Where the F*@K should I do my internship?

I took the GBC Sport and Event Marketing program, and this was the hottest topic from the first day. 

I weighed my options and decided to focus on how my internship would help me in the long run of my career instead of just getting a job after school. Vision > Goals. By focusing on building my functional skills for long term success, I was able to strategically plan my internship from Day 1. Stay tuned for that post.

Why events? Because I didn't want to work in events.

An internship is the perfect opportunity to gain experience in a field that will help round our your resume. It's a risk-free, safe place to learn, so why not take advantage of it?

I chose to do an events internship at a small agency focused on big budget charity events, and gained functional skills to enhance my career AND resume. I was given the responsibility of creating a section of the event and securing items for the silent auction. In 3 months, I was able to learn every step of planning an event, and padded my resume with metrics that helped me in other areas (i.e. securing $25k in in-kind donation).

So how should you choose your internship?

CULTURE: Make sure there's a fit. What's the size and dynamic of the team? Is everyone young or old? Do people hang out together after work? Is it business casual or yoga pants? Make sure the culture fits you so you can perform at your best.

SIZE: While touching a tier 1 brand can be an impressive addition to a resume, consider going for a start-up/small company. These are the companies that rely more heavily on their interns, and you'll have the opportunity to do more. After all, a resume focuses on what YOU did more than who you worked for.

INDUSTRY: While an internship is an excellent opportunity to test various industries, it should have a connection to the industry you want to eventually be in. Working in sports your dream? Why not try a small company focused on sponsorship? Sports and partnership go together like ramen and a college student.

EMPHASIS ON LEARNING: When choosing your internship, try to talk to people who work there or who have done your internship before. How much did they get to choose what they did? Did they make coffee, or did they get to learn strategy? (Of course, every job has a little bit of "intern" stuff you'll have to do. I remember spending an entire day opening packages of donated lip balm. It's part of it.)

PAID/UNPAID: Of course paid is ideal, but don't discount the unpaid. Typically the unpaid internships are more flexible, have more of an emphasis on your experience and will be more accommodating if you have a part time job. In mine, I took almost all of the last month off to make some money at my cottage.

The most important thing to remember in your internship is that it's 4 months of your life. Take a risk, stretch your comfort zone, proactively decide what you want to learn and focus on vision > goals.

www.mpwrperformance.ca for more on how to figure out your vision.