Advice?

[bu_sama]

Hey, all you wise upperclassmen. I'm sure that some of you have had internships before, so I have a question or two

Comments

[sphinxfeather]

If you'd really like to do an internship somewhere, it can't hurt to call and ask. If they don't have a particular position then available for interns you could try volunteering to do it for free (dependable on whether you NEED to make money, of course, but I believe that is how Claudia got her internship with the publishing company).

[leftofdarkness]

I've had an internship before at a place that didn't have an internship program until I submitted my application and called them to say I'd work for free. Places like it when you work for free. It also means you can ask for more interesting work because you're kind of doing them a favor, so they might as well reciprocate by teaching you something. Having some idea of what you're capable of is good, but just tell them that and that you're willing to expand on your skill set and they'll probably find stuff for you to do. They might not have an internship program because they've been burned before, though, or they've heard horror stories and don't want to deal with students, so be prepared for that eventuality.

The internship I had was a pretty great, as I spent the summer editing gaming books with a bunch of nerds. It was also a pretty young company. There wasn't any problem with drinking during lunches, for example, and there was a lot of nerdy stuff around. I don't know how uncommon an experience it was.

[shadow_chimera]

I was the first intern Beloit Hospice ever had. I just called them and told them what I'd like in an unpaid internship and was thorough and polite. Though you should tell them what you want to do (showing you've thought about it) being flexible is important, if they say they can't do some aspects or that they'd like you to do other aspects you should roll with it. Work with FACS (or whatever they're calling themselves now), they're a good resource.