GETTING YOUR IDEAL INTERNSHIP - Universum

Getting Your Ideal Internship
CHAPTER 1
Internships:
The Big Picture
CHAPTER 2
The Search
CHAPTER 3
Getting Hired
CHAPTER 4
Navigating
Your Internship
CHAPTER 5
real intern
profiles
CHAPTER 5
For Your
Reference
Architecture
Intern
Where did you serve your internship?
At an architecture and design firm in Santa Fe, New
Mexico.
What role did you perform?
I spent a lot of time doing the schematic design for the
renovation a 300,000-foot historic hotel in the center
of town. I also worked on government projects and
residential projects, as well as a new museum for the
Navajo Code Talkers.
What drew you to this particular
opportunity?
I wanted to work with a diverse set of clients, different from
what you’d find in a typical urban setting. Also, although I
go to school in the East, my college teaches about different
architectural styles in different parts of the country.
What did you learn in the course
of the internship?
I learned a lot about architectural codes, construction
types, accessibility issues, and other areas I need
to know in order to prepare for the architectural exam.
What surprised you most about
this experience?
The biggest surprise was that I was trusted with big
responsibilities—doing presentations to clients, meeting
with contractors and owners. I hadn’t anticipated that I’d
be doing anything better than getting coffee. It was good
to know they trusted me enough to do these things.
Might you be interested in full-time work
with the company?
I’ve still got one more internship to go before I graduate,
so I want to get more experience and keep my options
open. But I would definitely be interested in going back
after college.
Magazine
Editorial Intern
What are you doing in your internship?
My main duty is to send out six weekly e-newsletters to
our subscribers. Each day’s newsletter is a bit different,
but my main functions include formatting HTML text,
finding photos, copyediting text, and using a web program
to deliver the newsletters.
What did you do before?
This is my first formal internship. I did a few short restaurant
reviews for a web-based food site, where I was
able to get a few clips. I also waitressed.
How did you get your internship?
I applied through my career center’s online database
of internships. I submitted my resume through there,
along with a few of my writing samples, and soon heard
that I got an interview.
What are your career aspirations?
I’m not sure what I’d like to do with writing, but food
and design are my passions. I’d like to write a book;
I’d like to go back to graduate school; I’d love to write
about food. Because of that, I sought out the food editor
here at the magazine and told her about my interest
in writing a food piece. A month later, I was published
in the October brunch issue!
What kinds of people do well in internships?
As I see it, you can do okay—simply do what’s in your
job description so you can slap the internship on your
resume—or you can go above and beyond. People who
are self-starters and have a thirst for knowledge and
experience will excel. If something sparks your curiosity,
do something about it. Being confident helps. So
does being nice!
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