Finding the right internship for you can be a difficult task. I applied to many positions and did over 10 interviews. Not only is the job market incredibly competitive right now but so is the internship market. However, while I was trying to find the right internship for me I only applied to positions and companies I knew I would enjoy working in. Most of my experience was data administration and marketing related but I took a shot and applied for internships in which the responsibilities piqued my interest. They were all communications related but they ranged from human rights activist organizations to fashion companies. I really believed that this would be a fantastic opportunity to branch out and diversify my resume.
Although this approach is not for everyone, I highly recommend it as it worked for me. I ended up in a team and at a company where I really thought that I would not stand on my own even if I received an offer. I had never worked on an events team before and the company that extended an offer is well-known in the academic world and was especially familiar to me as a student in a research major. I was intimidated at first but also incredibly excited to start something new. Elsevier was a great company to intern for, especially as an events intern. The company itself did not play a big part in why I enjoyed my time so much. The people on my team and the work I was doing were what made these six months amazing. The members of my team are from all over the world and were amazing people to get to know the world of events with.
As a communication science major, it was incredibly interesting learning about how an events team works and operates. Most communication science majors do a marketing or social media internship. This was definitely different from other marketing positions I have had in the clubs I was a part of. Communication is a big part of planning events. We get to interact and contact not only people of different branches in our company, but many people all over the world to make arrangements for an event. Making reservations for transportation and dinners, picking menus and locations, designing booths and collateral, and ordering all of the merchandise for an event were all tasks that were a part of my daily routine when working on an events team. The experience was familiar in terms of the designing tasks I had, but everything else was relatively new.
I learned a lot in my time as an intern in a position I was unfamiliar with. Working with a global team and branching out of my comfort zone taught me a lot. I know how hard it can be to find the right internship, but taking risks and applying for positions you are generally not used to can be an excellent benefit for you in the future.