Thursday, October 24, 2013

9 Things to Do to Win Your Internship

So you got it: a dream internship.  It could be a summer abroad for a French Vogue, a gig at Google or in our sports department.  This internship is key to defining your next step professionally.    


Interns in our sports department really do get to live out a dream.  A day could be spent  accompanying us to interview former Mav turned Celtic Jason Terry.  Or it could be at a live broadcast with me trying to chase down former Cowboys greats for interviews.  There are some thrilling opportunities.  But how do you make the most of them?


Time for Part II in the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay the Experience into a Successful Career."  Let's examine things you should do to make your internship a success.

How to Win Your Internship and Parlay It into a Career

Summer internship season is here.  If you're just starting to think about one for 2013, you're late to the party.  Getting a good internship is a competitive process.  You should start working on one about six months to a year in advance of the time you want to begin interning.  Cultivate those connections early!

Whether you want to intern for a New York fashion magazine, for Disney or in the sports department in a Dallas/Fort Worth newsroom, there are some things you should focus on doing to get the most out of that internship.

As a sports anchor, I get a slew of internship requests and email asking me how to break into the business.  These inquiries come from students, burned-out professionals looking to make a career change and parents of students looking to get in the business.  The latter is disappointing, frankly.  If you really want to work in what many consider a dream career, you need to show the initiative to make contact with me and do the work.

I'll be doing a series on how to win your internship and parlay that into a successful career.  It will feature advice from former and current interns I've worked with over the years as well as advice from a colleague who currently vets and approves interns for our sports department at CBS11 & TXA21.


Let's start with my internship story.  I did a bit of an end-around to gain experience in the career field I wanted.  Through hard work, the internship resulted in a job in the exact industry I wanted which ultimately led to my first full-time on-air job.

My Internship Story

8 Things You Shouldn't Do During Your Internship

From jocksniffing to donkeyjacking, interns do it all the time.  While I hate dwelling on the negative, it bears discussing.  Too often, we're seeing interns doing things they shouldn't.

In Part II I highlighted specific things you can do to ensure a successful internship.  Part I featured my internship story with the Houston Rockets.  As we continue the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay it Into a Successful Career" let's get the negative out of the way.

Some of these are TV news specific but they can translate to any and all industries:  

How to Have a Successful Internship with Advice from an Intern Hiring Manager

Why is an internship so important?  It gives you much-needed experience in the career field you want to enter.  Or perhaps it's an eye-opener to help you realize that the field in which you thought you wanted to spend the rest of your life working isn't right for you.  It also gives you hands-on experience that can help you land that first job and begin that job a step ahead of those who lollygag during their internship. 

Last week, I gave you some tips on how to win your internship and parlay it into a successful career.  In Part I, I shared the story of my internship with the Houston Rockets.  Part II focused on nine things you should do to ensure a successful internship.  Part III outlined eight specific things you shouldn't do during your internship. 

Now, let's find out what the individuals approving, hiring and reviewing interns look for in a quality candidate.  Meet CBS11/TXA21 sports producer Chris Bullock.  We began working together at WFAA-TV in the early 2000's.  He has been hiring interns since the 90's when he worked at KXAS-TV.  He knows all about parlaying an internship into a long-term career. 

CBS11/TXA21 Sports Producer Chris Bullock
Here's a hint: it's not all about the glory of interviewing superstar athletes.  The interns that win do the work and ultimately get rewarded. 

Advice on Winning Your Internship From a Fox Sports Producer

As we continue the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay it into a Successful Career" it's time to talk to the ones who did it.  

I've shared the story of my internship with the Houston Rockets.  Part II focused on nine things you should do to ensure a successful internship.  Part III outlined eight specific things you shouldn't do during your internship.   Monday, Chris Bullock, the sports producer who reviews and approves sports department interns for CBS11/TXA21 shared advice for getting the most out of your internship. 

Time to meet Victor Nguyen.  He was an intern for CBS11/TXA21 while at SMU in the summer of 2005 and parlayed the internship into a part-time job as an associate producer later that fall.  He rocked his internship and covered some amazing stories (Kenny Rogers attack a photographer, anyone?).
Victor in his SMU days

How One Intern Won a Dream Job

As we continue the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay into a Successful Career" it's time to focus on the ones who are doing it.  Casey Philips certainly is.  She worked hard while in school, took advantage of a number of opportunities and scored an amazing paid internship with Disney right out of college.  Her diverse path has led to an amazing post with the Washington Wizards, Mystics and Capitals.  How fun does that sound?

Remember what I said in Part II: before you get the glamour gig, you got to do the grunt work.  Casey did just that and has an awesome job.  

I've shared the story of my internship with the Houston Rockets.  Part II focused on nine things you should do to ensure a successful internship.  Part III outlined eight specific things you shouldn't do during your internship.   Monday, Chris Bullock, the sports producer who reviews and approves sports department interns for CBS11/TXA21 shared his advice for getting the most out of your internship.  Tuesday, I introduced to you Victor Nguyen, a sports producer for KDFW-TV in Dallas.  Now it's time to meet Casey.



How to Juggle Interning With School and Work

A friend of mine who owns a television production company that produces programming for CBS, the Big 10 Network and more had a spot-on comment after reading a few posts in this series. 

"When you get an internship it's a means to an end, not an end in itself," he told me in a Facebook message.

That is so true.  Ashlea Bullington is living proof of that.  She is currently studying broadcasting at TCU, while juggling part-time work and multiple internships.  She parlayed her internship at CBS11/TXA21 to an internship with Fox Sports Southwest.  She will have an outstanding resume and demo reel upon graduation.  She's ahead of the game.

In the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay It into a Successful Career" we have featured the following: 


Wait until you see Ashlea's impressive resume.  If you're a student, this is a must-read and a model for the type of experience you should be gaining while in school.
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