The internship process at my school started in the middle of my sophomore year. I took a class on the process I would have to go through to get hired and how to be a good intern (this is the type of class I like to call, "everyone gets an A"). The school makes it easy enough for us to get hired--we go through their database, check off which companies we would like to work for, and then an advisor sends our resume out to these companies and tells them how great we are.
As is everything in my life, my experience was not so easy.
Resumes got sent out on spring break giving us more than enough time to find a job before the school's universal start date of July 1, and most of my classmates were hired by the end of May or the beginning of June. I got my first interview in May and purposely said everything you are not supposed to say because I didn't want the job--DON'T DO THIS!! No one called me for an interview for months; the industry is smaller than you think! Only take the job that means something to you, but don't waste you interviewer's time either.
Everyone always told me not to underestimate the power of networking, and as much as I hated it, I knew they were right. I am pretty quiet and the only way you can get me to talk to a bunch of strangers is to tell me that I can't do as many shots as you, and then hand me a bottle of Corona to wash them down with. Networking is definitely not my thing and I knew I was screwed when people started telling me the only way I could get an internship was if I started networking. This doesn't mean going to some chic party and striking up a conversation with the guy in the suit, but very simply talking to your friends or acquaintances. And here is where I like to insert the random story of how I got my first internship:
I had a friend who was older than I was and we only talked on the Internet but we'd never met (don't worry, it stops being creepy here). A few times a year we would check in with each other and say hello and one day I was telling him about what a hard time I was having getting an internship and he said, "Actually, I know the president of *insert record label here* and if you want, I can give him a call and set you up with an interview." It was that easy, folks. He made a call, gave me a phone number and next thing I knew, I was on the Metro North into Manhattan for the most nerve wracking interview of my life.
I struggled for months trying to get an internship--I called my advisor weekly, applied to tons and tons of places online, and sent my resume to various record labels in Manhattan, but all I really had to do was open my mouth and start networking with the people that I already knew.
Labels: how to, internship, interview, networking
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