One Day, One Internship

Shriners Hospitals for Children

Willy Franzen — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:49:17 +0000

We hope you had a safe Independence Day. Unfortunately, every year people get hurt during the celebration. Fireworks are a lot of fun, but they can result in some really nasty burns and injuries. Since we encouraged you to blow stuff up yesterday, we thought we’d counter that by featuring a non-profit organization that helps children who endure severe burns. The Shriners Hospitals for Children do exactly that. Who are Shriners? They wear funny hats. They drive little cars in parades. They’re Freemasons. And most importantly, they help kids through their hospitals. That’s going to be our focus today, since college students likely aren’t that interested in being part of a fraternal organization that seems like it has an average age north of 60. Then again, you probably got all hot and bothered about your college’s greek organizations and secret societies.

What Do Red Fezzes Have to Do with Burn Treatment?

So, a group of Freemasons decided to start a non-religious fraternal organization for fun and fellowship based on a Middle Eastern theme, what the heck does that have to do with kids and burns? Somewhere along the way the guys in the organization decided to do some serious philanthropy, so they started Shriners Hospitals for Children which “is a one-of-a-kind international health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs.” Their three focuses are orthopedic care, burn care, and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Over Shriners Hospitals for Childrens’ 86 years, they have provided free medical care to more than 865,000 children. Wow.

Do Interns Have to Wear the Funny Hats?

Although Shriners Hospitals for Children has entry-level jobs at their headquarters in Tampa, FL and in their hospitals in Boston, Canada, Chicago, Cincinnati, Erie, Galveston, Greenville, Honolulu, Houston, Salt Lake City, Lexington, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Northern California, Philadelphia, Portland, Shreveport, Spokane, Springfield, St Louis, Tampa, and Twin Cities, they only appear to offer internships at their hospital in LA. These internships are unpaid, but they’re offered in a plethora of disciplines including Human Resources, Nutrition, Physical Therapy, Prosthetics/Orthotics, Public Relations, and Nursing. There are no specifics listed as to when the internships typically occurs, which makes us think that these opportunities are offered year round (including the fall). The method of application varies for each internship, so be sure to look at the full descriptions to get all the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever seen the Shriners drive their little cars around?

Phantom Fireworks

Willy Franzen — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:47:58 +0000

Happy Independence Day! We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find you some internships related to fireworks, so we’re going to take a look at Phantom Fireworks and what kind of opportunities they have. The fireworks industry is a tough one to be in, because those silly things called laws always seem to get in the way. For instance, my home state of Connecticut recently confiscated half a million dollars’ worth of fireworks from B.J. Alan Company (Phantom Fireworks’ parent company) because the amount of pyrotechnic mixture in the fireworks exceeded the state regulations of 100 grams per item. Talk about raining on someone’s parade - er - fireworks show.

Ooooohhhhh, Ahhhhhhhhhhh

Ok, so Phantom Fireworks’ Jobs page doesn’t say anything about internships. They do offer jobs like Tent Operator or Cashier, but these probably aren’t going to launch (pun intended) your entry-level career like you’d hope an internship would. We figure that your best bet is to try submitting a resume for an unlisted internship. We did do some more research, and we dug up one online reference to Phantom’s hiring an Accounting Intern for this Summer. It was at the corporate office is in Youngstown, OH and was paid at $8 per hour. The contact listed was Mr. Nick Damico at ndamico@fireworks.com. You could try sending your resume and cover letter to him (although he may just be an accounting contact) or you can try sending them to dmayne@fireworks.com (the contact listed for the corporate jobs at Phantom Fireworks). We can’t say for sure that Phantom Fireworks will be hiring Fall interns, but who else were we going to feature today? Give them a good look, and see if you can score an unlisted internship. There should be some pretty cool work opportunities at a fireworks company.

Now go blow some stuff up… if it’s legal in your state. I will be playing with sparklers that contain less than 100 grams of pyrotechnic mixture.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have a happy and safe 4th of July - especially if you’re playing with fireworks.

Radio Flyer

Willy Franzen — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:31:25 +0000

Red wagon. Need I say more? I bet you are already picturing Dennis the Menace pulling his Radio Flyer wagon behind his little red bike. Or maybe you’re thinking about your village’s 4th of July parade where all the kids decorate their bikes and pull wagons behind them with their younger siblings in them (ok maybe that’s just my memory). Almost everyone has some childhood memory associated with Radio Flyer. What’s yours? If for some reason wagon rides and Radio Flyer weren’t part of your childhood, check out this video.

