An internship experience can be one of the most important aspects of your college experience. Internships open doors and provide opportunities that will help you launch your professional career. Marissa Evans, a journalism major in the Diederich College of Communications, knows just how important internship opportunities are. Having five internships under her belt has qualified her as an intern pro, which is why I sat down with Marissa to ask her advice on searching, applying, interviewing, and landing internships.
Marquette Journal: What is the average number of internships you should apply to?
Marissa Evans: “I applied, on average, to 15 different internships for the summer just because you […] need to make sure you have a sure thing. And I feel a lot of people limit themselves by only applying for three or five internships. To me I don’t think that’s enough, because what if those five tell you ‘no?’ It’s just too competitive nowadays to apply for so few internships.”
MJ: How far in advance should you prepare?
ME: “It depends on the industry you’re going into. Two or three weeks before my summer internship ended I was already starting to look at where to apply next. I would say at about August you already need to have a plan of where you want to be next summer and start planning to make that happen. Summer internships are more difficult to obtain because everybody’s off, so you need to start looking early. And I feel like one of the biggest downfalls is when people say, ‘I’m not going to start looking for summer internships till March,’ to me that’s too late. Even if they don’t have the application out yet, you should still be inquiring saying ‘Hey when is your program going to start looking for summer interns?’ And it’s not just sending an email, it’s actually placing a phone call […] because you’re going get lost in the shuffle. Calling is going set you apart because they’re going to take your name and phone number, and you’re going to talk to someone you can refer to in the company if you ever have a question. You want to set the bar, not meet the bar. And in April or May you should start thinking about fall.”
MJ: Do you have general guidelines for conducting yourself during the interview?
ME: “The key thing for any interview is that it shouldn’t necessarily be an interview, it should be a conversation. You should be answering honestly and openly about the questions that they have for you. And if there’s any way you can, have an anecdote to go with your answer. That’s going to make you so much more of a person that they can refer to as opposed to giving a very standard answer that they want to hear. And also, when you go in to the interview you should shake their hand. You should be dressed professionally too. Just very basic stuff like that.”
MJ: How should the portfolio be organized?
ME: “You can put your cover letter, resume, and then your clips. Clip order is very important when you’re applying for a newsroom internship just because you want to put your strongest stuff on top.”
MJ: Do cover letters always need to be used?
ME: “Most of the places I’ve applied to require a cover letter. You should try to tailor a general cover letter toward a current job or internship you’re applying for because no one wants the same standardized cover letter. Really make it as individualistic as possible.”
MJ: Is it alright to apply even if you’re too young?
ME: “My biggest advice for students is to not let age be a factor. Just because you’re a senior doesn’t mean you’re necessarily experienced or qualified. Never underestimate yourself or your abilities.”
MJ: What are general grammar and wording tips for resumes?
ME: “If you have a typo on your resume you’re going to be frowned upon and they’re probably going to put your application to the side. Do spell check and don’t just rely on spell check. Go through each line yourself. The cover letter shouldn’t be a rambling of ‘I’ve done this, this and this,’ you need to find one valuable experience and write about it and that should be what you start with. Not the same old, ‘I’m applying for this job at your company that I found from monsterjobs.com.’ It’s boring. And don’t just say ‘I’m a hard worker and I’m passionate.’ Show me how you’re a hard worker. Did you stay late for that one project that one night? That’s the kind of stuff employers look for.
And it’s always a fine line when people say, ‘I don’t want to brag,’ but you should be bragging. If you’re proud of your achievements and you know that you’re hot stuff, then you need to show that. It’s a competitive world out there, and you need to be as competitive as possible. Do not hold back who you are and what you have to offer, because they want to see that they’re really getting someone who is valuable to their company.”
MJ: What are standout qualities that will get you hired?
ME: “Tenacity makes anyone stand out. I feel like a lot of students do the bare minimum of applying for internships and doing the waiting game. I think you should constantly be building your skills, constantly looking to grow, looking to evolve yourself. You should be striving for more outside of internships too; Don’t limit yourself to the classroom. You should be going out into the city and learning things. You should constantly be trying to make yourself a little more interesting every day.”
“Also just being enthused about what you’re doing. Being genuinely excited about what you’re doing is going to really show in your application and during your interview. You want to wake up every day and say ‘I love what I’m doing.’ You should take the opportunity very seriously but you should also be excited about the prospect of the opportunity.”
MJ: How should you follow up after applying?
ME: “It depends on the company. There are some places where they don’t want phone calls or emails and that’s important to be mindful of. But if it doesn’t say that, then in a two-week time window you can ask where they are in the hiring process.”
MJ: What is the environment of an internship like?
ME: “You need to take a few days to survey the culture because at certain times it’s very quiet and other times it’s really noisy. And it’s good to have office etiquette in general– greeting people, saying hello, little things like that. Also get an idea of where the supplies are and who’s the go-to person if your computer’s not working; Try to have the goal of meeting at least one or two new people a day.”
MJ: What are ways to get the most out of an internship?
ME: “You should be a sponge at any internship you’re at. You should be soaking up every moment, every piece of information, every little point of advice. Just be wide-eyed and busy tailed. Be constantly ready to plunge into the next thing. And don’t be afraid to ask to be involved in a project. It’s a time where you’re figuring out how to take yourself to the next level, and I think a lot of people don’t go in with goals in mind of what they want to accomplish by the time the internship’s over. If your internship coordinator doesn’t have a set time for interns to come in and talk about that, then the intern should take the initiative and try to ask them to make the time. It’s important that they know your goals and you know their expectations. Even asking a professional to coffee or lunch, I think that’s a good professional step to take for yourself.”
MJ: Do you keep in contact with the other interns and/or mentors that you met?
ME: “Yeah. It’s good because you build an inadvertent camaraderie among the interns just because you’re all in the same boat. We would go out on the weekends whenever people were free; It was hard to do, but we always made time to do that. I’ve been talking to my mentors even more now, having life meetings for jobs and things like that. And it’s really helpful to have that outside perspective.”
To find out more about internship opportunities make sure to visit the Marquette Career Center website. There are also resume critique walk-in hours at their on-campus location (Holthusen Hall) from 12pm-2pm, Monday through friday.
