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3 ways to obtain an internship

ISABELLA DISTEFANO

Asst. Social Media Manager

Every journalism student at SUNY Fredonia must complete an internship for credit to fulfill their degree requirements.

Because I transferred as a junior from a community college to Fredonia, I was already behind. Therefore I made it my mission to seek any and every opportunity I could to obtain an internship.

Fast forward two years later, and I’ve had five internships.

You may be wondering how I did it.

Here are three ways I went about obtaining internships.

Networking

I solely obtained the second internship by networking.

In May 2019, I attended a conference in New York City for young professionals hoping to embark in the media and entertainment industry.

I was encouraged over the three days of the conference to network and to reach out and seek opportunities.

About a month after the conference, I took it upon myself to reach out to the founder of the conference.

I understood that the conference was relatively new, and there could be room for volunteer work.

I used this to my advantage and ended up being offered an internship instead.

Volunteering your time

Some people won’t volunteer. They believe it’s a waste of time.

They couldn’t be any more wrong — this is how I received my first internship.

I got an email one day during the summer from one of my professors asking if I could help him out with shooting a concert for a not-for-profit organization that he’s involved in.

The semester before, I had taken a studio production course, so I understood the basic rules of shooting video. Was I any good at it? That depends on who you ask.

The following fall, I was offered an internship working with him for that same not-for-profit organization.

Pure luck

To this day, I am surprised I obtained this internship.

It was late one night, and I was scrolling through Handshake.

Handshake is a platform through which students can apply for internships and search for jobs.

It was midnight and I was exhausted, but I saw a post for an internship writing food reviews and travel pieces.

I’ve always wanted to be a travel journalist, so naturally, I was intrigued.

I applied for the internship, and later that morning, I received a response.

Long story short, by the end of that week, I obtained my third internship.

Was it luck? Most likely.

Opportunities won’t appear in front of you. It takes time, effort and a little luck to make them happen.

What opportunities are you making happen?

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