In a recent installment of the “How I Got My Internship Series,” in which panelists share details of their internship experiences over lunch, the Career Center organized four panelists to discuss their internships in Communications. Julia Gorlovetskaya ’19, account strategy intern at Simmer Group, Nick Silvestri ’19, analytics Intern at Huge (digital agency), Ian Nichols ’19, public relations and marketing intern at Greenough Brand Storytellers, and Nick Ursitti ’20, sales intern at ProServeIT (computer support corporation) spoke on the panel on Feb 12.
The Career Center student employees who had organized the lunch guided the discussion, starting the Q&A off by asking students how they initially found the internship opportunity. The panelists agreed that due to the fast-paced nature of communications, they tended to have to wait until closer to April or May to find opportunities, which could be difficult.
“I found my internship around a month before I had to start on Handshake,” Gorlovetskaya said. “But I felt like my application would just get lost if I applied through that, so I also reached out on LinkedIn and they responded within a day. In a couple of days, I had gotten the internship. In communications and digital media, where the industry is really fast, and they hire within like a week or a month, I got really lucky, but I don’t necessarily recommend waiting until the last minute.”
Silvestri emphasized the impact of networking, especially with Hamilton alumni, in order to both learn more about the industry itself and also learn of any available opportunities.
Hamilton offers numerous options for internships, including summer internship funding sources, that provide important ways to explore careers. College funding allows students to take internships in which they otherwise might not be able to afford to participate.
“I started my search around September, and tried reaching out to as many different alumni connections as possible, targeting people who were in the communications industry, and filter down from there to find exactly what I was looking for,” Silvestri said. “I applied to like 100 places, and heard back from three or five, and every single one was where I had a connection prior.”
The panelists also answered questions about their respective application processes, including the interview stage. All of them went through some variation of a phone call or Skype call, and then an in-person interview.
The students also shared the day-to-day tasks of their summers as well as the favorite and least favorite aspects of their experiences. They discussed what they wished they had known prior to their internships, and if they could have done anything to prepare for their respective experiences.
“I was better prepared this year, but for my first internship, I wish I had known how much the higher-ups would value productivity,” Ursitti said. “I went through believing that as an intern, you would be assigned certain tasks and that was all you would be asked to do, but a lot of bosses and superiors will encourage you and want you to be proactive and come to them with ideas and ways you can add value to the company.”
“You really have to be an advocate for yourself,” Silvestri agreed.