Get on the Wagon

When we read a tweet by Kate Fettig Hill, a PR counselor in the mom/baby/toys/food area, we were surprised to learn that Radio Flyer is hiring (hey Kate, looks like Twitter is working, huh?). She was noting her disappointment that Radio Flyer was left off Chicago Mag’s list of 20+ Local Companies That Are Hiring (which apparently isn’t available online). Well that’s ok, because Radio Flyer has been identified as having One of Chicago’s Coolest Offices. We weren’t expecting much from Radio Flyer’s Careers site, because other companies with similar brand profiles (100 years old, family owned, storied product) that we’ve checked out usually skimp on the Careers section of their sites. This is not the case with Radio Flyer, they’ve put a lot of effort into their online recruiting presence. It might do them well to create a separate section for internships, but the position that they have listed appears to be a new one, so we’ll give them a break.

Radio Flyer is looking for an Engineering Fall Co-Op Intern. This looks like a really cool internship that will offer a hands on role with product development. You probably won’t be working to make another version of the World’s Largest Wagon, but you can be pretty sure that you’ll be working on some cool projects. Radio Flyer’s Careers Site says, “When making a hiring decision, we ask ourselves: Is this person outstanding? Will I learn from this person? Do I admire this person? Will this person live our ‘Little Red Rule?’” If you’re outstanding, admirable, and can teach the folks who make little red wagons a thing or two, send a cover letter and resume to jobs@radioflyer.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Share your Radio Flyer memories in the comments.

Bunim-Murray Productions

Willy Franzen — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:55:58 +0000

I was 10 when the first season of Road Rules came out. I had seen the Real World before, but it didn’t really appeal to me. Road Rules, on the other hand, was just about the coolest show ever to me. They had a Winnebago! I’m not sure if the show got worse as the seasons progressed, or if the cast just seemed way less cool as I approached them in age, but after a few seasons of watching both the Real World and Road Rules, I got bored. Still, you have to respect Bunim-Murray Productions for essentially creating reality tv. We’ve all now been desensitized to how revolutionary those shows were when they first aired. Now we have The Simple Life, Living Lohan, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Old Skool (all current BMP projects). It’s not the same, but that doesn’t mean that an internship with Bunim-Murray Productions won’t be an awesome experience.

Internships Are Your First Non-MTV Taste of the Real World

There are two ways to make a smooth transition to the real world, you can go on a casting call (yeah right, the kids on that show make a smooth transition to being a lifetime reality tv “star”) or you can get an internship and learn what it’s like to have a job. Bunim-Murray productions offers internships in Casting, Story, Editing, Pre-production, Production, Post Production, New Show Development, Business Development, Accounting/Finance, Human Resources, Legal, and Website Design. These internships are offered in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. The Spring internships run from late January to early May, and the deadline to apply is November 20. The Summer internships run from late June to late August, and the application deadline is April 22. The Fall internships go from early September through mid December, and the deadline is August 15th.

Since you probably grew up watching shows produced by Bunim-Murray, you would probably love to get this internship almost as much as you’d like to be a reality tv star. Here’s what you might be doing:

Observing and working with off-line editors, compiling scripts from the Director’s notes for the Story Department, reviewing music to be used in future episodes, developing material for Bunim/Murray websites, handling the distribution of fan mail, reviewing and sorting casting applications, and MUCH more….

The internships are located in Van Nuys, CA, and they’re unpaid. That means you’ll need to take them for school credit. To apply, you must be a Junior or Senior. If you are, you should complete the application form, get together letters of recommendation (with at least one from a professor), and send everything to humanresources@bunim-murray.com with the subject line “Internship.” If you have questions, you can e-mail the same address with the subject line “Internship Questions.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite Bunim-Murray show? Season?

Smithsonian Institution

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:01:07 +0000

We don’t even know where to get started, for we’re a bit overwhelmed. The Smithsonian Institution has the most comprehensive internships website that we have ever come across. If you don’t already know, the Smithsonian is an institution that was founded by a gift from a British Scientist named James Smithson.

I then bequeath the whole of my property…to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge…

He had never been to America, so it’s quite puzzling that he made such a gift. Some people say it was his final swipe at the rigidities of British society. Since the gift was made to our federal government, the Smithsonian is a government institution (not a non-profit organization, like you might have thought it was). You will find the Smithsonian working in a wide variety of areas to increase the knowledge of the American people, and this means that they have internships in a jaw dropping number of fields.

Smithson’s Gift = Lots of Internships

The Smithsonian’s Internships site is nearly perfect. The only flaw is that it may give you a case of information overload. Instead of providing commentary, we’re going to highlight the important areas and let you do the exploring for yourselves. The Smithsonian allows students to browse all internships, paid internships, or internships by subject. The lists are long, so you may want to spend a few hours looking over all of the possibilities.

