By Tony Rogers, About.com Guide
So you've landed an internship for the summer and you want to make the most of it. The key things to get from an internship are solid experience, great clips and rave references. Here are seven tips that will help you accomplish that:
Work Hard
Sounds obvious, but there's no more surefire way to impress your editor than through good old-fashioned hard work. Arrive early, stay late and in between work your butt off. Remember, most news outlets are short-staffed in the summer, so a hard-working intern can quickly establish him or herself as a valuable part of the team.
Do the Lousy Jobs
Want to endear yourself to the rest of the newsroom? Volunteer to do the jobs no one else wants. A zoning board meeting? You'll take it! A sewerage commission hearing? You're on it! Do enough scut work and your editor will be more likely to throw a great story assignment your way.
Show What You Can Do
Sure you're still a student, but chances are you've already discovered the things you're good at. So take every opportunity to show off your strengths. Do you excel at banging out breaking news stories on deadline? Volunteer to cover the late-breaking house fire. Are you good at producing well-written features? Crank out a few of those, even if it means doing them on the side, on evenings or weekends.
Ask Questions
No one expects a newby intern to know everything about the news business, so if there are things you really don't understand about what's happening in the newsroom, ask. But don't ask silly questions just for the sake of looking interested; ask about the things you just don't get.
Listen to the Answers
Again, sounds obvious, but too many interns ask questions and ignore the answers, then have to ask the same question 10 minutes later. If you want to alienate your editor, that's the way to do it.
Learn From Your Mistakes
Chances are at least once hour your internship you're going to do something wrong. That's part of the learning process. But the key is to learn from your screw-ups so that you never - I repeat never - make the same mistake twice.
Exude Some Good Attitude
Journalism is a collaborative effort. People in the newsroom may not all be the best of friends, but they have to be able to work together. So when you walk into the newsroom show enthusiasm for your work and some friendliness toward your co-workers. Be someone other people want to be around, not someone they want to avoid. And no whining.
JOB, JOBS, CAREER
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