Written by Paige Voss and originally published on the Wise ASSC Blog.
In this post, Paige introduces us to how to go about organising an internship and the steps she took to arrive at the Wise ASSC Blog.
I stumbled across the Wise ASSC Blog internship during semester one, when I was reading through my LMS subject ‘Professional Internship’, which is a part of my Media and Communications degree. I had previously been looking elsewhere to source an internship but had little luck finding anything appropriate and had no responses. I saw that the internship allowed me to be creative and share my ideas, and I loved the flexibility. I have previously been involved in other areas of La Trobe University, so I thought that I would be an appropriate fit for the role.
First things first, I had to edit and update my cover letter and resume. Having already applied for many internships, I had my resume reasonably up-to-scratch, but I knew my cover letter was the most important thing. In my cover letter, I briefly explained who I was, my experiences and my attributes that I thought would suit the role. I had two other people read through it before I sent in my application. It is so important to have some fresh eyes look over your resume- there are always ways to improve!
The process of securing the internship was surprisingly fast and easy. After reviewing and triple checking my resume, I sent in my application. Within a few days I received an email to organise an interview time. I had my interview a week later with my supervisor and the senior coordinator. During my interview I was told to send through my best piece of work and they would notify me within the week if I was successful. I was in absolute shock when I received an email the next day saying that they’d love to have me – I was so excited!
Prior to commencing my internship, I had to fill out the subject workplace forms and get my supervisor to do the same, they were then sent to the subject coordinator to be approved. It is very important that the subject is approved before beginning the internship, so I made sure that this was done nice and early.
Before the first day of my internship I was nervous, extremely nervous, but prepared. I read through the Blog website a few days prior to get a feel for the La Trobe and how they wrote. I also scrolled through the La Trobe website to familiarise myself with any upcoming events and notices. I made sure I knew names, had my laptop charged, pens ready to go and a good night’s sleep- the little things all add up.
At my induction my supervisor discussed with my duties for each week and what I was responsible for. I was then given an overview of the organisation and a break-down of La Trobe as a whole. I was given log-ins for each of the platforms I would be using and a run-down on how to use them appropriately. I was also introduced to the other team members and shown around the office and my desk.
Even after the first day of interning, I felt comfortable and right at home. My supervisor and other staff were more than welcoming and I very quickly realised that I had no reason to be shy or nervous. I am finding the work load and content interesting and love that the topics covered are all very different. Having my own little section of the blog is so exciting and I found that it is a great way to reflect on my time at University and all of the things I have learnt.
My advice to anyone that is considering taking on an internship would be to just apply- for everything. Even if you have a particular place, organisation or style of internship you’d like to try, don’t put other opportunities on the back burner. You never know what opportunities may come from it and it can be beneficial to widen your scope of skill set.
Stay tuned for my next post on interning to find out what I have learned so far.