I've realised that my blog is quickly becoming very beauty orientated - you can see where my passion lies - however I thought it was time to do a post on something that's a little different. Today's post is going to be all about internships and my experiences and advice regarding internships.
According to Urban Dictionary:
An internship is when (usually a college undergraduate) goes and works for a company who can get away with paying him a very small salary or often nothing because he hasn't graduated yet.
It's basically just working to make someone rich and getting nothing in return - the modern equivalent of slavery, except nowadays, people are actually willing.
An internship is when students (well its mostly students) go to work for a company purely for experience. In Australia, internships are unpaid. The time that you intern for varies on the company. It can be a few days a week for only a few weeks, or one day a week for a year. I think internships can be very beneficial for both parties involved, when carried out right. Although I have also heard many stories about internships gone very wrong.
How I landed my internship
As I have mentioned I am a fashion and PR major, University student. I am very eager to learn and often send emails inquiring about work experience opportunities. In the city where I live, there are only a few PR companies specialising in fashion, beauty and lifestyle. This makes these internships hard to come by, so I started looking at other industries, from which I can still learn skills relevant to PR.
In my first year of Uni I went for an interview at the Creative Industry faculty at my Uni. Unfortunately I did not get the internship that year. However, in the beginning of this year, I received an email from that faculty - a spot for an intern has become available. So I went for an interview and got the internship as assistant intern curator of Public Programs Fashion, where I am still currently interning.
My experience
What I am doing at my internship is called curating. In the office where I intern there are many other interns working on art projects, however I requested to be solely fashion focused.
I co-ordinate and plan public programs related to Fashion as well as research potential programs we can host. For instance we recently had the buyer for David Jones present a talk on his experience. Although this is not PR, I am still gaining a lot of valuable skills from this internship which I will eventually be able to utilise in a PR position. My advice - try different companies and different industries. If you are offered an internship that is not exactly what you want to do, why not give it a try, it is still experience.
I wasn't completely happy at this internship but didn't know what to do. I felt that I was just the intern, who cares what I'm feeling. I started getting really stressed and miserable and decided it was time to speak up. My supervisor was very kind and understanding and we agreed on changes to be made. We will see how everything goes now, but what I am trying to get at is that you should not be scared to speak up. You are giving up your time to work for free, and although you might think 'oh but I'm just the intern', I promise you are a valuable asset.
Advice
- Apply everywhere, send people emails, phone them - the worst they can do is say no.
- Speak up - You are giving up your time to work for free, if something is not right, don't be afraid to discuss it with your supervisor.
- Try and try again - if you find you are not happy at your current internship, leave and find a new opportunity. You have not signed any contracts and are not getting paid - you have to do what is best for you. If you are scared about what the company will say, don't worry about it. Even if they decide not to give you a reference, they can't take the experience you have gained away from you.
- Fake it 'till you make it - sometimes you might feel like you have no idea what you are doing, by just faking the confidence & presenting yourself in a confident manner you will soon start feeling much better about yourself.
- Presentation & manners - it is very important to ensure you are always presenting yourself in a professional way. This is practice for the real thing one day, plus you never know who you might meet (you want to create a lasting impression for the right reasons!).
- Network - I can't stress how important this is. Especially if you are interested in the PR or fashion industry. Create a LinkedIn account to stay acquainted with people you meet, they might be very helpful in your career in the future.
- ENJOY - Lastly, just enjoy what you are doing.
Hopefully this post is helpful, feel free to comment if you have any questions or suggestions. Or if you just want to share your experience.
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