FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: DoodleJump! on June 28, 2010, 10:57:26 AM
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Hey guyzes,
I am going into my third year of college and am looking for internship opportunities for next summer. I know it's basically a whole year away, but I want to go ahead and get as much figured out as I can before January, which is when I will be (God willing) studying abroad in Cape Town.
I am a double major in English and Fine Art. I am looking for an internship that fits either one of my majors in some way, I'm not picky. What I am looking for in an internship is the chance to live away from home, to learn from someone/people already somewhat established in the art or writing world, and just to gain more life experience while learning what I may want to do in the future. Ideally, I would love to be able to hang out and help out with one person or a small network of creative people who genuinely care about what they do.
I am an average college student in that I am unsure of what I want to do as a career, but I am not too stressed about that- I feel like I am the type of person who has to exuberantly embrace learning many things before I am able to find something that truly clicks with me. I am excited about the pains and joys of life, in general.
Originally, I was looking exclusively at interning/living/working in NYC, but now I think it would be beneficial to be open-minded. Wherever I end up interning, I figure I will find a job to support myself for the summer, find a room to rent or a generous person to let me crash for two-ish months, and use my free hours to do whatever I can do as an intern.
Typing this all out makes me think I'm shooting for the stars, but I think it's completely possible, and I am super determined to do this.
Here is why I am posting this:
Firstly, if anyone has any advice for me whatsoever, as far as anything I've written above, please vocalize.
Secondly, if anyone has any connections or ideas about where I could intern or live or work, I would be so appreciative. I mostly trust all of you guys and your ideas.
Thirdly, I am trying to get together two resumes/portfolios, one for my English work and one for my art work. If anyone has one they could send my way so I can get an idea on how to set mine up, that would be incredibly awesome. And if you have advice on what to include, doubly appreciative. DM me for my email or such.
I have been thinking about this a ton, and the FOTs are the first people that popped in my mind when I knew I needed some advice on getting started. You guys are awesome, and I would love and appreciate your thoughts.
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I forgot to mention that the time frame would be roughly mid-June - August 2011.
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I don't have any particularly helpful advice, but I got my internship for this summer by just emailing people who were doing things I thought were interesting and asking if they wanted to let me help them. The lab I ended up in isn't one that has a formal internship program (which is good and bad), just one where (as I've since been told) they got my email and thought "oh cool, someone's interested in what we do and wants to work with us!"
New York is obviously awesome, but if that doesn't work out Boston is a pretty great city for students- it's easily navigable by public transportation, and there are a lot of summer sublets available since so many students are just around for the school year.
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I know a ton about internships, just having finished 4 in succession. The best advice I can give you is that most internships are turning into great ways to network prior to full time jobs. That's how I got my job at the children's theatre. So, I would advise you to really utilize your internship for something that you think could be a prospective career starter, not just any internship.
Secondly, if you're not going to make much money, you should try to get an internship that allows you to have another job so you can live. Some internships have housing, some don't. Usually the ones that don't pay more but some, like for Actor's Theatre of Louisville, pay you nothing and allow you not to get another job at all. If you can swing not working for the summer and living off whatever the internship does or does not pay you for, you are helping yourself because it's kind of like an investment but if you need money, that will be an issue. It can be very exhausting.
Before applying, get everything together (PDFs are preferable over documents) so you can send it in one big packet in one e-mail. Make sure to proof-read your stuff extra carefully. Don't send it from a funny e-mail address (my old one was a riff on the hannah barbera name) and don't send it from an ungodly hour (3am). Along that vein, make sure to properly label the file (Bonnie'sPortfolio, ect. not My Work) It's the little things that start to count and you're awesome, so you may already have thought of these but I'm just passing along wisdom.
Last thing is to ask as many questions as possible. Many interns are abused for not knowing what is expected of them. I have seen people not get paid or doing stuff way beyond the scope of their internship because it was not clearly defined. If there is a contract, be sure to read it thoroughly before signing it. If something is not clearly explained to you it's probably for a reason: it sucks and the person trying to hire you knows it. It may sound good but make sure you understand just how much time and effort is expected of you from them and don't be afraid that little mistakes will make or break you. Internships can feel like slavery sometimes but you really are getting paid with experience and they can also be wonderful so just know what you're getting yourself into.
You can always message me if you have any more questions :) Good luck!
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Invaluable comments, you guys! Really. Thanks a ton
Nicole, I will definitely contact you when I have questions.
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I can help you with theater internships in most big American cities, but that's about it. Otherwise, what Nicole said.
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I don't have any particularly helpful advice, but I got my internship for this summer by just emailing people who were doing things I thought were interesting and asking if they wanted to let me help them.
This. Also Nicole is right about everything, especially asking about exactly what the job entails and exactly how/if it pays. It can be kind of intimidating to do this sometimes - if you're interviewing with someone face-to-face and you really want to work with them, asking those kinds of questions can feel uncomfortable. But if they're the kind of people you want to work for they'll understand that you need to know those things and it's good that you're asking.
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One thing I've noticed is that it's better to intern at a small organization than at a big one because smaller places allow you to do real work. When I was at the AV Club, I hardly did a thing. When I was at starpulse, I did over 60 interviews in 3 months.
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Nicole, I will definitely contact you when I have questions.
I would be happy to answer them! Actually, Paste, which is based in Atlanta, seems to have a pretty good intern program but I don't know all the details. I would totally put in an application with them if I lived in GA.
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Nicole, I will definitely contact you when I have questions.
I would be happy to answer them! Actually, Paste, which is based in Atlanta, seems to have a pretty good intern program but I don't know all the details. I would totally put in an application with them if I lived in GA.
I love Paste, I haven't even thought of that.
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Hi, Bonnie:
Since your fields are writing AND fine art, I would suggest also looking at local museums, theaters, and community arts groups for experience in Arts Administration. For example, the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago has a number of internship opportunities (http://www.hydeparkart.org/about/internships/) with descriptions of the work entailed. You may also want to use that as a search term. Maybe set up a google alert for it along with internship.
Good luck.
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Suck-up, Suck-Up, SUCK-UP to your professors and the
prevailing mythology(ies) .
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Thanks for all the nice advice. It seems as though Scholastic has a really nice internship program, so I may look seriously into that once time passes by a little. Also, I have started emailing a bunch of artists that I like. Who knows?
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I know you probably want to get away from Atlanta but I do have some connections to most galleries and art coops in Atlanta. I interned for a year at a local (and prestigious) record label simply by inquiring via e-mail.
Sucking up to your Professors does help! There are teachers who simply want their students to go far and will throw their connections at you to help.
Good luck!