You’ll also want to take some time to look at the materials that the Smithsonian offers on housing and the Smithsonian experience (aka perks). If you really want to get a good look at what you’ll be doing at the Smithsonian and what life will be like, you can read over their Intern Orientation Guide. Once you find an internship you like, you probably should take a look at the Smithsonian’s guide on how to apply for internships with them. The Smithsonian also has a guidebook of Opportunities for Research and Study. This includes what seems to be the same information as the internships site, along with info on Fellowship Opportunities. We think this guide is just the web version of a printed book, but we’re not quite sure.

Didn’t we tell you the site was comprehensive? The links above (and below) should answer just about any question that you could have about interning at the Smithsonian. The general Smithsonian application deadlines are: February 15 for Summer Internships, July 15 for Fall Internships, and October 15 for Spring Internships. Some departments also take interns year round.

Where You Can Intern at the Smithsonian

We wanted to provide you a little more guidance, so here is a list of areas that you can intern in at the Smithsonian. The process for applying and internship requirements may vary slightly by department, so be sure to look carefully at the individual internship descriptions.

Anacostia Community Museum
Architectural History and Historic Preservation
Archives of American Art
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum - New York City
Facilities Management and Reliability
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Horticulture Services Division
International Center
Museum Conservation Institute
National Air and Space Museum
National Museum of African Art
National Museum of American History
National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of Natural History
National Portrait Gallery
National Postal Museum
National Zoological Park
Office of Equal Employment and Minority Affairs
Office of Exhibits Central
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Office of Policy and Analysis
Office of Public Affairs
Office of Sponsored Projects
Administrative or Accounting/Financial Internships in Grant/Contract Administration
Smithsonian Affiliations Office
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian Associates
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Institution Retail
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
Smithsonian Photographic Services
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Overwhelmed yet? Take your time and enjoy perusing the Smithsonian’s internship offerings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have anything to add about interning at the Smithsonian?

SHIFT Communications

Willy Franzen — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:57:54 +0000

We were once again scanning Twitter for companies that are looking for Fall interns, and we came across a number of tweets regarding SHIFT Communications. That convinced us to take a look, and we’re pretty happy with what we found (although not happy that barely any companies are tweeting about Fall internships yet). SHIFT Communications is a tech PR firm located in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA. Judging from their Twitter presence and the fact that they link to 3 of their blogs on their home page, they’re really up on this social media thing. As they should be, tech PR is all about being online.

SHIFTing Your Internship Plans

Despite SHIFT Communications’ social media prowess, they’ve left a pretty bland blurb about their internships on the Careers section of their web site.

Our internship program provides an excellent opportunity to experience the public relations industry first-hand and learn from seasoned professionals in the field. To facilitate growth and ensure appropriate exposure to the various facets of public relations, each intern will be matched with an account manager on their start date. The account manager will serve as the intern’s primary point of contact within the agency to answer any questions and assist with overall project management.

We wouldn’t have even known that they were looking for Fall interns if we hadn’t heard about them on Twitter. Here’s the original tweet. It says that anyone interested in a Fall PR internships should contact Rebecca Paquette at rpaquette@shiftcomm.com. So that’s what you should do to find out more. The Careers page says to contact hr@shiftcomm.com, but we think that contacting Rebecca is definitely the way to go.

We can’t provide much more specific information on the internships - we don’t even know if they’re in Boston, San Francisco, or both. You should know that SHIFT Communications has been named a Best Place to Work in both locations and that they have a staff blog that should give you insight as to what it’s like to work at SHIFT.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Know anything about interning at SHIFT? Leave a comment.

Cato Institute

Willy Franzen — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:05:59 +0000

Ok, we realize that today’s internships are going to sound a lot like yesterdays. While the Heritage Foundation identifies itself as a conservative thinktank, The Cato Institute considers itself more of a non-profit libertarian public policy research foundation. We usually wouldn’t repeat, but we were running down the list of Greg Mankiw approved internships, and Cato’s internship website blew us away. It’s fantastic. Their deadline for Fall internships is July 1, so we couldn’t even save them for next weekend if we wanted to.

What is the Cato Institute?

The Cato Institute “was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane” and “is named for Cato’s Letters, a series of libertarian pamphlets that helped lay the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution.” The Cato Institute is all about increasing popular awareness towards questioning policy and the proper role of the government. Any public policy debate is fair game, which means that the Cato Institute is doing research in an extremely wide range of fields.

Interning at Cato

We could repeat what the Cato Institute has on their website, but that would be pointless. The Internships section of their website is way better than most companies’ career sections. They have an About section, an online application, links of interest for interns (this is an awesome resource list), frequently asked questions, and daily intern journals. There’s also a list of areas for placement within the Cato Institute - these areas include Cato.ru, Center for Bioethics, Center for Constitutional Studies, Center for Global Liberty, Center for Trade Policy, Criminal Justice, elCato.org Intern, Fiscal, Budget & Tax Policy, Foreign & Defense Policy, Government Affairs, Health and Welfare, Lamp of Liberty, Marketing, Media, and Web Content.

