Cracking the Code: Your Guide to Landing an Essence Magazine Internship

An internship at Essence Magazine offers a unique gateway into the world of media, particularly for those passionate about African-American women's issues. This article will explore the Essence internship program, along with similar opportunities, and provide insights into securing a coveted spot.

Essence Magazine Internship: A Deep Dive

Essence Communications is the number one-and only 100% Black-owned-media, technology and commerce company at scale dedicated to Black women and communities. With a community of more than 31 million Black women, ESSENCE inspires a global audience through diverse storytelling and immersive original content rooted in Culture, Equity and Celebration. An internship at Essence provides invaluable on-the-job training, enhancing your education and preparing you for a future career in the media industry.

What Essence Looks For

To intern at ESSENCE, you must have an interest in media and issues related to African-American women. The magazine seeks students who are professional, self-motivated, and extremely detail-oriented to take on opportunities throughout the various departments.

Internship Structure and Opportunities

As an Essence intern, you’ll be placed on a team based on your background, strengths, and skills. The program is an 8-week paid learning experience. Here's a glimpse into the diverse roles you might encounter:

Content Creation: Assist with creating content for Print and Digital and Social Media platforms for Beauty, Lifestyle and News. Assist with designing content for Print and Digital platforms, as well as the trafficking of projects.
Marketing & Advertising: Develop “big idea” concepts for advertisers by conceptualizing and writing marketing proposals in response to RFPs.
Social Media: Work with the Social Media Team: researching topics, building analytics reports, collecting assets, developing content calendars, coordinating, and more tasks as assigned.
Podcast Production: Work with the Podcast Team and learn what it takes to make our hit shows come to life.
Publicity & Media Relations: Assist in the execution and monitoring of ESSENCE publicity campaigns and media partnerships. Support the team in promoting brand content and initiatives, writing and distributing news releases, as well as media relations across print, digital, social media and live experiences.
Event Planning: Create and work with the Events Team to execute VIP and consumer driven events for the Essence Festival; list management, gift bag coordination, invoicing vendors, ordering décor items and more.
Video Production: Assist Video Team with numerous shoots.
Digital Operations & Analytics: Assist the digital team with all things digital ops. Steer the digital team to make sound decisions based upon insightful metrics. Work with clients in providing campaign wrap up reporting to story tell successes and wins and ROI from a client’s perspective.

Types of Essence Internships

Essence typically offers different types of internship programs. There are "Super Interns" who will work out of our NY office and "Festival Intern Ambassadors'" which must be local to the New Orleans, Louisiana region. As a "Festival Intern Ambassador", you'll have the opportunity to work alongside the Experiential Team to help execute ESSENCE Festival.

Read also: Landing a Flaunt Internship

Compensation and Logistics

Essence Communications Internship Program is open to undergraduate, graduate students, or recent college graduates interested in a career in the media industry. Positions are open in publishing and editorial and offer a stipend. The program is 9 weeks long and provides students with on-the-job-training in various aspects of the media. Interns are responsible for finding their own housing.

Key Skills for Success

Students interested in applying must have good writing skills and the ability to meet deadlines and complete projects. Important skills include self-motivation and detail-oriented.

Application Timing

It will be a quick turnaround so we are looking for submissions no later than Wednesday, May 14th.

HBCU Students and the "She Got Now" Program

PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) and ESSENCE, the leading and only 100% Black-owned media, technology and commerce company at scale dedicated to Black women and communities, announced the return of "She Got Now" - a multi-tiered program that celebrates, supports and honors young Black women attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country.

The Allen McKellar Jr. Internship Program

HBCU female students can apply to the annual Allen McKellar Jr. Internship Program, named in honor of one of the first Black professionals to enter the corporate workforce through a position at PepsiCo. As part of the internship, 12 stellar young women from the country's top HBCUs will be selected to work at PBNA South Division, with potential to lead to full-time job opportunities following the internship.

Read also: Analyzing Forbes Best Colleges

Recruitment and Outreach

The "She Got Now" program will kick-off with a multi-campus recruitment tour on October 8th starting at Hampton University, where Pepsi and ESSENCE will host a special Instagram Live roundtable event via ESSENCE's IGTV, offering viewers an inside peek into Pepsi's activation at Hampton's Homecoming that weekend as well as the internship program. The tour will continue to Howard Homecoming, culminating with a celebration at the Florida Classic. At each stop, students will be able to get more information on the internship program, celebrate at the VIP tour bus with tunes spun by DJ Envy, along with free celebratory merchandise, enjoy free Pepsi and more. To date, PBNA has hired from 70 of the country's 100+ HBCUs and has continued to further facilitate recruitment opportunities.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The "She Got Now" program is part of the Pepsi brand's ongoing commitment to working with HBCUs and fostering Black talent, as part of the larger PepsiCo Racial Equality Journey.

Eligibility and Timeline

The "She Got Now" Allen McKellar Jr. Internship Program is open now through December 1st to all young Black women in their final year, currently attending an HBCU. Selected students will be announced in February 2022.

Beyond Essence: Exploring Other Internship Opportunities

While an Essence internship is a fantastic opportunity, numerous other internships can provide valuable experience in media, communications, and related fields.

Sports-Related Internships

New York Mets Summer Internship Program: Available for college students who are rising Juniors, Seniors, and graduate students. Internship areas include Accounting, External Affairs and Community Outreach, Human Resources, Metropolitan Hospitality, Procurement, Project Development, Tickets Sales & Services. Part-time internships are offered in Corporate Partnerships, Marketing & Communications, and Media Relations.
Detroit Lions Internships: Offer an exciting opportunity for college students to work in the area of sports management. Many paid internship positions are available in a variety of departments within the Detroit Lions and Ford Field Management. Students must be enrolled full-time in a four-year degree program and have a grade point average of 3.0 or above. They must have completed their junior year of college before applying. Opportunities include athletic training, broadcasting, community relations, digital media, equipment manager during training camp, marketing, events management, media relations, scouting, sponsorships and much more.
NHL Hockey Internships: Available across the country for college students interested in getting hands-on experience working for a professional sports organization.
PGA Tour Internships: Offer an exciting opportunity for college undergraduate and graduate students to work with professionals in the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour Internship is a 10-week paid internship in Florida that provides business experience to students and a chance to learn how the PGA Tour operates.

Corporate Internships

Eli Lilly Internships: Available during the summer for college students pursuing a degree in the pharmaceutical industry. Areas of study can include chemistry, biology, engineering, finance, marketing, human resources, information technology, sales, animal science, international business, and statistics.
SRP Internships: Offered through the Salt River Project (SRP) Agricultural Improvement and Power District in the state of Arizona. Candidates should have an interest in working within a large supplier of public power and water utility.
CVS Health: Has a highly-rated internship program for both undergraduate students as well as MBA and Master's degree students. Internship programs include health-related internships for pharmacy, healthcare operations, dietetics and nutrition, nursing, optometry, and nursing students, as well as corporate internships for students interested in the areas of administration, analytics, marketing, finance, information technology, and law.

Media & Entertainment Internships

The OWN Internship Program: A 10-week paid and for-credit learning experience at the Oprah Winfrey Network television channel.

Remote Software Engineering Internships

A remote software engineering internship can: Build your portfolio with real-world projects, not just homework. Give you flexibility to work from anywhere (home, dorm, another city). Open doors to full-time offers or future internships. Boost your confidence working on production-level code and teams.

Navigating the Internship Landscape

Understanding Different Types of Opportunities

Many college students look for work opportunities while they are still in college. It can be because they want to earn more money to help pay college tuition, they want to 'test drive' a career they are interested in pursuing to see if it is right for them, or they may be in a field that values much experience. Whatever the reason, there are many work opportunities available, including internships, externships, co-ops, and fellowships.

Gaining Experience Without Formal Experience

If you’re staring at internship postings that all say “1-2 years of experience required” and thinking, “Wait… isn’t that the point of an internship?” - you’re not alone. The good news: you can land a remote software engineering internship with no formal experience. The trick is to re-define “experience,” show proof you can code, and apply strategically.

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