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.

How Giving Up on Your Dream Job Leads to Greener Career Pastures

Remember that neither an internship nor that first or second job following your internship are the end game.  They are steps along your career path.  That path will turn and might even double back but the opportunities you experience all shape your professional and many times your personal life. 

John Engelman is well into his career and can attest to that.  He started in the sports media world and is now in a rewarding role as a public relations professional in Arkansas.  He can speak to the volatile nature of TV news and the importance of translating skills from one industry to another. 

In the series "How to Win Your Internship and Parlay It into a Successful Career" we have featured the following: 
Let's hear John's story.   

Why It's Important to Network After the Internship

How is that summer internship going?

Are you learning?  Are you asking questions about the industry?  Are you taking advantage of every single opportunity you're assigned?  Are you being proactive and asking for additional duties?

You should be.

A successful internship means different things to different people.  For some it's a full-time gig at the place where you did your internship.  For others it's the realization that the career path you thought was your ultimate dream might not be the one for you.

I have worked with and met interns who have experienced both and more.  For me, my media services internship with the Houston Rockets during the 1994-95 season was a chance to connect with media professionals.  This parlayed into my first paying job in the sports department in a local TV newsroom.  THAT was exactly what I wanted going into the experience.

My Rockets championship ring
 While you are interning, you should keep the following questions in mind:
  • Do you want to work at the place you are interning?
  • Are you using this internship to gain experience in the industry you are interested in entering? 
  • Are you realizing that this industry isn't all it's cracked up to be and is the exact OPPOSITE of what you want to do? 
To help you answer those questions, you need to be cultivating relationships with the professionals you meet.  Be nice, friendly and genuinely curious about the industry.  DON'T be the aloof, arrogant intern!  Ask for an email address of a professional you admire.  Take it a step further and ask to chat on the phone or go for coffee to discuss the industry.  Ask if you can keep in touch after you have completed your internship.  This is important.

Why?

Why You Should Start Planning NOW for That Spring 2014 Internship

While the school 2013 Fall semester is just starting and you (or your favorite college student) is trying to conquer the schedule, you should ALREADY be considering your Spring internship.


It might seem like a million months away but Spring is right around the corner.  September is the perfect time to formulate a plan for that internship in the new year.

Why?

What Professors Don't Tell You in School: The 7 Deadly Sins of Sports (& Media) Internships

In the minds of many, I have your dream job.  For almost two full decades (GULP), I have worked in professional sports for the Rockets & Cowboys AND covered every sport imaginable in Houston, Guam, Knoxville and, currently, in my hometown Dallas.  It's fun, exhilarating and unpredictable.

It's also nothing close to what you think it is.


I have shed some light on a day in my TV life in covering the Rangers 2013 season opener and offered tips to ensure a successful internship in my series, How to Win Your Internship and Parlay it Into a Successful Career. 

What about the Seven Deadly Sins of a Sports Internship?  Brian Clapp offers hilarious advice on succeeding in a sports internship in a blog post of the same title for the website WorkinSports.com.

Here are a few of my favorites "sins" along with my two cents:

The Internship of the Week: FC Dallas Wants YOU

Internship of the Week
Are you a soccer fan looking to score a goal in your first gig?  


FC Dallas has a slew of great internships for Spring 2014.  I know members of FC Dallas' staff and a number of players.  This is a great organization, a quality team and an outstanding chance to learn the nuances of running a first-class professional sports franchise.  


Also note: current coach Schellas Hyndman is stepping down after Saturday's season finale. Regardless, Hyndman is a man you don't want to cross.

ICYMI: Last week's Internship of the Week was a great summer internship opportunity with the New York Mets PR staff. 

The End of the Coveted Vogue Internship

When it comes to the creme de la creme of internship opportunities, toiling away in the sanctuary of chic for Vogue magazine is the quintessential college fashionista's dream.   I am asked about breaking into the fashion bible's hallowed hallways as much I am about sports internships.
The chance to click-clack your stilettos on the mag's marbles floors is coming to an end. 
Vogue October cover
Conde´ Nast, which owns publications like Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, is ending its internship program starting in 2014.  This comes after two former interns, one from The New Yorker and one from W magazine, claim the company failed to pay them minimum wage during their 2009 and 2010 tenure. 

No doubt the former interns were probably overworked, underpaid, underfed and sent to do menial tasks.  Internships are about learning and paying your dues, certainly not to the extent that you are demeaned or marginalized but the grunt work is part of the gig. 

Internship are an essential part of the learning process and are a chance for aspiring Anna Wintours to learn fundamentals of an industry.  They are also a good opportunity to determine if the career you thought was your dream job is right for you.  Turns out it could be a nightmare.  

Personally, I am surprised interns expect to get paid for their time.  Typically, they earn college credit during their internship.  Undoubtedly there are some unsavory employers who might take advantage of this but most employers want their interns to succeed and are willing to do what it takes to ensure they do.
   
In the right setting, interns get credit, invaluable experience and connections that last the duration of their career.  I have written about this at length and it bears repeating: the right internship is the launching pad to a successful career. 

A fashion or sports internship is not easy.  But nothing worthwhile ever is. 

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