Interns assist department directors and research assistants with research and data collection. Some interns are assigned to the Media Relations and Development departments, where they get hands-on experience working with journalists and donors, respectively. We do our best to align interns and their preferences. All interns fulfill such responsibilities as clerical work, delivery of studies to Capitol Hill, and setting up for Cato events, including registering guests and carrying hand-held microphones at public forums and debates. All interns take active part in weekly seminars and in research and writing workshops.

The deadline for Summer internships with the Cato Institute was March 1, while the deadline for Fall internships is July 1. Those wishing to intern in the Spring should apply by Nov 1. Fall and Spring interns will be notified whether they got the internship within a month of the application deadline, while notification for Summer internships comes within a month and a half of the deadline. Interns are paid a $700 monthly stipend, and internships are located in Washington, DC.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the Cato Institute’s Internship site? Isn’t it fantastic?

The Heritage Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:01:40 +0000

I’m kind of a nerd - I really like reading Economics blogs. So I was delighted to come a cross a a post about internships on Greg Mankiw’s Blog. He’s certainly one of my favorite Econ bloggers (and he’s a Harvard professor), so I value his internship recommendations quite highly. Unfortunately I came across his post when the deadlines had passed for Summer internships at many of the organizations he named. I made note of this, and now that we’re looking at Fall internships, I’ve decided to return to some of the ideas Dr. Mankiw shared. Today we’re going to look at The Heritage Foundation,

a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

Thinking about Interning at a Think Tank?

Think tanks offer some of the most competitive internship programs out there. The Heritage Foundation is no exception. They take 30 interns in both the Fall and Spring. The deadline to apply for their Fall internships is July 1 and the deadline to apply for Spring internships is November 1. You can find all the details about the application process here. We’ve heard that Summer interns at Heritage are paid and that Fall and Spring interns get a travel stipend instead, but we can’t verify this. We do know that the Heritage Foundation does offer its interns housing.

The Heritage Foundation allows interns to work in a wide variety of departments including Accounting, Asian Studies, Center for American Studies, Center for Data Analysis, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, Coalition Relations, Communications and Marketing, Development, Domestic Policy, the Executive Offices, External Relations, Foreign Policy, Government Relations, Information Systems, Lectures and Seminars, Online Communications, Personnel, Publishing Services, and Special Events.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Anybody else a fan of Greg Mankiw’s Blog?

Houston Astros

Willy Franzen — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:57:19 +0000

Great timing for this one. The Houston Astros are 37-42 and just released a player for choking their General Manager. Still, they are a Major League Baseball team, and they have a ton of Fall internships available. Despite the rough times that the team is going through, we doubt that they’ll have any effect on the quality of the internships experience. There are few internships more desirable than those with professional sports teams.

Apply Today for a Fall Internship with the Astros

Why do we use that headline? Because the deadline for Fall internship applications is today! That means that we’re going to keep it short and sweet so that you can find the information that you need and get an application in before the end of the day.

Here’s what you need to know. The Astros offer internships in Customer Service, Graphic Design, Ballpark Entertainment, Finance, Human Resources, Media Relations, Market Development - Bilingual, Conference Center/Tours, Marketing, Ticket Operations, Community Development, and Broadcasting/Promotions. These are all located in Houston, TX. You can get detailed descriptions about each internship here. The internships are unpaid, unless you win the Houston Astros Internship Scholarship. That’s all you need to know. Now, go apply!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Sorry about the short notice on this one. We figured a last minute shot is better than no shot at all.

Kenneth Cole

Willy Franzen — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:04:25 +0000

Sometimes stories are too good not to repeat. “The Birth of a Shoe Company” as told by Kenneth Cole is one of them.

Twenty years ago, I wanted to open a shoe company with limited money. From experience I knew one had to get in quickly because so often new companies run out of cash flow before they get the chance to conduct business. I also knew it was easier to get credit from factories in Europe who needed the business than from American banks that didn’t. So I lined up the factories, went to Europe, designed a collection of shoes, and returned to the states to sell them.

At the time, a shoe company had two options. You could get a room at the Hilton and become 1 of about 1100 shoe companies selling their goods. This didn’t provide the identity or image I felt necessary for a new company, and it cost a lot more money than I had to spend. The other way was to do what the big companies do and get a fancy showroom in Midtown Manhattan not far from the Hilton. More identity, much more money too.

I had an idea.

