Going into a field like journalism or even any form of communications, I expected to have these incredible and awesome internships. Kids I knew were interning at "The Dr. Oz Show," NBC, radio stations, fashion magazines, public relation offices and other incredible places. My first two years I decided to focus on my academics and not worry too much about an internship. I was also living on Long Island and knew I wanted to transfer into Manhattan where I assumed all of the best internships would be.
My junior year I transferred to Hunter College, which is on the Upper East Side. Again, I wasn’t too worried about getting an internship but eventually realized I really needed to buckle down and seriously look for one. My fall semester, I had one of the worst schedules known to man. I was in school at all hours of the day and even had an early three-hour Saturday-morning lecture. During the spring semester, I took on a lot of writing intensive courses and knew I wouldn’t be able to do an internship that semester. But I would definitely have time for one in the summer. One of my professors lit a fire under me by telling our class that if you didn’t have an internship by the end of your junior year, you would have a difficult time getting into the field.
After realizing my junior year spring semester was almost over, I began to worry. All my other friends in the field have had multiple internships and I haven’t had a single one. Determined to find one for the summer, I spent hours a day applying and reading up on companies I wanted to work for. Of course, I went straight to the top. I applied for BuzzFeed, MTV and ABC, amongst many others. Then I decided to go on websites to look up more options. My biggest mistake was going in not knowing what exactly I wanted to do. Communications is such a broad topic and I needed to narrow it down.
In school, I’m a journalism student, but I want to explore my options. I thought public relations sounded pretty cool but I also thought broadcast journalism might be a better fit for me. Looking for an internship when you don’t know what you want to do is very difficult. After a few months and a hundred applications with no answers, I heard back from an online hair company. It sounded like something I would be interested in.
During my last two years in high school, I went to cosmetology school so I had a lot of knowledge in the field. She called and asked if I had time to talk. I said yes and all she asked was if I had time to write three to five articles each week and if I was OK with this internship not being paid. I said yes to both. The internship didn’t require me to commute into Manhattan, which was perfect since it costs about $30 round trip each time.
I was excited that I finally found an internship and a weight was lifted from my shoulders. I felt like I was no longer doomed. I received a welcome email and instructions on how to sign into the WordPress. I was excited to start. While I knew there would be no in-person communication, I wasn't aware that there isn’t any communication. I had no one to guide me, no one to tell me what to do. While that might sound nice, I expected to learn something from an internship. It’s great that I’m writing more and building my portfolio, but I’m not learning anything. In my opinion, one of the best parts of an internship would be the learning process: finding out new methods and getting a feel for the industry.
Yes, I think it’s great that I’m writing more and enhancing my skills, but I’m missing out on the actual “internship experience” that all my friends get to experience. I was so desperate that I took anything when I should have waited for one that was in person or more interactive. However, it's important to remember that just because the internship isn't something you knew all about or what you expected, it doesn't mean you shouldn't work just as hard. No matter what, you still have to do your best work and put all of your heart into it.
