How to find the ‘perfect’ PR internship

Notice the plural? A completed internship used to set candidates apart from the pack, but in today’s hyper-competitive job market a single experience doesn’t go as far.

Employers want to see that your college career has given you the knowledge and skills you need to do real work for real clients. Classes can give you plenty of knowledge, but aren’t going to cut it when it comes to know-how.

So how do you find the perfect internship? You don’t. Instead, you build upon your skill-set with multiple experiences and mold yourself into a qualified job candidate.

Here are just a couple of considerations while looking at position postings:

Paid vs. unpaid

Loans pile up while you spend your time at an unpaid internship. Most students simply don’t have time to juggle classes, an internship, and a paid job.

Although the vast majority of internships are unpaid, you can find those minimum-wage gems if you dig. However, there are a lot of amazing positions out there that don’t pay. If you find a posting that you know will give you the skills you are looking for, consider your options. Can you take it for credit? Will one semester of not making money ruin your finances?