How to Land Your Dream Summer Internship

By Heather Taylor

We’re officially in mid-March, which means prospective interns everywhere are polishing up their resumes and applying for summer internships. If you haven’t started looking yet, aren’t sure what to include in your resume, or (gulp) have no idea where to start, let these tips from editors and professionals in the media industry be your guide to finding the right internship for your skill set.

Start looking now. Danielle McNally, senior editor and intern coordinator at Cosmopolitan, told Ed that they try to finalize decisions for fall, winter, and spring internships no later than one month before they begin—and applications are usually due close to a month before that. (They usually start accepting resumes about six weeks before the deadline.) However, summer is more competitive, and they usually finalize those decisions by late February or early March. While every magazine works on a slightly different schedule, it’s likely that most are on a similar timeline.

If you missed your shot at your dream internship this year, don’t give up! Hannah Doyle, an editorial assistant at Shape, recommends continuing to keep an eye on the job boards all year round, since many internships open up based on a publication’s needs, rather than on a school schedule.

Utilize career websites in your search. If you’re currently a college student and not sure where to look for an internship, Doyle recommends consulting your school’s career counseling office. In addition, keep your LinkedIn profile updated and check out listings on Mediabistro, Intern Queen, and the career websites for whichever companies own your favorite magazines or websites. (And not to toot Ed’s own horn, but Doyle and McNally both recommend Ed2010 as a great resource for finding internship openings!)

Blow them away with your cover letter. It won’t matter how impressive your resume is if your cover letter bores them to death first. Rather than listing every job you’ve ever had, focus on your most relevant experience and how you can use it to help the company. And make sure each letter you submit is specific to the publication you’re applying for—trust us, they’ll be able to tell if you’re copy and pasting the same message into every application. Need more cover letter tips? Ed’s got you covered.

Keep your resume limited to one page. In addition to disregarding applications with spelling or grammar errors, McNally says she also tosses resumes longer than one page. “This is your opportunity to show that you can discern what’s important and what isn’t. If I (and my boss, and my boss’s boss) can keep to a one page resume, an intern applicant should be able to too.”

Lisa Trent, Human Resources Director at Bunim/Murray Productions, agrees that you should avoid beefing up your resume. “Your resume should present you for who you are—it’s okay if you’ve graduated from college and have only worked part-time in a retail job when you’re applying for an internship.”

Bring a notebook on your interview. Once you’ve landed your first internship interview, dress appropriately, print off extra copies of your resume—and don’t forget to bring along a notebook. Doyle says that for anyone who wants to be an assistant, note-taking serves as a preemptive sign that you’re prepared for the job. Plus, it allows you to write down details of what the interviewer says, so you can mention what stood out in your follow-up thank you note. (And those follow-up thank you notes are a must, whippersnappers!)