I called a friend in the trucking business and asked to borrow one of his trucks to park in Midtown Manhattan. He said sure, but good luck getting permission. I went to the Mayor’s office, Koch at the time, and asked how one gets permission to park a 40 foot trailer truck in Midtown Manhattan. He said one doesn’t. The only people the city gives parking permits to are production companies shooting full length motion pictures and utility companies like Con Ed or AT&T. So that day I went to the stationery store and changed our company letterhead from Kenneth Cole, Inc. to Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and the next day I applied for a permit to shoot a full length film entitled “The Birth of a Shoe Company.”

With Kenneth Cole Productions painted on the side of the truck, we parked at 1370 6th Avenue, across from the New York Hilton, the day of shoe show. We opened for business with a fully furnished 40 ft trailer, a director (Sometimes there was film in the camera, sometimes there wasn’t), models as actresses, and two of New York’s finest, compliments of Mayor Koch, as our doormen. We sold 40 thousand pairs of shoes in two and a half days (the entire available production) and we were off and running.”

To this day the company is still named Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and serves as a reminder to the importance of resourcefulness and innovative problem solving.

The Birth of a Shoe Intern

If that doesn’t tell you all that you need to know about Kenneth Cole, then we’ll let you do your own research. Here’s the skinny on Kenneth Cole’s Fall internships. They’re unpaid and can be located in New York City or New Jersey. Interns get 50% discount off merchandise at Kenneth Cole Retail and Company Stores, meals included in their corporate café, reimbursement for public transportation to and from the corporate office, and eligibility for school credit if desired.

Kenneth Cole doesn’t list their internships on their own site, but on HotJobs instead (we think that’s kind of dumb). Here are all of Kenneth Cole’s internships listed on one page. In Secaucus, NJ they are offering an internship in their Finance/Internal Audit Department. The rest of the internships are located in New York City and can be found in the following departments Product Development/Footwear, Catalog & Internet, International Licensing, Graphic Design, International, Planning & Buying, Design Services, Public Relations/Marketing/Creative Service, and Marketing. To apply, you’ll have to go through HotJobs.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Kenneth Cole’s story?

Christie’s

Willy Franzen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:55:18 +0000

There are a lot of ways to get Fall internships. You can apply blindly. You can try your hand at networking. You can find great internships here. You can even bid on internships in auctions. Yes, that’s right, parents are now buying their kids internships at auction. Today we will be talking about auctions and internships, but Christie’s is not auctioning off their internships. They must maintain their aura of international glamour, and to besmirch their name by selling internships to the highest bidder would not be wise. Founded in 1766, Christie’s is now the “world’s leading art business with global auction sales in 2007 that totaled $6.3 billion.”

Going Once, Going Twice

To many the idea of a live auction is extremely intimidating. The prices seem exorbitant, the cultural norms are hard to figure out, and there’s always a chance that you will lose control of yourself and bid more than you can afford. The truth is that even Christie’s, one of the most respected names in the industry, can be quite approachable. The prices of items that they sell range from $200 to over $80 million - there’s certainly some room in there for almost anyone. Christie’s also offers an online video introduction as well as guides on How to Buy and How to Sell at their auctions. Christie’s main focuses are on fine art, jewelry, photographs, wine, furniture; however, they are likely to deal in almost anything that generates cultural interest.

Sold! to the College Kid Sitting in the Back Row

Christie’s has “85 offices in 43 countries and 14 salerooms around the world including London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Hong Kong.” Internships are offered in New York, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. In NYC and LA, the internships are seasonal with distinct Summer, Fall, and Spring programs, but in the international cities it seems like they don’t follow such a strict schedule. The description of the New York internship program can be found below (the description for the LA program is quite similar):

Christie’s Internship program offers a hands-on introduction to the inner workings of an auction house and to the New York art world. The Internship will start with a brief orientation, after which each participant will be assigned to a department where he/she will work for the duration of the summer program. Participants will attend weekly lectures on fine and decorative arts given by Christie’s specialists, as well as periodic museum and gallery visits. In addition, all interns are welcome to attend auctions held in our main saleroom at 20 Rockefeller Plaza (49th Street).

Applications for Spring and Fall internships at Christie’s are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, so you might as well apply as soon as you can. You should include an excellent cover letter and a resume in your application. The preferred application method varies by location, so be sure to take a look at their Internships page to be sure that you are sending your application to the right person.

We often hear that interning at auction houses entails hard work and low pay (Christie’s offers the minimum wage to it’s paid interns and also offers unpaid internships for people who commit to fewer hours), but it’s hard to pass up the glamour of working at Christie’s. We wish that we could tell you more, but you’ll have to do the rest of the research on your own. It will be good practice for becoming an expert in 19th Century Sporting Paintings, or whatever you choose to pursue.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you buy an internship at auction? Discuss in the comments below.

