Landing Your Dream Internship: A Guide for Communications Majors

For communications majors, the world is your oyster. The versatility of a communications degree opens doors to a myriad of career paths, making internships a crucial stepping stone in exploring your options. The field is constantly evolving and seeking talented communications students, ensuring a steady stream of internship opportunities. A communications internship can provide you with practical skills, invaluable experience, and a clearer vision for your future career. In your communications internships you’ll gain skills in writing, teamwork, organization, accountability, and problem-solving among many others. Internship opportunities for communications students can foster great exploration of the field, since there are so many paths in communications to consider and understand.

Why Internships Matter for Communications Majors

Internships provide a unique opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. You'll gain skills in writing, teamwork, organization, accountability, and problem-solving, all while exploring different facets of the communications field. A communications internship can provide you with practical skills, invaluable experience, and a clearer vision for your future career. Internships are meant to guide you towards your true desired career path and your summer communications internship could kick it off in the right direction.

Beyond skill development, internships offer other significant benefits:

Networking: Connect with potential mentors, learn industry secrets, and build relationships with coworkers with a range of expertise.
Resume Building: The best communications internship programs strengthen resumes, provide valuable avenues to letters of recommendation, and can even turn into full-time jobs.
Exploration: With so many paths in communications to consider and understand, internships offer a great exploration of the field.
Potential Job Offers: A successful internship can even lead to a full-time job offer after graduation.

How to Find the Right Communications Internship

Getting an internship in communications is very exciting considering the sheer amount of opportunities in different industries. Communications internships during summer will provide you with many valuable experiences, giving a real taste of what it’ll be like to work in communications down the line. You’ll connect with potential mentors, learn communications trade secrets, and build relationships with coworkers with a range of expertise. It’s also a plus if it’s a paid communications internship!

Optimizing Your Resume and Online Profiles

Before you start applying, ensure your resume is up-to-date and your online profiles, like Handshake, are complete. Recruiters are much more likely to message a student with a complete profile that says you want to work in communications than an unfinished one.

Skills: When putting together your resume, make sure to have all your skills, courses, and accomplishments laid out for employers to view. For communications interns, some great skills to list would be specific technical skills, time management, ability to follow through and execute, and ability to contribute and collaborate in a team setting.
Job Role and Location: Also having your preferred job role and location on your Handshake profile is a great way to signal your interest to potential recruiters.

Acing the Internship Interview

When you do land your first interview, be it a virtual interview or in person, make sure to come prepared and dressed to impress. Review your resume and cover letter to make sure you have specific examples of your experience to share, from clubs or coursework. You can even schedule a mock interview with your university’s career center or, if you’re tight on time, ask a trusted friend to grill you on some common interview questions.

Networking During Your Internship

Once you’ve landed an internship in communications and settled into the flow of day-to-day life at the office, start chatting with your coworkers. Whether they’re industry professionals or fellow interns, it’s important to treat them with equal respect. You never know what insights they could lend, or who could be a valuable connection down the line, five or ten years from now. Don’t be afraid to ask your new colleagues out for quick coffee chats, or request 15-minute informational interviews about their career trajectory.

Seeking Further Guidance

Looking for specific advice before your internship begins? Or are you hungry for further information even after your internship is over? A good way to delve even deeper into your career path growth is to attend a virtual event or two. Not only will you be learning more about your own career, but there will also be chances to network with employers, industry specialists, and other students sharing different perspectives.

Utilizing Online Search Tools

When searching for communications internships, it’s key to use the location filters provided on Handshake. You’ll be able to pinpoint communications internships exactly where you want to intern just by selecting the city you want in the search bar. Easy communications internships in your preferred city are just a search away. You can even research possible job roles that you might want to explore during your communications internship. Handshake also makes it easy to learn about roles in communications simply by using the job role search bar. And if you want to take your research one step further, you can even research top employers in the communications field on Handshake. Just by using the Handshake employer search feature you can discover companies that are hiring in your specific field by filtering by “Industry.”

Types of Communications Internships

Internships in communications can fall under any of the following roles we’ve listed here for you! For internships, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the hunt for remote communications internships or paid communications internships or communications internships in NYC. The following job roles and suggestions on where to apply for communications internships can guide you in the right direction for whatever you’re looking for.

Marketing Intern: As a marketing intern, you’ll assist the marketing team with projects and find out how marketers help brands connect with their audience.
Editorial Intern: From sharpening your SEO skills to shadowing an editorial meeting, an editorial internship can be a great and enriching experience.
Public Relations Intern: As a public relations intern, you’ll assist the PR team with campaign strategy, pitches and handling client relationships. You’ll also likely get to attend publicity events including sporting events and product launches. In addition, you’re likely to also get hands-on experience with other things such as managing social media accounts.
Social Media Intern: As a social media intern, you’ll engage your company’s followers, commenters and readers, while also attempting to grow the community. You’ll also learn how to match your writing style to a specific brand and fine-tune your copywriting skills.
Broadcast Intern: A broadcast internship is a wonderful opportunity to learn the ins and out of working for a TV or radio station. From shadowing staff to fact-checking, researching and assisting with different aspects of production, you’ll be getting exposure to the whole world of broadcasting.

