumes and do a lot of research without a lot of responses. I applied for my internship late because I was in D.C. for the first semester so many positions had already been filled. I basically just spent a few hours each week mailing out my resume and clips and contacting editors around the country. This internship was one where the editor came to the school to interview students, so I had to sign up.

Apply to a lot so you have options and backups. Don't try for your dream internship right away. Any kind of experience is a good way to make sure this is really what you want to be doing and to beef up a resume.

Making the internship work for you:
Once you land the internship, don't expect to be doing anything glamorous 99 percent of the time. A big part of any internship is annoying busy work that staff members are too busy to do. If you only get a few good clips, then you should consider yourself lucky. If you aren't being given enough work, make sure to ask.


Junior Diana Biette, community liaison intern for CMG Worldwide, Indianapolis.

The job:
My internship is meeting my expectations because I am able to learn things that I wouldn't have been able to learn about anywhere else. It has furthered my writing skills
and also shown me programs that I didn't know about before I was here.

Landing an internship:
I sent out a lot of different resumes to a variety of places that seemed interested. CMG posted internships on its Web site, but the internship I received was not listed.

It was not difficult to send out the resumes. It just meant making sure each cover letter was individualized towards the company I applied to. If I did the internship process again, I would start earlier.

As far as finding an internship goes, I would recommend simply keeping your eyes and ears open for opportunities and then calling up each company or agency to try and see what is available. Personalize each resume and cover letter for the internship that you are applying for. It's worth the extra effort.

Making the internship work for you:
Once you've received the internship, realize that the best interns are able to take the initiative and work ahead of the deadlines and projects you are given. Go above and beyond what is asked of you and always be willing to accept criticism and use it constructively.



Senior Joanna Borns, editorial intern at Indy Men's Magazine, Indianapolis

The job:
The work I was doing, mainly fact checking, was what I expected because I've done the same thing as an editor at the IDS. What I didn't expect were all the perks that came along with the internship, like the monthly launch parties and a sneak preview to see Snakes on a Plane.

It's a lot easier to get clips when you're interning at a daily newspaper versus a monthly
magazine, so as a magazine intern you always have to be on the lookout for ways you can write something.

Landing an internship:
The founder of Indy Men's came to speak about magazines at the school a few years ago, so I knew they offered summer internships. I just e-mailed them and they asked me to apply. They asked me in for an interview and I was hired. It wasn't difficult.

I know the process of finding an internship can seem intimidating, but if you research different publications and opportunities and simply make the effort to contact them you can usually find something.

If you're looking for internship, never underestimate the people you know. Most job opportunities come from connections people already have. It's sad, but true. So if Aunt Bessie knows someone in publishing, you should suck it up and call her. Conversely, don't be afraid to just call up someplace even if you have no connections to it.

Making the internship work for you:
Once you have an internship, go above and beyond what is expected of you. I was given the task of researching how much scotch it would take to get the Loch Ness monster drunk for a feature on scotch whiskey. I could've just come up with a number, but I knew doing a good job could lead to more writing opportunities. So I made a detailed chart of the hypothetical effects of alcohol on the Loch Ness monster. After that they began asking me to write other things and I ended up with more clips.


Junior Josh Lewis, reporting intern at ESPN radio in Chicago

The job:
My internship experience was everything I thought that it would be, and more. For three months, I had the chance to serve as a baseball reporter in the city of Chicago covering both the Cubs and the White Sox. While at first I was unsure of how much "reporting" I would actually be able to do, I was quickly thrown into the mix just one week into the job.

Through interviewing players, managers, and coaches, booking guests to come on various radio shows, and establishing relationships with other members of the media and front office personal, I feel that I learned almost everything I needed to know about reporting for a radio station.

Landing an internship:
I landed my internship through relationships that I had formed last summer. During the summer of 2005, I worked as a programming intern for ESPN 1000. By keeping up with my contacts during the fall and winter, I was hired for this position in the spring. Establishing relationships and maintaining them proved to be an essential part of
getting my job.

Making the internship work for you:
While interning, take advantage of every opportunity you are given. Whether you are asked to get someone coffee, or take on a more glamorous job, give it your best effort. People will notice if you are a good employee through the smallest of tasks.

Landing an internship has a lot to do with who you know, so forming relationships is a big part of that. When meeting someone you feel you may want to contact in the future, don't hesitate to ask for a business card. People will oftentimes be more than happy to help you, if you just go ahead and ask.


Junior Shae Peppler, MTV Networks, Production Management, New York City

The job:
My internship experience this summer was much more than I would have anticipated. I had never experienced New York before moving out here for the summer so it was a hard transition at first, as far as living goes. However, MTVv Networks is a very young and fast paced company so it was very easy for me to adapt to the environment at work.

