Intern-ships

Internships have led to many outcomes in my life.

1. Business contacts
2. Valid and eager references
3. Skills and valid industry experience
4. Debt
5. Job opportunities

If done right, calculated risks can be the kick-start of your career. My first internship was at S.L Feldman & Associates. I got the internship lead through a friend of friend back when I was hosting The Beehive: a  regular 60's rock n roll throwback night in Vancouver. I worked in the  Music Supervision department and spent a large portion of that spring on this lovely show:    Good times! It gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of labels and managers, one of whom has become a close confidante whom I still ask for career advice. Taking this internship also encouraged me to go back to school, at which time I had to take 2 more internships to graduate. With a new focus on festivals I did the unthinkable and re-located from Vancouver to Halifax for an unpaid internship with Halifax Pop Explosion. Paying rent & all of my own expenses with student loans, I was able to live there for 3 months. With an eagerness to do all that I could, and absolutely no social life, I was able to successfully take on a second role from Logistics Coordinator to Volunteer Coordinator.  From this internship I befriended a lot of amazing people within the industry and met a fierce learning curve gaining numerous new skills. HPX turned out to be the most amazing opportunity as it connected me to a whole other coast of music, tons of approachable east coast industry professionals and many job leads. As of next month I will begin my work with NXNE as Transport Coordinator.  I've also been invited back for a position with HPX next October.

How to be successful in your internships

1. Show up on time, work as if you're being paid and you are a necessary part of the team.
2. Positivity and enthusiasm go along way. It's easy to let down your guard around your co-workers but try and remember your place if you can.
3. Go the extra distance, offer helpful opinions, help out where needed. You will get noticed.
4. Help other team members out when you have the time.
5. Try and learn new skills that you can put on your resume in the future. Think of it as unpaid training for your next job. Beats taking night classes.


About.com has a ton of blogs on the music industry that I follow. Here is one just on internships. Penny Loretto Internship Blog. Remember that even if an organization doesn't offer internships on their webpage, everyone loves free work. So offer your help in a brief cold email stating your expertise, enthusiasm, appreciation for their org and whether this is for school credit or not. Remember to keep it brief as these are busy professionals that don't always have time for surprise emails. Long-winded and unclear emails only do you a disservice. This recipe helped me a lot in my intern searches. It also helps to check out the staff list on their contact page and look them up on linked In or facebook. See if you have any mutual friends that can introduce you so you can get a better feel for the workplace and whether they are hiring.

Hope this helps!
K