Ziba Design

Willy Franzen — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:46:40 +0000

Judging from the attention that our post about IDEO’s internships received, a lot college students must be fascinated by process of innovation and its reliance on design. Whether you’re in Art school and majoring in design or you’ve always felt a need to outlet your creativity despite other academic pursuits, an internship at Ziba Design might be just what you need to get the experience that you’ll need to land a full time job doing what you love.

Ziba Means Beauty in Farsi

Ziba’s vision of beauty is “a moment in time when social, human, economic and technical considerations are resolved in a single expression.” Ziba uses this definition to guide everything they do: Environmental Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, Communication Design, and Research & Planning. Each of these areas of Ziba’s business is guided by 5 factors: Ideas, Design, Experiences, Education, and Inspiration. You can learn more about Ziba’s work processes by watching this YouTube video on research and innovation. Ziba’s website does a great job of explaining what the company is about and how they work. You should also take a look at their client list and project archive to get a better understanding of their approach.

Intern at Ziba

Ziba’s Careers page says they’re always looking for great design talent, and they’re open to unsolicited resumes and portfolios. We’re sure that this applies for interns as well, but if you’re interested in Industrial Design, you may want to look at this Fall Internship that they are offering in San Diego, CA. This internship will deal with hands on product design projects and includes 3D modeling work. Interns at Ziba are paid for their work. To apply for this internship or for an unlisted opportunity, you should send a top-notch portfolio along with a cover letter and resume to Jobs@ziba.com. Be sure to include the dates of your availability in your cover letter.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What design inspires you?

NFL Teams

Willy Franzen — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:51:26 +0000

We’re back from two weeks off, and we’re ready to talk about a new company’s Fall internship offerings every day! Yes, it’s hard to look that far forward. We just passed the longest day of the year - it’s officially summer- and nobody wants to be thinking about fall quite yet. Well, nobody except the football fanatics. That’s why we’re going to start off by talking about NFL Teams and the internships that they’re offering for the Fall of 2008. We can’t think of a better way to get you in the right mindset.

Hut, Hut, Hike!

The NFL uses a site called Team Work Online to list all of the jobs and internships for their teams. These are separate from the internships that the National Football League itself offers. Currently two teams are offering Fall internships, but we’re sure more will be listed in the near future. The Kansas City Chiefs currently have 5 internship offerings for this fall. Thy are looking for interns in Corporate Sales and Services, Special Events, Season and Group Ticket Sales, Sales & Marketing, and Client Relations. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also looking for interns, although they don’t appear to have specific internships listed. It seems that they evaluate applicants on a case by case basis and then tailor internships specifically to their interests and skills. You can find descriptions of both of these internships and how to apply here. All internships with NFL teams are local, so the Chiefs are looking for interns in Kansas City and the Bucs are looking for interns in Tampa Bay.

We think more teams will probably be using the Team Work Online site to find Fall interns, so keep an eye on it. You can sign up for notification or subscribe to the NFL Teams Internships RSS Feed. We were a little skeptical when we first saw that all of the NFL teams were using the same site to recruit interns, but they’ve done a really nice job with the site. The internship descriptions are excellent, and applying online looks to be straightforward.

Have you always dreamed of working for an NFL team? Then don’t punt on this one, take the snap and get your application together ASAP.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t forget that we’ve already written about entry-level jobs with NFL teams.

How to Find a Last Minute Summer Internship

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:38:31 +0000

As you may have noticed, we’re taking 2 weeks off from internship hunting. We’ll resume our daily company profiles on June 23rd, but the focus will shift to Fall internships.

It’s June 10th. If you haven’t already found a Summer internship, the odds that you will are pretty slim. With that said, there are still opportunities out there, but you’ll have to work hard to find them. Here are some tips on finding a last minute summer internship as well as tips on what to do if you don’t land an internship.

Keep on Truckin’

Don’t give up quite yet. Although we stopped posting about Summer internships, you can still find one if you put in the effort.

Browse our Archives - We’ve covered over 100 companies and their internships. Some are still hiring. Reading these company profiles should at the very least give you new ideas on how to pursue a last minute Summer internship.

Go Local - Very few companies are going to take on interns from out of town at this point. The hiring process is too much of a hassle, and they don’t want to deal with helping you find housing. Think about what companies are located in your surrounding area. Read our article on how to Localize Your Job Search for specific tips on how to find companies near where you live that are hiring.

Cold Call - Some companies already hired interns but wouldn’t mind taking on another. Some interns suck and need to be replaced. Some companies never thought to hire an intern, but they’re open to being convinced. Few employers are still recruiting interns at this point, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be selling. Guess what, we’ve also written an article on Cold Calling.

Ask Your Parents and Their Friends - I know how much you hate talking to your parents about this stuff, but you need to get over it. Don’t just ask them to get you an internship. Ask them more specific questions like, “Do you know anybody who works in sports marketing?” or “Doesn’t your co-worker Bob’s wife work at Initrode? Would she be willing to talk to me?”

