Picking a major is one thing, but getting experience within that specific field turns into a whole new ballgame. How can you truly feel prepared for your future career by just sitting in a classroom hearing your professor lecture? The answer: you won’t. Internships help students find their passions but also give them a head start in a future industry they may join.
Take a glimpse at some ways Penn State University’s College of Communications exposes their students to the importance of internships.
Information Sessions
Right when you begin your first day at Penn State, you can attend a Resume and Cover Letter Information Session. A huge part in starting a future internship search is making sure you possess a top tier resume and cover letter skills. Whether your resume looks extensive or just a blank sheet of paper, these information sessions will help you impress any future employer. From nailing down the right spacing to adding the perfect amount of detail to each experience listed, no doubt you will produce a perfect resume. Explaining to the recruiter why you specifically want the job at their company will come in the cover letter. Tell them your “ah-ha” moment or why you think the job suits you best.
Blast Emails
The second you enroll as a Penn State Comm student, the second Assistant Dean for Internships and Career placement, Bob Martin, adds you to his email chain. These emails appear in your inbox at least four times a day. Although it may seem repetitive, if you closely look at what they say, you might just find your future internship or job.
“Since I started my job at Penn State in 1999, the email messages have become part of what we do. They have literally become an additional internship and entry-level resource for students to incorporate into their arsenal. Alumni recall receiving these messages and they don’t miss a beat in sending us opportunities at their current companies/organizations. We have increased the amount of emails we send out to students over the years simply by default. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it,” Assistant Dean Bob Martin said.
These emails come in every single day, informing you of new internship opportunities that you can apply for. They include the full run down of the job’s responsibilities, as well as how to apply and how to get more needed information. Internships pop up from big time companies all the time. You can find yourself working at places like ESPN, The Economist and The Daily Mail.
The Freshman Seminar Class
As a first year at Penn State, you automatically take a freshman seminar class. This class introduces the rough basics of what your major will look like over the course of your four years. You learn anything from specific courses you can take, to clubs you can join, to professors and alumni you can connect with. The main focus of the Communications Freshman Seminar course includes how to perfect personal branding. Some weekly class assignments include creating a LinkedIn page or perfecting an elevator pitch. This class gives you the skills to market yourself, so that you can prepare yourself for future opportunities within the college.
Career Fairs
Penn State’s College of Communications offers three annual career fairs specifically tailored to their students. Not able to attend these events in person? Don’t worry. Due to the pandemic, these events currently have online options. These career fairs bring in companies looking for communications students for potential internships or future job opportunities. Without a doubt, these career fairs rank as the best networking event the college offers. Whether you major in advertising, public relations or the film and television production, companies from all sides of the table come to meet Penn State students.
JobExpo.com started it all. Established 23 years ago and occurring in the spring, the event takes place right on campus. This makes it super convenient for Penn State students. JobExpo.com attracts regional employers looking to hire undergraduate students for internships and graduating seniors for entry-level positions. This event really kicked off the idea of undergraduate students starting the networking process early by meeting prospective employers and maintaining contact over the years to apply to future jobs.
The other two fairs require travel, but not to worry because the school provides bus transportation.
The first destination fair, Success in the City, began 19 years ago after the school saw that students needed networking opportunities in the New York Market. This event takes place usually around the end of March. Recruiting companies and employers from anything like advertising and public relations firms to film and broadcast companies all from the greater Manhattan area attend this event to talk to prospective interns and entry-level employees. Companies include big names like Amazon Advertising, Walt Disney Company, Guiness World Records and NBC Universal.
The second destination fair, COMM Careers in the Capital, takes place usually around early December in Washington, D.C. The college created it four years ago because of the increase in students’ interest and desire to work in the greater Washington D.C. and DMV area. Employers and companies come to this event mainly from D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Lots of Penn State alumni work within these areas, which increases student interest.
“Our number one choice after these career fairs is that these students have had the opportunity to present themselves well in front of those employers and recruiters,” Bellisario Manager of Internships Julie Miller said. “For those who are not graduating seniors, I hope they become viable competitive candidates to secure internships. For those who are entry level, the goal is that we have students landing jobs. That’s what we want out of these direct opportunities and direct connections and we have seen success.”
Attending these career fairs not only connects you with real-world opportunities, but they also allow you to personally grow and make connections.
You will end up learning so much about yourself and your capabilities through talking to professionals. Having the opportunity to meet potential employers while still in college serves as a huge step to one day obtaining a fulfilling full-time job. Why not attend? It could change your future.
“I would encourage all students to attend the career fairs. It’s an absolutely great way to make connections, even if you don’t end up getting the internship or job. You never know the connections you’ll end up making,” Penn State senior Katherine Dietrich said.
Keeping in mind what you want to talk about with the recruiters at these career fairs stays super important. Creating a script beforehand that lays out what you want to talk about can help start conversations and help you prepare yourself for any kind of situation. Expand on your resume to the recruiter by telling them more details about past experiences you had. You could also tell them your strengths and career goals to further persuade them to hire you.
Mock Interviews
Nervous for your internship interview? Not prepared for what they may ask you? The Bellisario College of Communications offers free mock interviews to get you ready for any type of situation. Whether you just want some quick feedback or you feel like you don’t know where to even begin, Bellisario offers professionals to guide you. It doesn’t matter if your interview takes place in person or on zoom, you will end up knowing everything from what to wear to what to say.
“The best way to prepare is to give the person doing the mock interview as much information as possible about the job or internship you plan to interview for,” Miller said.
By preparing in a mock setting, you set yourself up for success in a live setting. This helps you to both not embarrass yourself but also impresses the employer interviewing you. Putting the best version of yourself out there will make you stand out to employers and make them want to hire you based on what you bring to the table. Don’t you want to make an outstanding first impression?
The Three C’s
Classroom, Campus, Career. If you follow these three C’s, no doubt you will put yourself on the right track to success. It all starts with what you learn from professors in the classroom. This then leads to joining one of the hundreds of clubs Penn State offers on campus and maybe even applying for specific positions in each one. Campus transitions into Career, which gives you more experience when applying for internships.
“The first thing I tell students when they go into an internship interview is to make sure they are targeted with all their marketing materials. Meaning, you have to create a unique selling proposition. The best way to do that is to take yourself out of your shoes and put yourself into the shoes of the recruiter; the person reading your resume and your cover letter. Make sure you bring to life your best work,” Martin said.
Setting yourself up with these three C’s will surely work to impress future employers. Everything in life turns into applying what you know and utilizing it in real-world scenarios. Taking what you learn in the classroom, applying it to the endless amounts of opportunities on campus and then bringing that to your future career gives you the perfect ingredients for future success.
From learning to communicate with professionals through the career fairs, to learning how to perfect your cover letter and resume early on in college, to branding yourself using tips from the freshman seminar class. All of these resources that the Bellisario College of Communications offers, puts you in the best shape to securing that future internship and eventually, a full-time job. Wouldn’t it feel nice to graduate college with a potential job already in your back pocket? A past connection you made from a previous internship could make it happen Don’t you want to take what you know and apply it to the real-world? We, as students, don’t do all this work for nothing.
