Finding an Internship in NYC

Scoring an internship in New York City can be a great move for your career; you can learn about an industry, experience the city, build your resume, and be in school all at once! However, as great as internships are, it can be difficult to find one. It takes hard work and time to find the perfect internship.

If you're in college, regardless of the area, talk to your career center. Many offer sites that post internship opportunities just for people at your school or listings of alumni looking to hire for the summer. This can be an easier way to break in since you'll be up against a smaller pool of applicants. Even if you don't go to school in New York City you can often find many alumni and internships there.

Consider your industry and what firms or companies are based there. Once you identify a few, you can do research on their websites or online to see if they have internship programs. If they don't blatantly state it on their website, often a polite call or e-mail enquiring if they are hiring is appropriate. Additionally, you can try industry specific boards, for more internship postings. For example, ed2010, a website specializing in magazine jobs regularly posts about internships in New York City as the industry is based there. However, if your industry is not based in New York, you may have a more difficult time finding an internship. For instance, trying to find a magazine internship in Chicago would be difficult at best.

Additionally, you can check sites like internships.com for more general internship information. However, here you will likely be up against a larger pool of applicants and unless your resume is stellar, it may end up in the trash.  It is best to work in small pools and try to enlist the help of people you know personally.