• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » 10 Tips to Score the Creative Internship of Your Dreams
Career How to Get an Internship How to Study for a Test Jobs & Internships

10 Tips to Score the Creative Internship of Your Dreams

FacebookTweet
giphy.com
Steven Foster April 24, 2015 (Updated: August 30, 2018)

If you’re a designer like me, or a student who relies on creativity to land a career, you know it takes more than raw talent and knowing an employer’s favorite coffee flavor to land a dream job. You need to position yourself to be in the right place with the right skill set—and I’m not talking about your dope Tinder skills.

Since my freshman year, I’ve been collecting internships like Pokémon. I’ve interned with a summer camp producing photo and video, a hospital assisting marketing and most recently a startup software company doing a little bit of everything. In my time, I’ve learned that getting a great creative internship comes down to two things—a kick-ass portfolio combined with solid networking skills. Take a look at these 10 tried and true techniques that will have you writing or designing professionally in no time.

1. Build an online portfolio.

behance.net
behance.net

It’s time to trade in your bulky physical portfolio for an online edition. Ease of use and integration with Adobe make Behance an awesome option. It’s never been easier to showcase your work, while following and appreciating other work at the same time. It even has a few iPad apps for easy access to your work during interviews. Wix and Format are great platforms if Behance isn’t your cup of tea.

 2. Produce pro-bono work for small businesses.

giphy.com
giphy.com

Just because you aren’t making the big bucks at a Fortune 500 company doesn’t mean you can’t start getting your name out there. A professor and mentor once suggested stepping in and helping small businesses out by offering to redesign their website or recreate branding. It’s an easy way to bolster your portfolio while networking and giving back to your community. By building a boutique a website for a class project, I was given a paid opportunity to build a real website.

 3. Submit your best work to contests.

giphy.com
giphy.com

The best way to show your friends you’re better than them is to enter competitions—and win. Entering competitions will usually set you back a few bucks for entrance fees, but the payoff can be worth it, especially when flirting with a potential employer. My friend recently entered six pieces into our local ADDY awards and took home a gold, three silvers and the highly coveted Best Student Showcase. I’ve never felt worse about my own skills.

 4. Attend as many networking events as possible.

giphy.com
giphy.com

First things first I’m the realest, you can’t network if you aren’t in a place where you can network. Whenever your university packs its rec hall with employer booths, you’d better be there. I grabbed an internship with the marketing department of a hospital from a conversation that began with a recruiter at a career fair, and an internship with a software startup from a casual chat with a founder at an event for young professionals. Someone once told me that the best jobs aren’t advertised, and that couldn’t be closer to the truth.


trending

119

How Graduation is Causing Me a (Good) Existential Crisis

Gretchen Rubin, author of Life in Five Sense
98

Awaken Your Five Senses with #1 NYTs Bestselling Author Gretchen Rubin

79

Adulting with Your Mom Is Fun


 5. Create a personal brand.

giphy.com
giphy.com

You can’t mention Kanye West without evoking emotion. Love or hate him, he’s built a powerful personal brand that demands attention. When people think of you, how do you want them to feel? What do you want them to think? Your personal brand is exactly that—your audience’s perception. I’m loud and enthusiastic about everything, so I milk that with all I’ve got. When entering an interview, I come in guns blazing. People know exactly the kind of person I am in about 30 seconds, and that’s a good thing.

Pro tip: Don’t introduce yourself as “Yeezus.” They won’t like it.

 6. Cultivate meaningful relationships. 

giphy.com
giphy.com

If you’re networking for any reason besides building a relationship, you’re doing it wrong. Acquaintances, or weak ties, can end up presenting you with opportunity somewhere down the road. Months after leaving an internship at a summer camp, one of my acquaintances reached out to me offering me a chance to run social media communications for an event that would have over 50,000 attendees. My jaw literally dropped when I read that text. Who was she? A pastor who visited the camp only for a week and liked how I managed the camp’s social media channels.

 7. Maintain an active LinkedIn profile.

forbes.com
forbes.com

Take your professor’s advice for once and just use LinkedIn. A well-maintained LinkedIn profile adds another layer of credibility to your personal brand. With features like skill endorsements and colleague recommendations, everyone will know with confidence that you truly are a Jedi Master. If you happen to meet other Jedis, you can connect with them instantly. Who knows, one might reach out to you when looking to battle the Sith.

 8. Apply face-to-face.

giphy (50)
giphy.com

Isn’t it crazy how you just happened to be driving through the neighborhood with a dozen cookies with “I <3 your company” written on them in frosting? Applying face-to-face adds your personality into the equation, which is crucial to an employer when making a hiring decision. As long as you don’t bring disgusting cookies, you’ll probably get an interview.

 9. Design business cards and send a thank you note

giphy.com
giphy.com

A well-designed note thanking an employer for her time paired with your business card will leave a lasting impression even after you’ve left the building. Leave it with the cookies so she has something to read while she downs her triple-choco-chunk cookie.

 10. Exude confidence.

giphy.com
giphy.com

There’s no way around it; confident people achieve the most success. Take pride in your work, and remember, not every one of your talents make it onto the resume. If you’re a natural illustrator, mention it in conversation. If you completed a coding boot camp, bring it up. Show that you’re driven, and don’t settle for mediocrity. At the end of the day, those who were confident enough to approach an employer score internships over those who were too shy to speak up. Be creative, and set yourself a part from the pack.

About Steven Foster

Steven Foster is a senior communication and graphic design major attending Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. He’s the editor-in-chief of his college’s student newspaper, The Clocktower. He’s also an interactive designer for Nobl.

How to Find Confidence in Your Career Path

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): Nonprofit Guide for College Students

How to Become an Employee Benefits Professional

10 Miranda Priestly-Level Ways to Spice Up A Fashion Major’s Resume

The Secrets of a Successful Internship

10 Things You Can Gain From an Internship

Concrete Activism: How to Become a Labor Organizer

CM’s Guide to the Los Angeles Times Summer Internship

Top 10 Networking Opportunities at William & Mary

Previous Post:Views From The Podium: Why Professors Hate Finals Too
Next Post:Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game: 8 Ways to Win at School

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding