How to Get an Internship at a Newspaper
College journalism students often take internships as part of a curriculum requirement. More important than filling the requirement is gaining experience in interviewing, writing, editing, layout and photography. Interning at a newspaper will give you many of these experiences depending on the size and area of the business. Follow these steps to get an internship at a newspaper.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Search for a Newspaper Internship
-
1
Start looking early. If you want a summer internship, start looking at the beginning of the fall semester as many newspapers are pushing deadline dates earlier every year.
-
2
Talk to friends and relatives. Sometimes it's more about who you know. Family and friends may be able to get you an interview at their newspaper or at least call the editor and put in a good word for you.
-
-
3
Seek out small newspapers in your area. Perhaps someone is going on vacation or maternity leave and the paper hasn't had the time to start the internship process. Many newspapers don't even advertise their openings because they have enough students search out the jobs themselves.
-
4
Speak with your college advisor or the career services office on campus for help finding and applying for internships. Also attend job fairs offered by the college. You will know for sure that these are accepted internships and can get some face time with the representatives when giving your resume.
-
5
Check online databases such as journalismjobs.com and asne.org to search for great newspaper and related internships.
Apply and Interview for a Newspaper Internship
-
6
Create a cover letter mentioning any experience in writing, copy-editing and anything else you think important for the particular internship. List your course of study and any classes that pertain to the internship.
-
7
Keep your resume professional and clean. Tell where you go to school, the degree you are working on and any minors, past jobs, special skills, knowledge of AP style, clubs and community service projects in which you were involved. Include three to four references. At least one of these should be from the school.
-
8
Call after a couple of weeks to see that they received your resume to show confidence and effort.
-
9
Take any newspaper clips or any other published writing or class work that shows off your skills to your interview. The more you can show that you are serious about and qualified for the job, the better the chances you will get an offer.
-
10
Wear a business suit or unwrinkled button-down shirt with khakis or a skirt to the interview. You may feel overdressed but you will make a professional impression.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Apply to more businesses than you think you should. You may rely on one or two to be best for you, but your chances of getting a great internship get better with every application you send.
Realize that some newspapers will not pay interns. Decide if this is an issue but don't rule it out if you can afford it. You get the same experience with an added challenge.
Do not get discouraged if you don't receive offers right away. Keep applying. The internship race is competitive but there is one out there for you if you keep looking.
