“Networking is huge.” That was one message relayed over and over again at the “How I Got My Internship Series” discussion hosted by the Career Center.
Four Hamilton seniors spoke about their summer internship experiences in communications and media in the Feb. 16 panel.
Panelists included Alexandra Gay ’17, editorial intern at Surface Magazine, Julie Lin ’17, children’s managing editorial/production intern at Simon & Schuster, Inc., Katherine Brouns ’17, podcast intern at NOVA PBS and Haley Lynch ’17, editorial intern and office manager at Aevitas Creative Management.
The discussion began with a focus on how the panelists earned their internships. Each admitted that during the application process, they spent a great amount of time applying to multiple different organizations, utilizing Hamilton’s broad alumni network and receiving advice from faculty or supervisors within their desired fields.
Gay emphasized that meeting people within the industry is imperative to actually stepping into the industry. She said that though resumes and experiences are extremely important.
“In today’s modern world, networking is huge. It’s the way you get pulled out of the resume pile, and not only meeting but maintaining those professional relationships with people carry a lot of weight nowadays,” Gay said.
After sharing some of the memories and experiences they had, the panelists also offered guiding advice to those searching for their own internships.
Brouns, who is majoring in mathematics with minors in physics and literature, actually had no prior experience in communications before working as a podcast intern.
In fact, she originally did not get accepted for the position she applied for, but made up her own position instead. She attributes her “persistence and eagerness to work for the organization” and “willingness to learn more about the skills (she) didn’t have” as to why her organization saw her potential and accepted her as an intern.
Following the panel, students had the opportunity to speak individually with each of the panelists and learn more about how they could pursue their own goals in the field of communications, building a stronger foundation for their future careers.