Consider Unpaid Internships - Have you been ignoring unpaid internships out of principle? Because you NEED money? Give it up. I know it sucks and it’s wrong, but deal with it. A lot of internships can be part-time. Intern 3 days a week, and work another job the rest of the time. Your average hourly wage might come to $2.57 an hour, but at least you’ll be making some money and gaining valuable on the job experience at the same time.

Consider Non-Profits - As we filled out the last few weeks of internships, we noticed that there are a lot more last minute non-profit internships available than at for-profits. We’ve featured two non-profits with internships every weekend since we started. There are many more out there. Idealist.org is a great place to look.

Read Our Articles - We do most of our writing on One Day, One Job because it’s our main site. We’ve already mentioned a couple articles, but you should also read:

How to Use Google to Find a Job

Managing Your Personal Brand Online

9 Magazine Lists That Will Help You Find a Job

Why Every College Job Searcher Needs RSS

The Couch Potato’s Guide to Job Search

Turning the Tables: Digging Dirt on Employers

These articles may be tailored to entry-level job search, but they’re extremely relevant to internship search as well.

Use Craigslist - This tip came from a friend of mine who is a recruiter. A lot of companies use Craigslist for immediate hiring needs. Go to your local Jobs section and search for both “intern” and “internships.” Some of the listings seem pretty sketchy, but it’s worth giving them a shot and seeing what opportunities are out there.

Schedule an Informational Interview - This could almost be on the list of what to do when you give up on finding an internship. Find someone who works in an industry or at a company that you find interesting. Ask for an informational interview with the person. Have a somewhat informal conversation about what they do and how you could better prepare yourself to do something similar. If the “interview” goes well, ask the person if he or she knows of any last minute internship opportunities at similar companies. Do not ask for an internship with the person, that eliminates the purpose of the interview’s being informational. If she likes you, thinks you’re smart, and could use an intern, she will present the opportunity when you ask if she knows of anything.

Give Up

At some point it’s too late. Most Summer breaks are 3 months long, and most internships last 10-12 weeks. Not many companies will want to invest in training an intern who is only going to work for a month. As it gets the later in the season, you need to reevaluate your Summer plans and find a way to make the most of your time.

Get a Summer Job - Earn some money and get some work experience. You may not learn high level skills, but you’ll learn a lot about yourself and other people. MyFirstPaycheck.com is a great resource for Summer jobs.

Create Your Own Internship - The Internet is an amazing tool. You can start your own business and learn an amazing amount in a short time. If you’re self-motivated, create a project for yourself. Build a website. Do a research project. Start blogging. Create a product and write a business plan. The opportunities are endless with an Internet connection.

Volunteer - Go do something to make the world a better place. If you pick the right project, you might learn a lot more than you would as an intern at some company.

Travel - Go somewhere interesting and learn about something. Whether you visit a historic village 20 miles from your house, or go half way around the world, do something that will broaden your horizons. Just make sure that wherever you go gives you a good answer for when a job interviewer asks, “What did you do last Summer?”

Read - Devour books that are relevant to your interests. Fiction is nice, but it won’t do you much good unless you’re in a creative field. Start working towards becoming an expert in something - anything. If you feel guilty about your relaxation, you’ll get depressed. You’ll end up “relaxing” all summer, but you won’t feel very relaxed.

Relax - It may not be productive, but it sure does feel nice. Don’t let not having an internship get you depressed. If you’re going to spend time relaxing, try to be guilt free about it. That way you’ll eventually get bored and go do something.

Those are our recommendations for what you should do if you still don’t have plans for the Summer. Good luck, and if you have any questions, please leave a comment. We’ll be more than happy to help you find a last minute Summer internship.

Photo Credit: Flickr user Matsuyuki

New York Restoration Project

Willy Franzen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:11:04 +0000

This is our last Summer internship post for a while. We’ll be taking a couple weeks off to rejuvenate and find great Fall internship opportunities. We will publish a post tomorrow that will provide resources for a last minute internships search, so if you’re still hunting, we won’t completely abandon you. For our last Summer internship posting, we’ve chosen a non-profit organization founded by Bette Midler, yes, she of Hocus Pocus fame. We wanted to take the opportunity to make some jokes about a celebrity do-gooder, but we’re actually going to restrain ourselves because we’re really impressed by the New York Restoration Project and the work it does.

Restoring New York’s Green Space

A lot of celebrities who are involved in philanthropy focus on telling other people what to do, the following quote shows that Bette Middler isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.

When I moved to New York, I was very disappointed in how parts of the city looked. I was so upset, I didn’t sleep for weeks. I love New Yorkers, and I’m like them—I’m noisy, I have my opinions—but I’m not used to the kind of carelessness and waste that I was seeing. People were throwing their garbage out the window, leaving their lunches on the ground. Finally, I realized I needed to actually do something—even if I had to pick up the stuff with my own hands.

