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Since I graduate in December of 2020, I knew that this summer would be my only opportunity to get an internship. Although I started my search early this year, the pandemic had another path in mind. In January, my plan had been to travel to New York to do an internship. However, as the world started shutting down in March, I knew that New York would no longer be an option. I had to start completely from scratch when it came to my internship search.

Deleting my entire excel sheet I had been making throughout the semester was rough, especially since it was now April and I was trying to have something planned by May- June at the latest. However, I was lucky to find not only one, but TWO incredible internships this summer.

But how was it even possible?

I found out pretty quickly that the only way to get an internship was to reach out to different organizations and ask. Thus, I looked up all of the newspapers, social media companies, magazines, anything in the St. Augustine area. I emailed every editor-in-chief I could inquiring about internship positions.

TIP: Have an excel sheet that you write down all the places you’ve applied, dates of interviews, dates of follow-up emails, etc. This helps you stay organized and know when you need to follow-up.

This was how I found my first internship with Narrow Magazine, a local music and art magazine in St. Augustine. A friend of mine had just gotten an internship there, and gave me the contact info to reach out. While it was a struggle to set up a virtual Zoom interview, I kept reaching out and stayed constantly up-to-date with my emails. I was offered the internship on the spot and happily accepted it!

Another way I found internships were constant searches of job sites like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, any credible sites I could find. I was constantly on these websites searching for jobs using different wording as well so other results would come up.

TIP: On job search sites, don’t limit your search to one key word. For example, since I was looking for a journalism intern, I didn’t just search “journalist”, but also “reporter”, “writer”, “blogger”, etc.

This was how I found my second internship with Adoption Choices of Oklahoma, an adoption agency that works to provide assistance in adoptions and unplanned pregnancy across the U.S. I found the internship on Glassdoor, which is normally not a search engine I would use. However, in expanding the engines and terminology I used, I was able to find a lot more virtual opportunities.

I know it’s a lot. I know it’s hard to find work, especially in a time where so many people are losing jobs on a daily basis. However, do not give up. Reach out to different companies. The worst they could say is no, but they could also give you that job you need!

ADVICE: Don’t give up! These are trying times, and it is quite hard to find internships, jobs, or much of anything. However, in constantly reaching out to different companies, they will be impressed with your initiative. It definitely is a tedious process, but the more work you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it! Just stay strong and stay safe!