It’s officially that time of the year! Whether you like it or not, internship applications for this summer may already start to open. Of course, with that comes the dreaded process of actually finding and landing that summer internship. Don’t worry, I’m here to help! This past summer I was lucky enough to serve as a communications intern for my local government, and I had only just finished up my freshman year! No networking, no connections, just knowing where to look.
While my experience in finding and securing summer communication internships stops with this one, I was still able to learn a lot about the search process. I’m not going to tell you how to make a resume or a cover letter; the FSU Career Center and the internet can give you that. Here are my tips for actually finding the ones worth applying for:
- Venturing outside of my College town
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Let’s be real, are you going to want to be in your college town this summer? For FSU students, you might feel tempted to look on Nole Network, ask the Career Center, or as a communication student, you might check out the School of Communication Instagram. While these resources are helpful, there’s a good chance they’ll find you great opportunities in Tallahassee, and not necessarily everyone wants to be here over the summer. I know I didn’t. These websites do offer some opportunities outside of your area, but maybe try to avoid them if you won’t be here this summer.
Thus, the source of a lot of my digging was through websites like LinkedIn and Indeed. Since I’m from just outside Orlando, I’d search keywords like “communication intern” or “social media intern.” These two websites are where I found a majority of the internships I applied for.
- Looking For In-Person Opportunities Near Me
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In my eyes, the ideal internship had to be an in-person one in my area. I did find and apply for a few remote internships, but I also figured I wouldn’t get them. After all, working remotely means you could be competing with applicants from across the nation, and I wanted to focus my efforts on smaller applicant pools. This isn’t to say that remote internships aren’t worth applying for, but for me, it was something I had to consider that wouldn’t work.
When not scouring LinkedIn and Indeed, I looked at specific companies located near me. If you live within an hour of a city, maybe see what companies have their headquarters or even an office near you. Living near Orlando, most people know of the many theme parks, but upon doing research I found that AdventHealth and the Kennedy Space Center have headquarters near me. While not explicitly related to communication, most companies are bound to have a communication department, so it doesn’t hurt to look into companies near you that aren’t explicitly related to the field. That way, you’ll only be competing with those near you!
- staying organized
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Throughout the process, I made sure to keep track of the different internships I was applying for using an Excel spreadsheet. I’d include the name of the internship, the company, when the application was due, whether I’d applied yet, and if I’d heard back. Doing this was an amazing way for me to keep track of the 30-plus internships I ended up applying for and not fall behind.
- Knowing the company
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So, let’s assume you followed these tips and made it to an interview. My number one tip here would be to know the company inside and out! I feel like this may be the most important reason I was able to secure my internship in the first place. In my own summer internship, since it was for my local government, I knew a lot about the area and was able to speak on a lot of the programs within the city and future projects.
I believe this extensive knowledge, which I luckily didn’t have to research on my own at the time, is what set me apart from other applicants. If you land an interview for an internship you really want, know the company like the back of your hand and demonstrate your knowledge whenever possible!
At the end of the day, finding an internship is a long process, and reading this article was an amazing place to start. With some determination, you, too, can land your dream communications internship!
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