That’s the attitude of a true environmentalist and conservationist. It’s amazing how many people will talk and talk about how they care about the environment, but won’t even take the first step of cleaning up their own “backyards.” Since 1995, NYRP has been working to improve, enhance, and increase green space across New York City. Here’s why Parks and Opens Space are important according to NYRP. If you agree, you should continue browsing the NYRP website - it’s really well done. Don’t forget to look at all of the NYRP’s accomplishments too.

As for internships, the NYRP is looking for 2 Horticulture Interns (Idealist.org). These are paid Summer internships in New York City, and they’re best suited for students who have a background in biology, environmental science, horticulture, landscape construction, landscape design, greenhouse management, gardening, botany, or entomology. Interns will have the opportunity to learn about urban horticulture and landscaping by working directly on NYRP projects. There is also a listing on NYRP’s Jobs page for Americorps Team Members, but it was for the Spring. We don’t know if we’re still hiring for those positions, but they might be a nice alternative to an internship. You can inquire about or apply for positions at NYRP by e-mailing HR@nyrp.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you enjoyed green space in New York City? What’s your favorite spot?

Japan Society

Willy Franzen — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:57:24 +0000

If you’re still looking for a Summer internship and happen to be fascinated by Japanese culture, we have found some perfect opportunities for you. The Japan Society is a non-profit organization that is “the premier producer of high-quality content on Japan for the United States.” Why would a non-profit produce content about another country and culture? To increase understanding and open dialogue. The Japan Society was founded in 1907 and has been promoting exchange and collaboration since then. The Japan Society’s website is gorgeous and filled with information, so we’re going to send you over there to learn more about the organization’s mission and goals.

Omakase

Omakase is the Japanese word meaning “entrust.” That’s what you’re going to have to do with your summer - entrust the Japan Society and take an internship. They have a number of offerings listed on their Internships page, some of which are still for this Summer. They’re looking for a Digital Media Intern and a Human Resources Intern for this Summer. The HR position is not listed on their site, but is listed on another job board (if you’re interested, e-mail hr@japansociety.org and ask about it). There are also internships listed in Education, Performing Arts, Gallery, and Corporate and Foundation Relations. The availability of these internships is uncertain. Some look to be for the Fall, while others seem to have passed. You’ll probably have to inquire about those if they strike your interest. You can apply for an internship by sending a cover letter and resume to hr@japansociety.org.

If you’d love to go to Japan and learn about Japanese culture but can’t quite afford it, an internship at the Japan Society might be perfect for you. The internships are unpaid, so they’re not going to help you save up for the trip, but they’ll certainly give you a depth of knowledge that will help you better appreciate of Japanese culture.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What foreign culture are you most fascinated by?

Hello

Willy Franzen — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:47:02 +0000

This is it. If you don’t find yourself a Summer internship soon, it’s going to be too late. This is our third to last post about Summer internships for a while. We’ll be covering two non-profit summer internships this weekend, and then we’re going to take two weeks to prepare for covering Fall internships. Now that you know our plans, here’s one more company that is still hiring Summer interns. Hello is a Culver City, CA based interactive design agency. They have an extremely impressive portfolio, and from what we can tell they are still hiring Summer interns.

Hello Real World

Internships are a chance to say hello to the real world without saying goodbye to college. It can be a tough transition for some, but you can be sure that the hello will be a lot more friendly in a place where you can surf and snowboard on the same day, visit awesome art galleries down the street, have a burger across the street at Father’s Office, get free candy and cake on your birthday, play foosball, Wii, XBOX 360, and PlayStation 3, and bring your dog to work. Doesn’t sound like the real world, does it? It’s more like fantasy land, except it’s not. Creativity and hard work essential to putting together a corporate portfolio as impressive as the one Hello has on their home page. They offer their employees (and presumably their interns) these perks because they want to build an environment in which creative people can thrive.

Hello Summer Internships

Hello currently has two Summer internships listed on their Internships page. The two opportunities are in Design and Web Development. Both positions require relevant skills and experience. Design Interns should be skilled in Photoshop and Illustrator, while Web Development Interns need to be familiar with a wide variety of languages and software development situations. Although it doesn’t say it on Hello’s website, we do have reason to believe that the internships are paid depending on experience. To apply, you should send a resume, cover letter, portfolio, and URLs of your work to careers@hellodesign.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Leave a comment and say Hello - especially if you still need an internship for this Summer. We may not be posting for the next 2 weeks, but we’ll be more than happy to help you find one over e-mail. If you’re looking for a full-time gig, be sure to check out entry-level jobs at Hello.