Since 2018 I have interned for two Fortune 500 companies and both of them were PAID. If you’re wondering how to get your dream internship and what steps you need to take to get there, then this post is most definitely for you. These are all the steps I took in order to get from being a retail associate to becoming an intern in a New York corporate office!
I worked for LOFT for about two years as a sales associate while in college. Then, during the summer of 2018, I ended up applying (and getting!!!) a corporate internship with Lou & Grey under Ascena Retail (who is over all of Ann Inc.)! I was a Product Development and Sourcing Intern for their 3rd party brands. IN THE TIMES SQUARE TOWER.
I knew that even though it wouldn’t count for school credit, it would open so many doors for me. Boy was I right! I not was able to secure my professional internship with Walt Disney World as a Costume Buyer Intern, but also secured a full-time position with Carter’s as an E-Commerce Merchandise Coordinator in their Executive Development Program!
I’ve somehow scored TWO dream internships and a full-time job in 2018 and I feel like I should share how I did so and what I did to get here! This post outlines 8 ways that you can score your dream internship (or job). I also have an entire professional development set of posts that are linked throughout! Be sure to keep reading so you don’t miss out on all this advice.
How to Score Your Dream Internship
I wanted to start out by just giving a sort of recap of the steps I took in order to land these internships. I started my blog in January of 2018 because I KNEW I could be behind students from top fashion schools off the bat. I mean who is going to see SCAD and Georgia Southern and think to go for the latter unless they have tons of outside qualifications/experience?
These below steps are the ones I took in order to set myself apart from the competition and take control of my future! I’ll explain below what steps I took to find internships (in all fields), and also tell you how best to find fashion internships in NYC too!
8 Steps to Take to Score Your Dream Internship
1. Be As Prepared As You Can
2. Have a Killer Resume
3. Write an Outstanding Cover Letter
4. Have Amazing Letters of Recommendation
5. Create or Update Your LinkedIn Page
6. Create a Website/Portfolio (If Relevant)
7. Look Everywhere for Internship Applications
8. Practice Interviewing (All Types*)
1. Be As Prepared As You Can
I say this in a very broad sense, but seriously, BE AS PREPARED AS YOU CAN. If you’re reading this and you’re not already a senior (or if you are), this is for you! I started later than I would have liked looking into internships I thought I would do well with. That being said, I’m glad I started my junior year of college!
See what qualifications you need for positions you think you might be interested in. This is extremely relevant because even if you might not be from a top school, they’ll see that you have and can utilize these skills! For me those skills were specifically Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML, CSS, and SAP.
Now, you’re likely not going to be able to have access to learn ALL of the skills/qualifications a company is going to ask for. That is totally okay! Just do your best. Even if you have relevant technical skills that might not necessarily relate, you’ll still be able to show you have analytical skills.
I gained the knowledge of SAP from my internship this past summer with Lou & Grey through my Sourcing internship. Well, turns out, that’s exactly what made me look appealing to the other companies I applied for! ANY EXPERIENCE IS USEFUL EXPERIENCE.
2. Have a Killer Resume
This works along with the first step perfectly. If you’re as prepared as you can be, then your resume will reflect that! I was honestly lucky in the fact that I had to start working when I was 16 because I am only 22 and already have 6 years of experience at a virtually young age (5 years of retail).
It’s likely that if you’re reading this, you’re too old to start working at 16, but now is not too late! A lot of retail companies in particular love getting interns who have worked in their store locations already. Not ALL of the interns this summer had previously worked for Ascena Retail (Ann Taylor, LOFT, etc.), but a number of us had.
A Killer Resume is NOT just work experience, so kick that thought out of your mind now! A lot of people have experience from clubs, events, and/or sororities/fraternities. These are likely all relevant in some way, you just have to make it work for you. Use ACTION VERBS when doing bullet lists underneath your experience. I talk more about this in my “How to Create a Killer Resume” post linked (here).
3. Write an Outstanding Cover Letter
Now there is a lot of speculation in the job world about if you should write a cover letter, if companies read them, etc. My thought is ALWAYS that even if they don’t read them, what if it’s down to you and one other candidate? What if they took the extra 20-30 minutes to write a cover letter and that’s the only difference between you two?
ALWAYS WRITE THE COVER LETTER. If they don’t read them, they don’t read them. If they DO read them, it’s another chance to sell yourself to a company you love! I applied to nine jobs with Disney and I wrote a different cover letter for every single one. Some teams care, some don’t. You never know so it’s best to just do one anyway!
There’s no way to know exactly HOW they should be set up. Everyone has a different way to write them and different tips on what to put in them. How I generally set mine up is that the first paragraph is where I talk a little about my past and summarize my experience. In the second paragraph, I’ll discuss my relevant education, and the third is where I mention my work experience!
Make it concise, but also make sure it contains the information that is most relevant. Always make sure to use buss words too! Buzz words are words that are literally found in the job/internship brief. If they say “proficient in Microsoft Office” somehow work that into your cover letter (ONLY IF you have experience in it). Never ever lie on a resume or cover letter. Some great examples of just a basic cover letter can be found (here).
4. Have Amazing Letters of Recommendation
I cannot stress enough how important letters of recommendation are. Again, as with everything, some jobs may not request or look at these. That being said, if you have one (or more), it shows you have professionals who support and back you up! Not performing well at work or in class can seriously hurt you when you need these.
I have always worked as hard as I can at EVERYTHING I do. I used to say when working retail that I’m never “bored” and that I never have “no work” because you can ALWAYS be tucking tags, refolding items, or fixing hangers. You should have this mindset at work and in your classes!
