How I Became an Intern

Searching for internships can be VERY nerve wrecking!  Especially towards your last two years of college because now you’re thinking “wow, this is going to be like a REAL job.”

I entered my junior year already thinking of places I wanted to intern at, and I really had to consider these 3 things:

What type of work do I want to learn?
Do I apply for internships in my hometown or explore a new place?
And, how will this internship benefit my journalism career?

As a journalism student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences I always had a lot of resources to go to for my initial process for internship searching. The first event I attended was the Resume workshop where I learned basic guidelines for how a resume should look. After I completed my resume I started searching for internship openings in my hometown of Sioux City, IA.

I searched for internships in my hometown because living back at home would save me a lot of money by not having to pay rent or pay for housing. Although there are some internships that do offer to pay for housing, you just have to search for those opportunities as well.

In my search for a summer internship I received an email in October from a professor who volunteers at KHOI FM, a local radio station in Ames.  I was asked to speak about cultural appropriation and offensive Halloween costumes on one of her radio talk shows. When I went on the show I actually got to meet the radio station manager, and out of impulse I asked her if the station was looking for interns. Luckily, there were intern positions available!

And so all my prepping and applying for internships with other companies and networks took a pause and I started my internship at KHOI FM this Spring semester of 2015.

Through this experience I learned that networking plays a huge part in locating jobs, but your resume is just as important. My internship at KHOI makes an even stronger resume for me when applying for other internships and job opportunities after graduation.

So my advice for those applying for internships or jobs, or even schools, is to take a chance and jump in to any opportunity that will benefit you in the long run! The most wonderful things happen unexpectedly!

Be sure to attend and participate in all workshops the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has to offer!

Click here for more on information about Career Services! Click here for help with your resume!

Posted by: Jazmin Murguia