How Many Coffees Do I Have to Fetch?!

So you got the internship. You hunted down the perfect housing arrangements. You have transportation, food, and all that good stuff! Now all you gotta do is the actual internship itself. It sounds like a big deal, but trust me, take a deep breath and you’ll do great!

The absolute best piece of advice I can give you as a person that has done internships in the past is go into your internship knowing your place. You may have just landed the internship of your dreams, but don’t get a big head. You are going to be the low guy on the totem pole, which is absolutely fine, as long as you know that is your role. You will probably get stuck doing some busy work. You might have to fetch a couple coffees and run a few errands, but trust me, it all is worth it in the end. 

When I started my internship, I found this really helpful list of 17 tips that were compiled to help you make the most out of your internship and SUCCEED: 

The second tip I can give you while you are completing your internship is to remember that this is a LEARNING experience. Internships are made specifically for you to learn more about the career field you are going into. Take advantage of the opportunity the best that you can. Ask questions. Make contacts. Build professional relationships. I still communicate with some of the people I interned under and ask them questions about my career goals. It truly does pay off in the end. 

You Got the Internship. Now What?

So you landed the internship of your dreams….Congratulations! Now the bad news is, you still have a LOT of planning ahead. For those of you who received an internship away from your home, you’re gonna need to research things like housing options and transportation. These things may seem overwhelming, but with some planning and research, it will be a piece of cake!

HOUSING 

Ok, so you gotta live somewhere right? When I moved from Michigan to California for my internship, I was responsible for providing my own housing (which is the case for most internships across the country). I found a lot of helpful sites that made the housing search much more simple, depending on where you are planning on living. Here are some of the best internship housing sites for the top internship cities:

New York City Internships: 

https://www.nycintern.org/

http://www.studenthousing.org/learn

Los Angeles Internships:

http://www.zumahousing.com/

http://www.internqueen.com/blog/2009/05/internship-housing-in-los-angeles

Washington D.C. Internships:

http://internsdc.com/

Even if you are interning in a city that is not listed above, my best advice for you is to check with local universities/colleges in those communities. Often times, these universities and colleges allow non-student interns to use their dormitories during off seasons (mainly the summer months).

Seriously consider renting a furnished apartment/dorm! This is a very important tip. When I did my internship, the apartment I rented was completely furnished. This eliminated the hassle of finding/returning furniture, and it also made it easier to travel to my internship city since I wasn’t worrying about bringing furniture with me.

TRANSPORTATION (AND ALL THAT JAZZ!)

Alright, unless you are living in New York City where there is a very detailed public transportation system, I HIGHLY suggest taking your own vehicle with you to your internship. I drove my car across the country for my internship, which had both pros and cons. First off, it put a lot of unwanted miles on my car, and second off, gas was not cheap! However, I would have been absolutely lost without my car. I mean think about it, you are already going to a city you are not familiar with, don’t you AT LEAST want to know that you have your transportation under control? I know I did. In the end, bringing my own car with me to California actually ended up being the cheapest and fastest option overall. Some of the other people I interned with rented vehicles, which proved to be VERY expensive. Like I said, if possible, take your own car. You won’t regret it.

HERE’S A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA:

If you are still overwhelmed, take a deep breath and relax. You are going to do great! I found that Google+ was an excellent source of information for people trying to find/complete an internship. Here is a link to all Google+ has to offer on internships:

https://plus.google.com/s/internships

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So You Wanna Find an Internship?

So you decided you wanted to do an internship. First off, congratulations! Doing an internship is not only beneficial to your career, but it is an amazing learning opportunity for your life in general. It allows you to “test out” possible career paths and build your skills and confidence in pursuing those careers. It sounds all great on paper, but what does an internship actually entail? Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aaron Geer and I am a college student pursuing a degree in Communications. I hope to work in TV one day, and like most careers, you need A LOT of experience to land a good job in that field. That my friend, is where internships come in. I had the amazing opportunity to land an internship at a national talk show in the Fall of 2013. I moved across the country and not only had to find a place to live, but had to figure out what I was gonna eat and how I was going to get to work. Not a simple task considering I had never even done an internship before. But guess what? I managed to pull it off somehow and I want to use this blog to help all you aspiring interns in the world to take that leap of faith, and pursue the internship of your dreams.

Ok, How do I even find the Internship I want? 

Perhaps one of the most important tasks of pursuing an internship is finding the right internship for you. First off, you need to make sure that you pursue internships that interest you. Here is a really important note that I want you to seriously take to heart:

DO NOT “SETTLE” FOR AN INTERNSHIP YOU DON’T REALLY WANT!

Think about it, if you decide to take an internship that you never really wanted in the first place, then chances are, it’s going to end badly, or you might not gain anything valuable from it. Now I understand finding the internship of your dreams is not an easy task, but if you are really determined and persistent, it is possible. Here are some of the BEST websites used to help you in your internship search:

http://www.internships.com/

http://www.internmatch.com/

http://www.internsushi.com/

I watched the following video before I started looking for my internship, and it really brought up some good points and tips for landing the internship of your dreams:

Searching for the right internship for you can be really stressful, but I promise that it is definitely worth the hassle. By doing your research and applying to places that truly interest you, you will feel much more confident in your decisions. Oh and I forgot to mention, chances are you are not going to be able to land every internship you apply for. When a company tells you “No”, take that as a sign that you will find a better opportunity elsewhere. Don’t sweat the small stuff and stay determined in your pursuit. If you truly feel passionate about your career and industry you are going into, you will find the right internship for you! It just takes a little digging!