It's that time of year again, ladies and gents: summer internship application season. Every aspiring PR/marketing pro is prowling through company websites and twitter profiles seeking clues as to when they hire interns, how to apply, and most importantly how to be hired. I have had an excel spreadsheet of "dream companies" finalized and ready to go since my freshman year of college (can you say eager beaver) with information about locations, intern programs, important dates, contact information, clients, and more. I'm setting aside a lot of time over winter break to apply for various internship programs. While I'm no expert on the hiring process, I can offer a few general tips to anyone else applying for internships (particularly if you're interested in marketing, PR, or advertising).
1. Tweak your resume and write an original cover letter for each company you apply for. NEVER send a generic cover letter to multiple companies, you should be catering your words to each position you apply for. Find out who you are writing the letter/email to (stalk company websites and LinkedIn pages until you find who is in charge of hiring or the intern program, and don't be afraid to call and ask someone in HR if you can't find the information online). I've heard many professionals say that they toss out generic cover letters addressed to "to whom it may concern", so take the little bit of extra time and effort to personally address your letter.
2. Have an online portfolio available of your work. As an aspiring communications professional, it's critical to show that you can write, create advertisements, work with design programs, perform research, develop campaign plans, and more. A personal website/online portfolio is an efficient and modern way to show hiring professionals your work. Include a few writing samples, some design work, and links to any relevant and professional social media. Include projects from school, previous internships, or clubs. Cater the design of your website to suit your personality and show your creative side. There are plenty of free tools out there to create a free site; I use Wix and have been happy with my portfolio. It was free, easy to use, and very customizable.
3. Have business cards on you at all times. Even as a student I think it's very helpful to have personal business cards for networking purposes. If you make an industry connection and would like to exchange information, having business cards at the ready is a professional and efficient way to do this. On my business cards I included my name, major, twitter handle, LinkedIn URL, phone number, email, and anticipated graduation date. I customized the design to keep things sleek, modern, and minimalistic. There are many websites to upload your own design (or choose a pre-made template), but I chose to print mine from Staples. I got something like 300 cards for $20.
4. Follow up interviews with a personalized thank you. It is so important to follow up interviews with a thank you card. While email is an okay method to say thanks, I think that sending a hand-written note is timeless and really shows your appreciation. Companies will be much more likely to remember the person who sent a hand-written thank you card, and it shows a lot about your character that you were willing to take the little bit of extra time and effort to say thanks.
5. "Manage your brand". If there is one thing that I learned from attending PRSSA National Conference this fall, it is the importance of managing your personal brand. Each keynote industry speaker stressed the importance of monitoring your online activity to make sure it promotes the best version of yourself. Don't censor your activity so much that people can't see your personality or what makes you unique, but don't tweet about how wasted you got last night. Also, if you think you're being clever by hiding your social media accounts under a different name or making them so private no one can see your posts, you're probably setting yourself up for disaster. Any marketing, advertising, or PR job is going to require some level of proficiency in social media, and companies are going to want to see how you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. If they can't view these accounts during the application process, they may disregard you altogether. There's also the awkward possibility of a professional asking to see your social media accounts during an interview (I've heard many stories of people having no choice but to pull up their Twitter or Facebook despite embarrassing content). There's always the option of having both a personal and professional Twitter, but I've always found that to be kind of silly. Just have one account and keep it relatively "clean" but still show your interests, personality, and uniqueness. Interact with companies and post about industry news, but also interact with friends and keep true to your personality. Just think before every post "would I feel comfortable showing my future boss?", and if the answer is yes, go ahead and hit send.
Good luck to anyone applying for a job or internship this winter. In this competitive job market, it's easy to feel frustrated and dejected. Keep calm and remember that eventually you'll find the perfect fit for you.
Xoxo
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