how i got my first internship

SPOILER ALERT: you can do it as well 🎀

Hi everyone! I am back with a new post that will hopefully get your attention. Before we start, I want to let you know that I DID do a digital marketing internship back when I was a sophomore in school. Since then, I was in my flop era.

This is how I landed my current internship!

1. Join online courses/webinars.

The way I got my current internship was by participating in this online summer program where they teach civics engagement. They later on posted about this opportunity where we could be part of an organisation that would use virtual reality to educate citizens on voting.

Those are two areas that I am super interested so I filled in the form, got an interview, and later on got the internship.

My application was just me writing what changes I would bring and what I would focus on. Here are two points I want you to take into mind from this experience:

1. Don’t use AI to write for you. I get it, it’s hard. You are probably applying for a lot of things. Hundreds of applications are shared for one position, but the recruiter should know about you than seeing the same application twenty-five times. Show the human side of yourself.

2. Be genuine in your application and interview. I honestly did not know about the STAR method (which is a way of answering during the interviews) and only got to know about it much later. But I still managed to do okay. You have to show you care about your field, for example, healthcare, by talking about recent amendments in that field or a breakthrough in research. Whatever your field is, you've got to be aware of what’s happening.

This is why I find it best to work with companies that you genuinely like working for. But given the horrible job market, this can be difficult to manage.

In case you want to know how STAR works.

These are two tips that have helped me. Trust me when I say I know how difficult it is to get an internship. I had an Excel sheet in which I tracked every application. At some point, I even gave up tracking because what was the point?

But, please, don’t give up. I strongly believe there is something there for everyone.

2. Create your internship

This sounds so lame, but it is not. It’s what I did, and MANY OTHERS did before they secured an internship. This is especially useful for people with no experience, portfolio, or credentials. With summer coming up, you have to try one of the following.

1. Write a book:

Think of it as a long-term investment. It will pay off. To this day, I have had some pretty cool opportunities, like speaking in front of a huge audience, just because I published a book.

I did publish it a little earlier than some (I swear I am not trying to show it off), but there is no age to this. If you love books, fiction, and have a talent for words, go for it. Some people like to pay for classes. Others go for the flow. Honestly, I would just pick up some paper, plan my book, and write down whatever comes to my mind.

Then maybe, later, if you need help, there are editors, beta readers, and so many more people. Even your family and friends can be of great help.

For now, just start to write.

2. Start a blog/research paper.

Speaking of writing, what better than starting a Substack? You can even share your research here.

Substack’s simplicity is to die for.

No fancy coding, no difficult work. Simple and easy.

Did I mention I got my internship because of my Substack?

So, if you can only leave this post with one message, it would be TO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR SUBSTACKS!

An awesome example of this is

Julie Fratantoni, PhD

a neuroscientist sharing tips on keep your brain healthy. Given the amount of doomscrolling we all do, not subscribing to her would be crazy.

3. Start an online business.s

For this, you have so many ideas. A while ago, lip glosses were blowing up on TikTok. Then crochet work. Slime as well. Jewellery. Honestly, anything will work if you put the work in.

There are so many resources out there. Even though I do not have a business, one tip I will tell you is that don’t follow TikTok. They might say things just to catch your attention. Instead, watch reliable videos, courses, or websites.

Honestly, you could just follow

Barbara Corcoran

for amazing tips. You gotta learn from the best.

To conclude this section, remember this flow:

A reminder for all of us

3. LinkedIn

I will be the first to tell you LinkedIn is so hard. I don’t understand how it works despite having been there for months.

But this summer, I’m taking the time to build my brand and LEARN. Whether that’s through LinkedIn courses or asking my friends, I’m getting some work done then.

A really good example of why LinkedIn works is my friend. Let’s call her X. X has multiple legal internships under her belt. Did I tell you X is only in her second year? When I asked her how she got her internships, she told me LinkedIn helps.

She’s always online there and communicating with different people. She is building connections and relations. Shows her excellence through her work. Gets her next amazing job/internship.

I still need to understand the concept of cold emailing, but this video below has really helped me.

My two favorite LinkedIn profiles at the moment are:

1. Morgan Young: She is literally known as That LinkedIn Girl. She is all about personal brand and content creation.

2. Fatimah Hussain: Fatimah shares really helpful content both on her LinkedIn and Tiktok.

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That’s it from my side! I hope you get the internship of your dreams! Let me know if you have any questions.