What does it take to get a good internship?

What does it take to get a good internship? I have been asking myself this question for the past three years of my college career.

It has been said many times, especially in the marketing/advertising business world, that you have to know someone to prosper and get your foot in the door. Thinking this discouraged me a great deal and only added to the extreme pressure I felt to attain the “perfect internship”.

Friends of mine, who have had an internship before, warned me that the majority of my time would be spent fetching people coffee and filing paper work. I was determined to find an internship where that was not the case.

A colleague of my fathers told me to look at smaller companies where employees will be more willing to teach you and get to know you. He explained that starting off at a larger company would look great on a resume but the likelihood of anyone remembering my face would not be good. Keeping this in mind, I applied to smaller companies.

Last summer I was fortunate enough to get an internship in the city at a small communications firm. I was assigned various tasks within the office and took a specific liking to the sales area of marketing. I was very surprised at how much responsibility I was given and how many areas I was allowed to work within.

This summer, I feel more confident in finding an internship and knowing what to look for. My advice to anyone who is looking for an internship would be to start small and work your way up. That is the only way to build contacts and gain experience in a field of your liking.