Searching for Your First Internship? Find One That Suits Your Interests
Finding an internship is tricky especially for your first one. With so many options to choose from where do you start?
For me, I thought about what area of public relations I would enjoy working in, and this ultimately pointed me in the right direction. I have always had a passion for photography and dance. My mom instilled in me a love for documenting everything, and I also have been dancing for 14 years studying ballet and pointe.
At Temple University, I received an email about an internship with the community relations department at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia and it definitely caught my eye. I previously heard of the dance School and knew they trained several professional dancers including Beckanne Sisk, who is now on CW’s show Breaking Pointe.
Before I applied, I made sure to research the school. I looked over their website and saw that the department does both public relations internally and externally in the community. I applied, interviewed for the position and have been interning there since September. It has been such a great experience writing pieces for their newsletter and assisting with events. I recently renewed the internship for this semester.
One reason I love this internship is because I am back in the dance industry. For 14 years, I was just a dancer taking classes and performing. Now, I am able to assist behind the scenes and learn what happens to make shows a success. This has fueled my love for my internship because I am so invested in their mission to provide excellence in dance training. It is great to see — through my press releases and pitches — that I am helping raise money to provide opportunities for the School’s dancers.
In addition, I have utilized my past experiences as a former dancer to develop strategies that promote the School and its mission to the community. Overall, I love how I am able to combine my passion for dance and public relations in a way that not only benefits The Rock School and its dancers but also myself.
Finding your first internship can be hard because there are so many to choose from. The first thing to do is look for internships that relate to your interests or hobbies. Like many people say if you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life. If you search for internships locally, it will be easier for you to travel and start small, but gain valuable experience along the way. If you enjoy using a company’s products or services, see if they have an internship available. Be proactive in your search and take chances — every internship is a learning experience.
What internship will your interests lead you to?
Shaun Luberski is a sophomore at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and is completing her bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communication with a Public Relations concentration. She is an active member of Temple’s Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Follow her at @sluberski94 and connect with her on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/pub/shaun-luberski/59/29/307/ or email her at sluberski94@comcast.net.
6 thoughts on “Searching for Your First Internship? Find One That Suits Your Interests”
Leave a Reply
I am currently a student at Southeast Missouri State University majoring in Public Relations. As my college days are nearing an end, the pressure is on to find internships that will give me a competitive advantage in the world of public relations when I graduate college. However, I think I sometimes lose sight of the fact that I can incorporate my hobbies and passions into my work. I, too, am a dancer and have always imagined that dance would be cut out of my adult life. Your post made me take a step back and realize that the public relations horizon is quite broad, the possibilities are endless, and I can pursue a career that I love without putting my hobbies on the back burner.
As a current student and currently internship-less this post was really helpful. I too also forget that I can use my interests and hobbies to narrow down the list of possible places I can get internships. The beauty of being a PR student is that everyone needs a PR professional at one or another point in time. This opens up so many doors to be able to be flexible in working with whoever or whatever you want!
I really enjoyed this article. People are often desperate for experience and forget that it is important to incorporate things your enjoy into your work. As a junior Public Relations major, I have one internship under my belt. I too pursued an internship in the area on PR that i enjoyed most. This past summer I worked as an intern for Allied-THA, working with the major movie companies in the St. Louis area. Specifically i worked with Sony Pictures on their summer 2013. The internship confirmed that I wanted to work in entertainment PR. I enjoyed the fast pace and the many events. But, as summer 2014 is approaching, it has been hard for me to get a reply from any internships I am interested in. I want to try another branch of entertainment PR and I have been sending my resume to various concert venues with no response. Do you have any advice on getting noticed?
Hello Casey!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! First of all, congratulations on your upcoming graduation!!
I am so glad that my blog post helped you. It is true that as Public Relations students we just want to land that internship with the best company or agency and forget about our true passions.
As a fellow dancer, it has been great interning at The Rock and seeing talented dancers. Best of luck searching for jobs and internships! I hope you find something within the dance world or another one of your hobbies. Please do not hesitate to update me via email or twitter. Thanks again for reading my post!
-Shaun Luberski
Hello Carrie!
Thank you for taking the time to read my post, and I am glad it was able to help you. Best of luck landing some of those internships on your list. You are certainly right to keep your possibilities endless.
I hope you find much success and are able to pursue your passions!
Please don’t hesitate to update me via email or twitter. Thanks again for reading my post!
-Shaun Luberski
Hi Mandi,
Thank you so much for reading my post, and I am so glad that you enjoyed it. Your internship from last summer sounds incredible! Congrats on landing that one, and it sounds like you had a great time.
My best advice for you is to follow up. If you applied did you try re-emailing them or calling to follow up on your application?
I would write an email or call to show that you are interested and see where they are in the process. A lot of summer internships are taking applications now, so the sooner the better. In the meantime, try reaching out to other places of interest and maybe expand your interests for the time being and apply as many places as possible.
Best of luck on your internship search, and please do not hesitate to update me via email or twitter. Thank you again for reading my post!
-Shaun Luberski