Specific Internship Roles and Companies

Here are some specific roles you might pursue and companies where you could find relevant internships:

Editor

Editors revise and prepare materials to be published in print and digital media. They often work at newspapers, magazine publications, book publishing houses, and media networks.

Companies you can apply to: Quibbl, Hearst Magazines, Paravane Ventures*Average pay: $33,280

Copywriter

Copywriters are in charge of writing compelling content both for a company’s internal and external communications. They can wear hats in other aspects such as writing, editing, and graphic design.

Companies you can apply to: Riddle & Bloom, Dauntless Marketing Group, N3*Average pay: $56,770

Marketing Manager

Marketing managers oversee the promotional efforts of a company through marketing and advertising campaigns. They manage the research, planning, strategy, and execution of the company's marketing initiatives, which ultimately aim to increase sales or brand awareness.

Companies you can apply to: KPMG LLP, Apple, Microsoft*Average pay: $42,000

Public Relations Manager

Public relations managers and specialists communicate with journalists and media outlets to promote news and create a specific public image for an individual, group, or organization. Their responsibilities may include managing social media accounts, writing press releases, and planning press events.

Read also: Your Guide to Media Internships

Companies you can apply to: MGR Strategic Communications, Nestle USA, Amazon Robotics*Average pay: $38,000

Companies to Consider for Communications Internships

Some companies that would be great for communications majors looking for internships: Microsoft, Nestle USA, or Quibbl. Communications internships for college students can be found all over! Even companies that don’t seem to have a main focus in communications are looking for bright interns to help them develop a voice.

JMS Marketing
Red Bull

Compensation for Communications Interns

Are communications internships paid? Yes, you can find paid communications internships on Handshake by using the search filters! The average annual pay for full time communications jobs range from $33,280 to $63,000. The average annual pay for full time jobs in communications range from $33,280 to $63,000.

The Value of Internships: Skills and Experience

While it's not required, internships are great opportunities for growth and experience. From communications internships for undergraduates to great seasonal communications internships, you’ll be able to build both hard and soft skills and even network.

Along with networking and gaining mentorship, communications interns will spend time working on skills great for later in their career journeys. communications interns will learn how to plan and execute concrete goals, communicate their visions effectively, project manage and collaborate with a team on a shared goal.

During your communications internship, you’ll learn some great generic skills like time management, accountability, organization, and teamwork. Additionally, you’ll be immersed in the world of communications which will help you develop your knowledge of quantitative aptitude, how to manage communications projects effectively, and about your company’s supply chain.

Internships at Ball State’s Department of Communication Studies

Many businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government institutions know that Ball State interns are a dynamic and effective resource. Interns in the Department of Communication Studies apply basic interpersonal, group, organizational, research, and public communication skills and principles to reduce communication error, meet employer goals, and provide creative solutions to the challenges businesses face. Applicants must be a departmental major or minor in good academic standing. It is recommended that they have completed a minimum of 18 credits in the department prior to the internship.

Graduate programs in Ball State’s Department of Communication Studies focus on educating and training graduates in applied communication. Hiring organizations have a responsibility to help make an intern’s experience valuable for all involved. Communication Studies interns should perform meaningful work and be treated as an integral part of an organization. undergraduate interns - Ideally, they are paid at least minimum wage; however, students can receive credit with or without payment. If you are interested in learning more about internship opportunities-or if you have one already lined up that you want to earn credit for- connect with the department’s director of internships, Dr.

Internship Opportunities at The School of Communication at The Ohio State University

The School of Communication at The Ohio State University actively encourages students to explore internship opportunities as a critical component to a well-rounded study of communication and journalism. Internships allow students to gain valuable skills and experiences in the professional world and encourage students to apply in-classroom experiences to real-world settings. Completion of at least one or two internship experiences can increase students' marketability when searching for a full-time position after graduation. More than 50% of our students participate in an internship for academic credit prior to graduation.

Communication Career Internship Program

With their ability to communicate effectively in almost any situation, communications majors are some of the most sought after candidates in all sorts of professional fields. With so many opportunities available, you might be wondering how to find a job that’s a good fit for you.

The Department of Communication's Undergraduate Internship Program currently offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on work, teaching, and research experience. The communication career internship program helps students find internships and earn academic credit for their internship experience. The undergraduate teaching internship allows students to assist instructors in a variety of communication courses while earning academic credit. Our undergraduate research program pairs students with graduate student mentors based on their research interests. The program provides students with hands-on research experience and helps them develop a better understanding of the discipline.

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