Hi, this is Anne with Graphic Design How To, and today I want to talk to you about internships.
When I was in school, we weren't required to have them.
But now almost every school has a requirement that you have to have one to graduate.
I have never had one personally, but I have been in the hiring chair for that.
And I've been a trainer for interns.
First off, this video is going to be full of generalizations about interns.
Your mileage may vary.
So every internship is different.
Yours might be completely a different experience than what I've seen in the industry.
There are really two types of internships.
Big company that everyone knows and smaller companies that people may not have that name
recognition.
So I want to go over some of the pros of a big company internship first.
First off, you're going to get that big name on your resume that you worked as an intern
at a huge company like Microsoft or Google.
Of course those would be really awesome.
Another pro is that maybe you would get hired later on.
You could get your foot in the door.
Those companies generally have a lot of resources, and they're able to hire a lot of designers.
Another pro is it's probably going to be a paid internship with those big companies.
And that is really awesome, you know, as a student.
Let's go over some negatives about a big company though.
First off, I think that the larger companies generally have less creative internships.
The designers there are just going to give the work that they don't want to do to the
interns.
And you know that... that's not a great thing, but it does have its positive aspects.
You can really learn a lot by doing repetitive production tasks.
You can get really fast at the programs, and you can learn them inside out by... by doing
production-type work, and you're still learning.
It's just not so creative.
Let's talk a little bit about small companies now.
Small companies, they might not be able to pay you.
It might be an unpaid internship.
And you might not be able to get a job at that company after your internship because
they just don't have the resources.
But let me tell you, small company internships are generally a lot more creative than the
big companies.
So you get to do real client work, real graphic design work and you're... you're able to be
creative every day.
And that, I think, is far superior to working at a big company that everybody knows and
looks good on a resume.
So it's really about what you're interested in, and what you're looking to get out of
the internship.
If you're just wanting to pad your resume and get some a little bit good experience
under your belt, go with a big company.
But if you really want to get down in the trenches as a graphic designer, go with a
smaller company.
Let's talk about finding an internship.
Both big companies and small companies...it is hard to get an internship anywhere, really.
So I really recommend that you go out there with a good portfolio and a resume that is
perfect.
No mistakes, and an excellent layout.
Because you can't just throw your stuff out there and hope someone will take you, even
unpaid internships.
It's crazy how hard it is to get a good one.
To get an internship at a big company, those might be on job sites like indeed.com, and
that kind of thing.
But small companies, you're going to have to be a little more creative in how you search
for a small company internship.
My advice to you is get on Google and search for advertising agency, your city.
Or digital marketing agency, your city name, and that will pull up a lot of big and small
companies that could be hiring interns.
Then go to the team page or the about page and find actual people who work there and
then send them an email.
This has really worked for me in my job search in the past.
And it really means a lot to reach out to an actual person instead of going through
a hiring board.
So that's what I would do to get the internship.
Once you're in the interview, there are a few questions that I would ask to really find
out what kind of internship you're going to be getting.
Number one, 'What's the day in the life of an intern here?'
Number two, 'Will this be a creative position?
Or is it more production related?'
'Do you guys provide a computer?'
A lot of companies don't have the resources to provide a computer for you and you need
to bring in your own.
So it's good to find out about that up front.
And then finally, 'What kind of training is involved?'
A lot of big companies have the resources to train, and a lot of small ones don't, so
you might find yourself with no training, trying to do an infographic in four hours.
So just get ready for that.
That's the kind of internship that I personally would want because you learn so much so fast,
and it's such a good experience for you as a designer.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comment section below.
And if you liked this video, please click the 'Like' button.
If you want to see more videos like this, please click the 'Subscribe' button, and I
try to upload once a week.
So yes, please do that.
This is Anne for Graphic Design How To.
Thanks!!!