TalentEgg Career Incubator

After graduating from McGill University in April 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology, Minnesota native Emily Peschel had already successfully interned on an international archaeological dig and was ready to jet set to another dig in Arizona.

On paper, an internship job description may throw out appealing phrases like “participate in brainstorms,” but this could just be code for taking orders for a coffee run.

Competing for a job is never easy when you’re stacked against other successful candidates with the same education, skills and experience—and it’s even harder when those other applicants are willing to work for free.

In this video, Natalia offers some advice to help students and recent grads who are about to start their own internships, and also discloses some of the things which have helped her ace at least two job interviews.

In today’s video blog, Lauren chats about the value of internships—paid and unpaid—with Cassandra Jowett, TalentEgg’s first ever intern and now editor!

One of the toughest things as a recent graduate or someone who’s still in school is that you have a smaller pool of examples to choose from. Use examples from past internships, classes, activities, team involvements, community service and work experience.

If the entertainment/media industry is where you want to build a career, take it from me: being an intern is the only way to get your grubby little foot in the otherwise closed door. Doing internships will not only get you the experience you need on your resumé, they encourage some serious personal growth.

Transporting gigantic lobster costumes. Transcribing hours of raw footage. Juggling six coffees in one hand, and four donuts in the other. You have to start at the bottom to get to the top. Two recent grads share their experiences and advice after completing internships at MTV Canada.

If you aren’t sure what to do after graduation, consider internships as an alternative to going to graduate school, working for minimum wage in a food service or retail job or job hunting full-time in tough economic times. Employers big and small love taking on and training eager interns.

International employment offers a viable stop gap measure while graduates wait for the revival of the economy back home. Not only does it provide a means of weathering the economic storm, it also creates a worldwide network of employers and students, building an increasingly unified global village.