The two first weeks in New York City, and thereby also the two first weeks of internship and hard work, have come to its end. These two weeks have been challenging and hard sometimes, but it has been really fun too. The tasks I have been given have been challenging and hard, but I have learned a lot just in these two weeks and I feel comfortable with my colleagues and supervisor. I have realized that being stimulated at work and getting signed tasks that suit your way of working and your personality is really important. So that’s why I’m now giving you, future student of IIB New Paltz, some advices of how to think when choosing your internship.

Make a list

The first step, I would say, is to make a list of what you find interesting and what you appreciate when it comes to work and tasks? Are you a person who needs to be thrown into challenges in order to be motivated and to deliver? Or do you perform the best when you get to do things you know at the beginning and then little by little the tasks get more challenging? If you are majoring in communications, do you find PR, Marketing, internal communication or social media monitoring the most interesting? Think through your way of being and working, in that case you get a chance to get the most out of your interview (by asking the right questions) and then you will do the most out of your internship. To get some hints of what you would like to do, go through the Wiki (you will know when you get here) and look for what other interns have gotten to do before and see if you find it interesting.

Do your research

When you know what motivates you and what you would like to do, do your research!! That will help you find internships you would REALLY fit into, but it will also help Jeff and Martha to understand your way of thinking and what you would like to do when it comes to the internship. Use sites such as Indeed.com, internships.com or look for “internships New York City, Marketing”, for example, on LinkedIn. By doing your research you will also avoid missing something you would like to do, although you might not have known it from the beginning.

Take your time

When the internship research has started and your one-on-one with Jeff or Martha has begun, please remember to take your time when it comes to choosing your internship! I know it might feel stressful to find an internship when people in your class gets interviews or finds internships, but remember they are not you and you are here to do the best out of YOUR internship. Don’t stress the process of finding your internship and don’t take on something you don’t feel like doing. This will be your job for two months and it will help you in you career or in the process of finding out what you would like to work with regarding your major, so no need to stress. I found my internship after three weeks and I’m really satisfied, but some others found theirs in week 7 or week 8, and they are as satisfied as I am! (With this said, not doing anything and hoping for everything to solve it self is not the solution! You still have to work for your internship, I just don’t want anyone to stress the finding of it and then two weeks later you happen to find your dream internship and it’s too late. Therefore, research is important!!)

Have FUN!

The last, and most cliché, advice must be to HAVE FUN! If you don’t have fun during the internship process it will only become a stressful moment of your day! Have fun during the w
ay, meet people in school and spend time with your classmates. Go in to New York City or travel around America during the weekends, taking your mind of the internship will help you in gathering your thoughts around it. No one performs as well when stressed as they do when they feel rested, satisfied and happy!