By Ashton Day

Internship season is upon us! Can you believe it? Neither can we. On February 6, 2018, SHEJ hosted an internship panel to answer questions and ease the minds of students who are in the process of applying for internships. The panel featured three SHEJ alum that shared their experiences from the initial application process to the first few weeks at their new internship. Thank you to Katy Cawdrey, Katy Mersmann and Molly Olmstead for sharing their expertise with us! Based on the panel, we’ve put together a few tips and tricks below to keep you confident and stand out when applying for internships.

1. Apply everywhere and often

It takes some time, but it’ll help you in the long run if you apply to any and all internships that interest you. Everyone on our panel mentioned that they didn’t hear back from around 80 percent of the internships they applied to. While this statistic seems terrifying, that just means the more you apply to, the greater your chances are of landing something. Keep trying and don’t give up!

2. Know what to expect

The internship process is different everywhere. Some are traditional applications asking for your cover letter, resume and conducting a few interviews. Others are highly regimented applications that apply to all departments within the organization, not just the one you’re interested in. Chances are you might be faced with some tough questions, tests or other requirements. Do some research by talking to people you know, professors, individuals already working within the place you are applying to or searching online to see what has been required in the past. Be sure to take some time to figure out what to expect during the application process before you jump in.

3. Update your resume and cover letter often

It’s so important to update your resume for every application. You’ll want to include keywords that are listed on the application in case the organization uses software to sift through applicants. The same goes with cover letters. Make sure they are both relevant, succinct, and specific to the job you’re applying for. When it comes to the cover letter, make sure it’s not just repeating everything on your resume. You’ll want to keep it short and show familiarity with the place you’re applying to. And always, always, always take the time to double check your spelling, grammar and appropriate names on both your resume and cover letter.

4. Keep a spreadsheet

Since you’ll be applying to dozens of internships and rewriting resumes and cover letters for each one, it might be beneficial to keep a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet should have the name of the organization, deadline and what you still need to do and already have done for the application.

5. Master the elevator pitch

If you make it past the application into the interviewing phase, or are making the rounds at a career fair, you’ll want to have your elevator pitch down. An elevator pitch is a one to two minute pitch about you, what you’re interested in, and some examples of your top pieces of work. You’ll want to practice this a lot to really get it down, but once it’s figured out it’ll help interviewers get a better idea of you and your skills.

6. Be familiar with the organization you’re applying for

When you go into an interview, you’ll want to be familiar with the organization you’re applying for. Search around their site, know what their mission is as an organization, and have a couple favorite stories or campaigns in mind to discuss. This shows that you’re engaged with their work and that you have ideas to contribute once you’re part of the organization.

7. Use your J-School experiences to your advantage

The Missouri School of Journalism is great for a lot of reasons, including the awesome skills you’ve learned while here. Be sure to have a list of these skills and what you’ve learned in school to mention during your interview. Our panelists said that a big selling point to mention is your ability to meet deadlines. Have concrete examples of quick deadlines that you’ve met while in the MU newsrooms. You can also use your reporting and/or research experience to explain how you’re able to learn things quickly. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of Mizzou connections. Do some digging to see if there are MU graduates within the organization you’re interested in and reach out to get insight into the organization.

8. Once you get started, get to know your team

So you’ve made it through the application, interview and got the internship. Now what? Starting out in a new place can be intimidating, but you only have a matter of weeks to make a lasting impression. One of the biggest tips our panelists had was to make friends within your organization/team. These turn into connections that will, hopefully, get you a job in the future. Since you only have a limited amount of time there, you’ll also want to jump in right away. It’s important to grab whatever work you can, but stay mindful of your supervisors. Asking, “what can I do” all the time just creates more work for them, and you want to be an asset, not a nuisance. It’s helpful if you mention the other skills you have, not just the ones that got you hired. For example, if you were hired to produce video but have a lot of experience with social media, mention that you can help out in other areas.

9. Take advantage of the semesters you have left

You may be eager to get out into the working world, but it’s important to take advantage of the semesters and classes you have left. Our panelists said if they could go back and do J-School over they would take more classes in design, data journalism and investigative journalism, as well as classes outside the school that focused on science and reading journal articles. All of these skills are necessary in their current positions.

10. Stay positive

Finally, just relax! Applying and interviewing for internships can be exhausting. Add in the possibility of getting rejected and it can be downright terrifying. But you’re thriving at one of the top journalism schools in the country; there’s nothing you can’t do! And it’s important to remember, rejection DOES NOT equal failure. Our panelists applied to countless internships that they never heard back from, but they didn’t get discouraged. This process is rough on everyone, so embrace the ‘yes’s and don’t see the ‘no’s as a lost opportunity. You know you’re awesome, and you’ll find an employer that recognizes that too! Just breathe, you got this.