When I was applying for my Sourcing Internship with Lou & Grey, they emailed me on a Monday saying they needed two letters of recommendation by THAT WEDNESDAY. I freaked out for about .5 seconds and then immediately emailed my previous manager at LOFT (who was and is amazing) and my professor who I was very close with and valued her opinion greatly! They had them to me by EOD Monday.
Letters of Recommendation are a way for companies to see that what you have on your resume and cover letter are ACTUALLY accurate. They allow them to see that you haven’t made up your job duties, that you are a hard worker, and that your leaders support you. There are obviously situations that were potentially toxic and you can’t ask, but make sure you have SOMEONE who can write you one.
5. Create or Update Your LinkedIn Page
I have used LinkedIn for about two years now! My friend Ana was the one who really made me discover how much I was underutilizing its potential. LinkedIn is basically the Facebook for careers (how I see it). It’s extremely helpful for connecting with companies and for finding jobs!
I started using it as a second and more detailed resume. Resume’s (to me) should only be a page. It’s easier for recruiters to read and they don’t have time to go through three pages of job experience! Only list 3-4 relevant past positions and call it a day. THEN go to LinkedIn and add it all!
I have all of my jobs down to my first one on there just so they can see there were no gaps in my work experience. This doesn’t matter much when you’re in school, but it’s just helpful to add anyway. I also have relevant courses, any awards/recognition, and any volunteer experience I have too! To learn more about LinkedIn and how to utilize it best, check out my post on How to get the Most Out of LinkedIn (here).
6. Create a Website/Portfolio (If Relevant)
I could be wrong, but my blog is the most impressive thing about me. Yes, I have a TON of experience, but my blog is what I do on the side and what I spend ALL my free time on. It shows that wow I work hard at work, but when I get home I STILL work hard and do something I’m passionate about.
When I was applying for a multitude of positions last semester, I had MULTIPLE companies mention my blog in interviews. I list it as experience because I’ve worked with dozens of companies, monetized it, and learned HTML & CSS for it. This, I was told, was one of the reasons Carter’s even considered me for an e-Commerce position!
I also created a portfolio that showcased what I did INSIDE the classroom too. It’s likely that if you’re in a more creative field, your portfolio will mostly be your work. As a merchandising major, I first struggled on how to showcase what I’d done. INFOGRAPHICS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND. Make cute charts, choose a color scheme, and run with it! You can find my online portfolio (here).
7. Look Everywhere for Internship Applications
You’ve heard the phrase “no press is bad press,” well no job search website is a bad job search website! You should never segment yourself onto one platform when searching for where to find internships. It DOES get pretty tedious Googling around, but I promise it’s worth it.
You shouldn’t focus on one because some companies ONLY USE ONE (or even none!!). A lot of the larger retail companies don’t post their listings anywhere except their websites (and maybe LinkedIn). The same goes for Disney and Universal Studios! A lot of companies want to keep their flow of applicants in one place.
So where should you look to find summer internships and what are the best internship sites? Well I’ve found that the best way to find internships is by Googling “where to find internships.” It seems pretty cliche, but if you search that with your specific industry you’re good to go!
Some websites specifically that I’ve found helpful when searching for internships include: Monster.com, Internships.com, Indeed.com, WayUp.com, and (my fav) LinkedIn.com! Another GREAT idea that I’ve used since I started finding a job in 2013 is to just go directly to the company’s website.
These sites show anything from summer internships all over the country to summer jobs for college students. they’re great resources, ESPECIALLY when looking for where to find paid internships. My family has not really been able to help me financially with unpaid internships (and they shouldn’t have to), so I’ve ONLY ever looked for paid ones.
8. Practice Interviewing (All Types*)
Now, the MOST important part of applying to any job or internship is the INTERVIEW. You’ve gotten through the screenings, the phone interviews, and everything else. Now it’s time to sell yourself in person…maybe. I put “All Types” with an asterisk because in this modern age interviews can be done so many ways!
When applying for my interview with Ascena, I had TWO FaceTime interviews. With Disney, I had three phone interviews, one with a conference call. For Carter’s (since I was based in GA), I drove up from school to have an interview day with them. You want to make sure that you research the best ways to go about all different kinds of interviews!
A lot of interviews now start out with a preliminary pone screen, then they either want to have a FaceTime/Skype interview, or to meet you in person. It all depends on the company and the company’s budget. I have another relevant post about How to Ace Your Interview and Get the Job linked (here). This tells you everything you need!
If you’re interested on the Disney Professional Internship Application and Phone Interview process, check out the post I have on that (here)!
Thanks for reading!
I hope that this post was helpful and that I was able to provide ALL the possible info you could need on scoring your dream internship. Now, there’s obviously other ways to do so, but these are all the tips that I used in order to succeed! These tips work very well when trying to find out how to find internships in the USA, but can translate to other countries too.
I have been so grateful this past year for all of the opportunities I’ve had, but I’ve also worked extremely hard to make them happen! If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment below. Any tips for others? Do the same!
If you guys did enjoy this post, be sure to head over to my homepage (on desktop) or scroll down (on mobile) to subscribe to my blog! That way you’ll never miss out on another post. Not ready to commit like that? Be sure to follow me on any of the social media platforms below to always know what’s happening over here at Sequins and Sales!
Instagram // Pinterest // Facebook // Bloglovin’ // Twitter
Leave a Reply