The Ideal Internship - Part 2

How to Earn an Outstanding Internship? 

There are two essential requirements to earning an outstanding internship. 
You need to be: 1.  A great candidate.   2.  Known to the people who will be hiring interns.

A great candidate for an internship will have:

1.     Good grades in school. Typically, the path to good grades involves studying all semester, not just the night before the exam, interacting with the material presented in discussions and problem solving sessions, not just trying to read and memorize, and attending an academic program which is well matched to their strengths (and weaknesses).

2.     Some knowledge about art as a business.

3.     Great recommendations from their faculty and possibly from professional artists which articulate accomplishments as well as the way that the potential intern approaches doing work, how they team with others, and their work products. These are earned by working intensively with these individuals on projects. Merely earning good grades in classes is not sufficient.

4.     A portfolio describing (and illustrating with photos) their art.  If their art involves teamwork the portfolio needs to clearly delineate the individual’s role in producing the art.   A track record for producing excellent work products (not just completing class assignments) might be very important in an area as competitive as the arts.  Document each accomplishment frequently, to have this information when you need it.

5.     Leadership in student and/or other professional organizations in which the potential intern can explain how the organization improved and its members benefited because they were involved.

6.     A resume which ROARs (is Results Oriented And Relevant).

7.     Prepared for their interviews, by being able to articulate clearly, sincerely and honestly their major work products, how their contributions made the products successful, what went very well, what did not go so well, the actions they took to make the products successful in spite of the challenges encountered, and what the actions they will take to prevent the problems in the future.

8.     Done and communicated all of the above with positive attitude, appearing interested, enthusiastic and involved in everything they do.


A great internship candidate will be well known to potential employers because they have:

1.     Taken the initiative to introduce themselves to numerous professionals near their home and school.

2.     Found several mentors and met with them on a regular basis for career guidance.

3.     Attended business and artists networking events in their home community and their academic community.

4.     Made significant contributions to the arts.

5.     Contributed to and been featured in blog posts, newspaper articles, etc.

6.     Prepared by speaking with people, be they relatives, family friends, or just people they happen to meet by chance.

7.     Contributed to the organization of student/alumni and other types of artist’s events.

8.     Become well known to their school placement office.


by Ronald Shapiro
Education by Entertainment

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