In Your Backyard: Interning Locally

Hi everyone, I'm Alyssa Bailey. I am an incoming sophomore transfer student and a Baltimore/Washington area native. I spent my freshman year at the University of Maryland where I was able to obtain a spring editorial internship at USA Weekend in McLean, Va. through their journalism school's career fair.

I've had three internships so far: my first internship last summer as an editorial intern at Girls' Life magazine in Baltimore and my third currently as a web intern at the Washington Post Express. In just one year, I have worked in the buildings that house USA Today and the Washington Post, and I've had the privilege of getting career advice from many Washington area experts, including a career recruiter at USA Today and the editor-in-chief of Capitol File, a high-end Washington, D.C. fashion magazine. I've found throughout my experience editors are looking for the same thing: passionate, reliable individuals who are proactive and embrace whatever is thrown at them, be it fact checking (my favorite!), writing, transcribing or filing.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned, however, is not to underestimate what is in your own backyard. We all know about New York, but here are some tips to tap into the journalism near your own home — and a bit about what I learned while tapping into mine, the nation's capital.

• Use every resource, no matter how obvious. It was the winter of my senior year of high school, and I was looking for a summer internship in the Baltimore area. After a quick Google search for publications in Baltimore, I learned Girls' Life magazine, a childhood favorite and national tween magazine (the best selling for the 10-15 year old demographic), was only 45 minutes away from my house. I submitted an application, interviewed and followed up with numerous e-mails. I was offered a position only a year ago, and I can't express how much of a difference that Google search — that first step — has made for my career.

• Don't underestimate your school as a network. At U of Md., journalism majors are required to take JOUR100, a "Professional Orientation" course where industry professionals came in weekly to talk about how they made it into the business. It was through this class I was able to contact and eventually meet Capitol File's editor-in-chief, Sarah Schaffer (who is also the editor-in-chief of Philadelphia Style; both publications are owned by Niche Media LLC). As a j-school alum, she left her e-mail after she talked to our class and encouraged us to contact her with questions. I sent her an e-mail asking for career advice; she replied with an invitation to meet and discuss it over coffee. The lesson there? If someone in the industry leaves his or her e-mail with an open invitation to ask any questions, do shoot them an e-mail. You'll stand out to them. Even if it doesn't lead to an internship (yet), the time investment will be worth it — advice from anyone in the industry about what you can do to stand out (and what software programs to learn while in school) is invaluable in planning ahead.

• Take every opportunity to meet recruiters. In our JOUR100 class, we were also required to attend our school's journalism career fair in the fall. Our professor encouraged us to bring our resumes even though we were only freshmen. I brought copies of mine labeled with the recruiters I wanted to meet — there was NPR, the Associated Press, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, USA Today, etc. I went to the USA Weekend magazine table first, the only magazine there. I remember going into the conversation blind, unsure how to act or present myself. I left them my resume, under the impression my chat with them could have gone a lot better when it ended. I used this experience, however, as a lesson: when presenting yourself to media recruiters, you must be spirited and lead the conversation. Guide recruiters through your resume. Be polite, listen and answer all their questions. Show them your passion, send them a thank you, and you will stand out. Be that person who goes above and beyond; be confident even if you aren't deep down. For me then, the career fair alone gave me a glimpse of all that was in my area. At the end of the semester, the fair had done more than that. I was later contacted by USA Weekend for a spring internship because of my resume. While there may not be as big a fair this summer, check to see if there are any career fairs in your area. Even if a career fair isn't solely journalism, there may be a media recruiter there to talk. And no matter how young you may be, always bring copies of your resume and clips. You'll definitely need them.

• Contact, contact, contact. It may only be July, but even if you don't have a summer internship, you can still use this summer to shape your career and get a head start for fall 2010 and even summer 2011. For North Carolinians, New York City and Washington, D.C. are only bus rides away (long ones, granted, but still). E-mail internship coordinators on publications you are interested in and ask if they could take some time out to have an informational meeting with you and then plan a day trip. From them, you can learn more about their internship programs and get career advice. From you, they can learn about a great future candidate who is already taking initiative by meeting in person. For local publications, you can go beyond an informational meeting: ask to shadow an editor for a day and get an idea their job entails. Bring plenty of questions. Don't forget job listings either: I found out about my Express internship by searching Washington Post Jobs.

The best advice I've been given, however? Embrace every opportunity you get, and there will always be something to look forward to next. Always be optimistic.

Questions about the D.C. area, by the way? Feel free to ask me them by e-mailing auhlyssuh@gmail.com. I am an expert on all things Metro and entertainment. :)