It occurred to me last night, technically early this morning (January 9, 2013), that I never really wrote about how I got my internship. Yes, I’ve written previous posts about interning at Warner Bros. Records and how much I loved it. I’ve written about all of the concerts and festivals I had the chance to go to, as well as reviewing the new music I got to hear – sometimes being among the first to check out a new track. But I never explained the process of attaining that internship, and that could be valuable information to someone else.
So, I’ll tell you what I did, and hopefully it helps someone.
First, I attend Kent State University and am a student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC). JMC requires all of its students to complete at least one internship, usually the summer after your junior year or right after your senior year (so you can get hired right away). I, however, wanted to do an internship after what was technically my sophomore year – I couldn’t think about spending another summer at home in North Canton, working retail by day and sitting at one of two Starbucks all night. It just didn’t seem like a viable option.
I started applying for internships right when I got back to Kent. Part of the reason I’m thinking about this is because I started applying exactly a year ago – January 9, 2012, into January 10. I got some sort of bug, and I would stay up until one in the morning looking for opportunities. I thought of all of the places I wanted to work, even the most ridiculously large corporations, and went for it.
Warner Music Group was one of my first completed applications. I found their “careers” website and followed all of the instructions. One of the most important things I did, right before applying, was update my resume. This became a habit that I did before each submission. I always updated my resume, adding little things and tweaking job descriptions. I wanted it to be as accurate, but also as marketable, as possible. Another key? Paying attention to how companies wanted the resume delivered. Most actually preferred a PDF document, while some would ask for Word docs.
I also made my cover letters really company specific – almost laughably so, looking back now. (In later resume writing workshops, almost every time, I was told that the cover letter wasn’t that important. WMG’s HR specialist said that it is rare for a cover letter to be considered. Great.) I wrote about, in this case, how WMG was a dream company for me (which was true) because I admired their roster of artists and the breadth of their genres. Or something like that at least.
With that, I submitted the resume and cover letter and answered a few accompanying questions, and then I continued applying. I applied to Universal Music Group; then followed that up with NBC Universal. Ketchum PR. Marc USA in Pittsburgh. Brunner, E! News, Mullen, IBM – anything that sounded like it would be even potentially interesting, I applied for. This took up most of January, and it was a great way to learn what different companies offered and what potential jobs there were for someone in electronic media management.
By the end of January, I was just about done applying to internships. I had exhausted most of my options and, in some cases, ignored what I knew wasn’t going to be possible (whether because of major specifications, time conflicts, distance, affordability). That was one of the two worst times – because then, it came down to waiting to hear from anyone who was mildly interested in me. I knew having only four semesters under my belt was going to be difficult. It also became nerve-wracking.
Up next: The Internship Saga, Part 2: Someone’s Interested