Internship Recommendations

Students,

As you are aware, there are a number of websites that post internship opportunities online - teamworkonline, pbeo.com, nrpa.org, il-ipra.org, and of course many more.

Although it is tempting to rely only on these sources due to the convenience factor, I have found that it really works to your disadvantage to do so. Consider this:

1) Competition - the advertised internships are viewed by students in similar programs all across the nation. The applicant pool for most of these opportunities will be extremely high. Your resume will be one of many, and most organizations have only a few spots available! Odds are not on your side!

2) Organizations know that advertised internships will have a higher number of applicants. While this may mean they can select a higher quality candidate, it also means sorting through *many* (sometimes hundreds) of applications. For this reason many elect NOT to advertise their internship opportunities - it simply takes too much of their time. Supply and demand is on their side.

I strongly encourage you to take some initiative and CALL organizations to inquire about internship opportunities - even organizations who are not advertising anything. This is particularly worthwhile in recreation and tourism industries. I know the idea of calling someone can be intimidating, but your risk will be rewarded. Opportunities you find in this manner will have fewer applicants (less competition for you), and your odds of landing the position are increased. Many of my students have been able to "build their own" internship opportunity with an agency who has never worked with an intern before. But beware- some organizations expressly do NOT want to be called - particularly *major league* professional sport organizations (not true of MiLB, AFL, AF2, etc) so do some research online first.

Who do you call? You should avoid calling GM's, and instead focus on directors and assistant directors (i.e. Director of Community Relations). Alternatively, you can call the HR department and ask them who the appropriate contact person is to discuss internship opportunities. Remember, these are professionals, and they are used to working with people. Let them know what you are interested in (and yes, you should have a good idea of what your internship/professional goals are and why this organization might be a good fit for you BEFORE you call), and they will take it from there...Too nervous to call? Writing an e-mail is OK too (many organizations list their staff directory, others suppress it), just be prepared to follow up in a few days (either by phone or with another e-mail) - lets face it, they are busy too!