Recently I have been asked by both college students and mommas of college students about internships. The students are juniors: sort of the "last chance" summer for a great resume-enhancing internship. Summer, 2011.
Here are some resources and some suggestions. I may not have a lot of photos to work with here, so this could be a little dull on the visuals.
First, there are new guidelines issued by the Obama camp for internships. These are designed to accomplish two things: 1) help prevent students who are interning from taking paying jobs from those in the marketplace who are in need of employment and 2) help prevent exploitation of students as a source of free labor. Well, the students are still "free" labor, but they must be eligible for college credit so at least they get something out of it. There are rules: the internship is supposed to actually provide training similar to what is provided in an educational environment; it has to benefit the intern; the intern does not displace regular employees, etc. You can read all about it here in the April 2010 circular issued by the US DOL, Wage and Hour Division. Last summer, employers were sort of ignoring this, to a large degree. This year, it seems to have caught on.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm
There was an article written about this last summer in the NYT Fashion and Style section.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/fashion/04Internship.html
There is a lot of controversy about these new regs. FIRST, and most importantly, it favors the wealthy. Many students do not have the funds to spend a summer in an unpaid internship- even if it is for college credit. And the interpretation of these new rules seems to be: don't pay interns, (taking a job away from someone else), offer college credit (not everyone who could benefit from an internship is in college). As a result the less affluent student ends of schlepping coffee somewhere to make ends meet and the kids whose families can afford it get the prize internships.
So, that's the lowdown on the rules. Some companies have backed down on the internships offered, others are beefing up their programs to make them more "educational". Schools seem to be a bit pokey on finalizing their requirements for an internship and distributing to students so that students know what elements they need to have in place for their internships. Most of them seem to consist of: You have to write a paper about it.
Now: How to find a great internship...? I recommend TWO approaches.
1). The Direct ASK. If you know of or can find someone or some place that you would like to intern, send them an email. For example, last summer A. wanted to do a dance internship, so she just emailed Limon, Ailey, and others. (as an aside...Ailey has a formalized internship program and she went to interview with them. They met with her and graciously showed her around and never actually sent her a confirming email. She accepted another internship. Then in April, they emailed her with the schedule for when she would start, etc. etc. Eh? Anyway, just a sidebar. ) Switching to photography this summer, she went the direct ASK route as well as the formal internship program application process (see number 2). For this method, first find the most likely contact within the organization. Search their website for Careers, Internships, or Contact info. Write an email with Summer 2011 Internship in the subject line. The email should: state what you are looking for, (paragraph 1), state your skills (paragraph 2) and state why you want to work with THEM (paragraph 3). As attachments, add your resume, as well as any relevant websites. For example, in A's case, she linked her photography websites (she has two). On the resume, include your email and phone and references. Also mention your contact info in the cover letter. If you don't hear from them, check back in 10 days. If you DO hear from them, answer promptly. I mean, immediately. Some folks insist on a face to face interview, other will settle for a phone interviews.
2. The Website Application. Some of the larger companies have formal internship programs. Conde Nast is a great example of this. Check out this application, which I think is actually due February 11.
http://www.condenastcareers.com/internprogram.cfm
They are not notifying candidates until MARCH. A little late...
There are other sites to check out. Here are a few:
HFM U.S. Internships. They publish ELLE. Search for HFMUS.com and look for internships.
Hearst Magazines also offers an internship program. Apply at:
http://hearstcareers.silkroad.com/hearst/Employment_Listings/Applying_For_Internships.html
Just so you know, Hearst owns Cosmo, Bazaar, Marie Claire, Esquire, O, Seventeen, Veranda, etc.
There are many, many more. How do you find out about them??
The Greyest Ghost. This is an old posting, but has a lot of good info about companies that offer internships and some great contact information
http://thegreyestghost.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/spring-2011-fashion-and-editorial-internships/
You can "like" InternQueen on Facebook and you will get all of Lauren Berger's updates. These internships are across the board, all sorts of fields, different locations. She also gives tips for interviews, resume writing, etc.
http://www.internqueen.com/12210/index.php
Fashionista is also one to watch, tho this is not primarily an "intern" blog.. This particular link tells you that Page Daily is looking for interns.
http://fashionista.com/?s=internships
Fashionista has a whole page devoted to Careers, with several internships listed. They are in a broad range of areas: technical designers, sales/marketing interns, visual merchandising, social media, public relations, editorial, broadcast, photography. There are DOZENS of great ops listed RIGHT HERE.
Check them out! There are some fantastic ops here.
http://fashionista.com/fashion-careers/internships/
So, if you think these internships are only for Blair Waldorf, Serena, and Dan, WRONG. Yes, you have to live in NYC (for many of them, or LA) but no, they are not just reserved for those who reside in the Upper East Side or who study at Columbia. Go for it.
A BIG POSTSCRIPT!!
If you think that a 20 hour per week internship is a piece of cake, think twice. We just got the Appalachian guidelines and they want the intern to do: 1) keep a daily journal 2) every two weeks do a paper to submit to the university summarizing the work and the journals, and 3) complete the internship with an 8-15 page paper. Also there are a number of criteria that the employer must evaluate you on: teamwork, interpersonal skills, kept agreements, judgment, dependability, punctuality, appearance, dress, integrity, knowledge of subject matte, communication skills, initiative, time management, ability to teach others, etc. It also requires written evaluations in several areas in addition to the aforementioned poor >excellent rankings on qualities. Not to mention, no part time "job" ever really stays within the lines. There are events, work assignments that do not occur within the 9-5 parameter, staying in touch after work hours, sending work related emails after hours, etc. Also, transportation in a big city like NYC can be a little more complicated than driving up the street, depending on where you live, where the internship is.
To work or not to work? This is also tricky. If you want to maximize your internship experience and be able to go wherever the employer wants you to go (industry parties? after hours shoots or social events? ) and also be available to go to off-work hour stuff like .. dance classes? the gym? the very tempting night life scene? .. then you want to be careful not to jam yourself up with 20 hours per week of an internship and then 20 hours a week of work, or another internship.. It all depends on how organized you are..
Finally, Appalachian's guidelines are: 40 hours of work = 1 credit hour, with a minimum of 6 weeks in the internship. So if you work 20 hours a week for 6 weeks, that's 120 hours or 4 credit hours. Remember, you need to REGISTER in advance for the appropriate number of hours at your university, so that's a consideration. Do you want to register for 8 hours and bind yourself to 40 hours a week for 8 weeks.. ahh probably not. So the most sensible sort of commitment would be something more on the order of 20 hours a week for 8 weeks for 4 credit hours, or some version of that..
A caution, I guess. Beware the overcommitment possibilities..
