Internships are essential to getting a good job nowadays. Internships are where you gain pivotal experience in your field and they give you a chance to build up your portfolio. Most importantly, they give you the opportunity to see if that career path is really one you want to pursue or if it is completely different than what you expected.
Many PR pros have given us the advice of having at least two internships on your resume when applying for jobs. If you don’t, your resume is more likely to get passed over. Sometimes, companies in the Twin Cities will send us internship postings, and those will be posted on this page as well as emailed to you and displayed on our social media sites. Other internships can be found below.
Where can I find internships?
The first place to start looking is the UST Career Development Center’s job posting website, TommieCareers. This is a fantastic resource for UST students, and it often has postings exclusive to the UST community. Check it regularly, as postings are added every day. There is also an option to sign up for email alerts when an internship/job is posted in your desired career field.
MNPRjobs is another great website for internship and job postings in the Twin Cities area. This is an amazing site for impressive internships that will make your resume stand out, but keep in mind that it is very popular, meaning a lot of people will be applying for those jobs. Follow Ryan May, the creator of MNPRjobs, on Twitter for PR advice and to know when new listings are posted.
CONNECTIONS! I’m sure you’ve heard it over and over again—”It’s not what you know but who you know.” This is 100% true. If you have a connection, even if it’s your mom’s coworker’s cousin’s daughter, USE IT. Even if you don’t know the person well or you feel uncomfortable asking people for help, just do it. Having someone on the inside who can say, “I know this person who is interested in the ____ position, you should check out his/her resume,” significantly increases your chances of getting an interview and gets you that much closer to a job. Any professional in any field will tell you over and over and over again that connections get you jobs. Listen to them.
When is the best time to get an internship?
That is up completely up to you! Many people don’t start thinking about internships until junior year, which limits the time you have to get those two or more internships accomplished. Even as a freshman, you should start planning for internships in your future schedules. Unlike some other professional fields, communications internships are available all year, not just in the summer, so find a time that works with your schedule. For a lot of college students, the best time for an internship is during the summer. There tends to be more openings in the summer because companies know that is when students are available; however, this also means there are more people competing for the positions. During the school year, there will probably be less internships available, but there could also be less competition. When you do decide to pursue an internship, apply early and apply broadly. The more applications you submit, the more chances you have.
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