You’d think companies would be dying to hire interns – intelligent, fresh-minded college students, whom they can pay little-to-nothing (or in many cases literally nothing), to do those jobs that no one else really wants to do and/or pr
ovide caffeine for the office. Well, not all internships are easy to find nor do they mean being the office slave. So after a stressful few months of researching internships, drafting cover letters and conducting phone interviews, I finally landed a paid internship at an advertisement agency.
As an English major at Binghamton pursuing a career in communications, most advisors and peers will tell you that the key to getting a great job is internships. Building your resume and networking are essential in the field. At the start of my process, I was highly motivated, sending out resumes and covers letters to as many magazines, PR firms, and advertisement agencies I could find. I’d glance at my iPhone every 5 seconds to check and see if anyone had responded. Of course the “Sorry, all our internship positions have been filled,” and “We typically look for seniors, try again next year,” rejections were discouraging; but more exciting were the responses that wanted to follow up – “they like me, they really like me!”
Since I was away at school, I had many phone interviews, in which I would tell my floor mates to keep down the music, shut my door and smile in the mirror as the employer asked me questions, trying to come across as professional and enthusiastic as humanly possible. As the year progressed, I winnowed down my choices to an editorial position at a popular, entertainment magazine and an internship in account services at a small advertisement agency. As a girl whose dream is to be Carrie Bradshaw, naturally I wanted the editorial position; however, when life gives you lemons, you rock your interview at the ad agency and happily accept their offer.
Although it’s not exactly what I want to do, I really enjoy working here. As the end of intern season is winding down, I feel I have gained knowledge in the marketing field, put some money in the bank and best of all, added helpful and relevant experience to my resume.
It’s a small office where everyone is super friendly, but committed to their work. One day you can come in and see the boss walking around barefoot with “Glad You Came” blasting from the creative department, and another day you’ll find half of the office gathered around the conference table in suits while the others are madly, typing away at their desks.
As for me, I talk to clients to understand their advertising needs and wants, and handle some of the more menial administrative tasks like purchasing project materials, invoicing clients, and writing creative briefs.
One of my favorite parts of this internship is working in the city. Despite hitting the snooze button 4 times every morning before catching my 7:32 train, and squeezing into any spare space to find a seat, I actually enjoy the commute. I feel like such a grown up. And as much as I want time to slow down, it makes me excited for the future.
Most of my other school friends commute to the city from other parts of Long Island, Rockland County and even Jersey. Some people even get the luxury of living in apartments, NYU dorms, or other accommodations for the summer. Plus, there are lots of networking events for interns over the summer. I went to an Intern Queen party, which was a lot of fun and introduced me to great contacts with Viacom, AOL, and CBS News!
Interning in the city is an awesome experience and I recommend it to anyone – especially if you’re pursuing a career in communications or media! Companies look to see if you have relevant experience and will ask for references, so internships are really crucial.