OT: Advice for Internship
The other day, I was notified that i was selected for a marketing internship with the New York Yankees AAA affiliate the Scranton Yankees. It is an unpaid internship, but it counts as my culminating internship that is required of me to graduate. I am overjoyed that I was given such an opportunity, and I was wondering if anyone in the MgoCommunity had any advice for a future intern. Oh, and I just found found out my Sport Law professor is a UofM alum Dr. Robert Fleischman(maybe someone knew of him or something). He's an amazing professor. Exactly what a UofM grad would be.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:04 PM ^
Be prepared to be someones bitch for however long your internship is. everyone starts at the bottom.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:22 PM ^
That's not the attitude you want to take, and not everyone starts at the bottom. You go to Michigan, and that's not the bottom. In fact, that's pretty fucking high. Remember you know things, you have opinions, and you are a person, so do your thing.
Additionally, free beer for UM grads might attract me to come to a game or two.
Oh, and as usual:
FUCK.SHIT.UP.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:41 PM ^
Seriously. I interned in the U Toledo SID, and I spoke up when I saw mistakes on press releases, etc.
I'm not in any sort of Sports Information now (and I cry), but it was a great experience.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:19 AM ^
Under-promise and over deliver. Always control expectations. People are used to interns/entry level people over-promising, and its very frustrating.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^
I'm going to have to disagree here. Accept responsibility, and if you don't know how something works, ask. I don't expect my interns to know everything about the tasks that they're given.
I'd rather have an intern eagerly accept added work than have one avoid it. I'd rather have my interns enthusiastic and willing to learn than lazy CYA types.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:04 PM ^
My advice to you is if your boss asks for coffee your response should be, "How much?"
February 16th, 2010 at 10:07 PM ^
So, are you like one of those teenage girls that runs around the field with the Scranton Yankees version of Paws???
Because that's what my friends that had similar marketing internships with the Tigers did, of course it was a stepping stone to bigger and better marketing positions with the team, but that's where they started.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:07 PM ^
i start a federal law enforcement internship this summer. My goal is to show up ten minutes early ,leave ten minutes late and bust my ass every shift. I don't know if I'll get a job with the agency but I expect to gain a set of skills I can directly apply to a future career in law enforcement.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^
Advice: Learn all you can. Be extremely helpful without being annoying. Make them want to give you incredible references and future job leads.
Remember: Have low expectations. Interships are usually underwhelming.
Also: Try to get laid (but not by someone at work).
February 17th, 2010 at 10:48 PM ^
This is a temp job...so to be clear:
Nailing someone FROM work = awesome
Nailing someone AT work = not a good idea
Good luck!
February 16th, 2010 at 10:30 PM ^
Well, when a Yankee player is there for rehab assignment, sneak into the locker room and slip a banned substance into his drink.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:30 PM ^
I MISS YOU BABY
February 17th, 2010 at 7:39 AM ^
Kalamazoo's most famous native son and a Michigan man.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:37 PM ^
I've spent most my life in Scranton. Shoot me an email if you want help with the area.
[email protected]
February 16th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^
Ask as many questions as possible. Almost to the point of being annoying. Most of the time people are more than willing to share, and it's the best way to get all that intellectual capital that isn't written down in any manual.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:46 PM ^
Lazy Scranton the Electric City
They call it that 'cause of the electricity
The city's laid out from east to west
And our public parks and libraries are truly the best
Call poison control if you're bit by a spider
But check that it's covered by your health care provider!
Are you hungry? Well quit your whining
The new downtown has five-star dining
You lack coal mines and you wanna see 'em,
Well, check it out, yo, the Anthracite Museum!
The dope thing to do, that's several and counting
The illest place to go is Montage Mountain
Plenty of space in the parking lot,
But the little cars go in the compact spot
Spot, spot, spot, spot ...
Snack attack time, don't lose your head
We like Cugino's for the tasty bread
They call it Scranton
What?
The Electric City
February 16th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^
Get that mouth ready.
I kid.
Kind of.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:00 PM ^
Always try to be nice with everyone you come into contact to, because you may need their help someday. Be particularly cognizant of this when working with pushy/irrational members of the print/tv media.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:41 AM ^
There is little difference from being an intern versus an entry level position. So... all of these people saying "bend over and cough" are probably right, but you should also be ready to do that post graduation.
My best way to sum it up is that if the intern does a good job, people are generally happy/surprised. But if a first year does a good job, it's expected of them.
Have fun with it, make friends with the younger people and try to go out with them after work. I've worked closely with three interns in my career and all were good experiences because they knew how to have a good time and were able to get the job done.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:07 AM ^
No racy jokes here, just legit advice.
Whatever they have you do, try to do it well. The most useful thing you can have coming out of an internship is people who will say a good word for you. That can either be via letters of recommendation, or just talking to people they know. The saying "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is dead on in my experience.
Good luck. It sounds like a good internship.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:16 AM ^
Just go visit Dunder Mifflin.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:17 AM ^
I run the internship program at a DC nonprofit (and was hired from the internship program). The interns we have who end up with the best recommendations are people who have been able to come in and make some kind of innovation for organization. From just organizing something that was disorganized to writing a useful memo that you weren't asked to write. People who take initiative and always are looking for ways to do things better go on to great jobs/grad schools.
That said you have to take into account the personality of your boss/ culture of the organization. At my organization "it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission" it many others it is much much worse.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
seriously, dont just blend into the woodwork - get to know the management, not just your immediate supervisor - at the end of the internship, you dont need to have learned anything, but the relationships you build are crucial for getting jobs.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:50 PM ^
trying to sneak in a visit to the Schrute Beet Farm if you have the time.
February 20th, 2010 at 1:23 AM ^
I worked in sports for a few years, starting as an intern and later having interns work for me. My biggest advice would be - don't let the fact that it is unpaid affect your approach. Don't leave early or not come in because they aren't paying you anyway. Do just the opposite - stay late, work hard, be incredibly helpful. Also, don't complain about how you aren't getting paid - everyone else there probably did an unpaid internship at some point and they don't want to hear it. Also, think about what you want to be able to put on your resume when you are done and then achieve it. I was never impressed with applicants who just put in time at different jobs, I wanted to hire the ones who had accomplished something (created a successful promotion, found new sponsors, set attendance records, etc.) in those jobs.