The hardest task to learn was time management. In my department I didn't report to only one person; the interns were aids to, essentially, the entire floor. I learned to ask, is there a dead line or is this urgent every time I was given a task, and do what was most important first.

Landing an internship:
Landing the internship is a lot easier than most people make it sound. Many people in the entertainment industry preach about how you have to know someone, and, yes, that does help, but I think if you are pointed in the right direction you can have just as great of a chance as anybody else. A good friend of mine from home has an aunt who works for Viacom. She pointed me in the right direction. She sent me links of Web sites and helped me with my resume.

After sending my resume (via e-mail) to about six or seven different companies in New York, MTV Networks was the first to respond. I set up a telephone interview and it went from there.

For fellow journalism students looking for an internship, I would say to be persistent. E-mail in this industry has really taken over. Ask anyone you communicate with if he or she prefers to be reached by e-mail or telephone and obey the request. If there is one thing I've learned, there is a fine line between persistence and annoyance.

Making the internship work for you:
Once you're on the job, try and adapt to the way your company works. Most days my desk would be covered in post-its, the best way for me to keep track. Also, always be on time. My company was pretty laid back about monitoring when employees walked through the door but someone is always watching. Be prompt.


Junior Mark Perlman-Price, intern at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (MTV Networks), New York City.

The job:
It's difficult to look back after everything you've done and remember exactly what your original expectations were, but I would say the internship fulfilled my expectations. While the were some things I wish I could have done more or differently, it was still a lot of fun and one of the best experiences of my life, and I was grateful for
every opportunity they gave me.

Landing an internship:
I was lucky enough to be well-connected to my internship. My brother had interned there and was a production assistant for a week, and got the job he's in now by recommendation from his former intern supervisors there (who still work there). I would advise anyone who has any connections, no matter how remote they may think they are, to try and take advantage of them (especially in the entertainment industry).

Making the internship work for you:
Once you're on the job, be professional and personable. They're both equally important. Obviously, you want to do the best job you can. But at the same time, talk to your co-workers, make friends, because they're the people who can get you jobs later on.


Junior Kelly Solenberg, promotions intern at Emmis Communications (WIBC), Indianapolis.

The job:
My internship went way above my expectations. I figured since I was an intern, they wouldn't trust me with much. Even though I didn't really know what to expect, I thought
I would be stapling papers and making coffee early in the morning.

Granted, though sometimes I found myself delivering things throughout the building, I was trusted with a lot, including writing a proposal to IU football convincing them to give us free tickets to give away to listeners and, in return, we would advertise them on the radio "x" many times. Very cool for me!

Landing an internship:
Landing my internship is an interesting story. There was no deadline on the Web site and I actually sent in my resume, cover letter, and letter of recommendation in too late. But the guy who was interviewing me told me that because everything I sent in was so "well put together," he decided to interview me. I got a call for an interview a week after I sent it in and was called two hours after my interview telling me I got the job.

Making the internship work for you:
The most important advice I can give is don't rely on only one internship, even if you think you will get it for sure. Also, apply early! The reason why I applied for the Emmis Internship so late was because another internship that I wanted fell through.

Therefore my advice would be to apply to many so whether or not they choose you, you can decide from the ones that are guaranteed.


Junior Anne Zelek, Universal Music Group, New York City.

The job:
I knew going into the internship that any entertainment position was going to land me a huge amount of busy-work (which it did) but I also knew that it would give me a lot of insight into the industry and some great contacts for the future (which it did). I also knew that the experience would push me in ways I couldn't predict because of geography alone.

Landing an internship:
I started by choosing a few fields I was interested in and researching them. I looked up lists of major companies in the industry, signed up for e-newsletters in the field, and asked anyone I knew about their career. Then I sifted through books and Web sites full of internships, perfected my resume, and wrote cover letters and just started sending, sending, sending.

I ultimately got my internship, however, with help from a friend of a friend. I talked to as many people as possible about what I was doing and what my goals were/are, and one of those conversations ended up producing a contact for my position at Universal Records.

If you are offered something in a field that you love, do everything you can to make it work. Make location, distance, familiarity and money as little of an obstacle as possible. Think of the job as an investment in your career.

Making the internship work for you:
On the job, be indispensable to the people you work for. Don't complain, put work first, and volunteer for extra hours. It'll pay off and people will notice.


Read Career Services Director Marcia Debnam's advice on landing an internship.

Read other news about summer internships.

Check out a list of summer interns and their jobs.