Internships are About Talking Too

What will I be doing all day? The answer to that question is a top priority for graduate students when deciding on an internship. It is right up there with, “Does it pay?” As a Public Affairs/Government Relations graduate intern at MWW Group, I get to do a variety of things for a variety of people. I have some flexibility in choosing projects, as there are a lot of people who work in the office and not many interns or junior staffers. Throughout my internships, I have found that the fewer there are of you (interns/early-to-mid-20-somethings) the more substantive the tasks become.

My office particulars. The firm I work for does government, corporate and public relations all in one office. This has allowed me to work on several different projects. I was hired during “budget season,” to help compose reports on appropriations. (Side note: if you are not sure you want an internship, wait until the semester starts, there are always companies looking for interns throughout the year.) I am now solid at locating and analyzing bill text and can explain how different departments in congress get funding. International business development is also a part of our services, and I have done research for web content for different international organizations. Many public affairs firms follow current issues in telecommunication, energy or local politics for clients, and I have done a fair share of monitoring and writing briefings on different relevant issues. This experience is great for public relations type interviews, as you are always asked to speak about an issue you are following in the news. I have also gone to the hill to attend hearings, composing summary memos upon my return to the office.

How do I find cool projects to work on and avoid getting stuck with delivering the mail? Talk to people when it is slow—that is the time to walk around the office and ask people what they are working on now, find out what projects they have coming up and put in a plug for yourself when you find something really cool.

If you just hide, waiting until someone comes to find you to do something, you’ll probably end up delivering documents to a think tank or the hill (not without its advantages at times), instead of engaging in something that will develop a skill, like preparing press kits or background info for a business development project or conference planning. When it’s slow, that means not only do you have more time to talk as an intern, the people in your office probably do to. When everyone is running around the office going to meetings and taking conference calls, this is not the time to ask your boss what they are up to.

Also, when I find myself without a project or near the end of one, I try to put the word out to people I know that are working on something I want to learn about. Speaking to people in the office will not only give you insight and first dibs on really juicy projects, but also shows you are interested in the organization and excited to play a part. You will learn how each person fits into the company’s mission, and if this is a company you would like to work for after graduation (which is another question on the forefront of grads’ minds when picking an internship), this deep knowledge about the organization will be essential when describing how you can contribute as a full-time employee!

Socialize—it’s good for your career.

-Kate

Interning in DC

One of the things that really attracted me to SIS was its location in DC. During the summer, the government, nonprofits, and all other assorted organizations are choked with interns coming from all over the country. The fact is, its hard to find a summer internship – especially one that you actually want. But being located in DC means that as I go to SIS, I can get an internship during the semester, when there’s much less competition for the most desirable internships.

This is the type of situation that has enabled me to intern this semester at the Arms Control Association. I study International Politics for my degree here, but the real reason I came here was to work on nuclear nonproliferation issues. But being that there are only a handful of nonproliferation-focused nonprofits here in DC, its easier to find an internship at one of them during the school year than during the summer.

At ACA I am getting a lot of great experience working in the nuclear nonproliferation field. What I’m doing there is mainly helping them write Arms Control Today, one of the leading nonproliferation publications. When I took the internship, I figured on a typical internship experience. You know the deal – you do all the research and hard work, someone higher up puts their name on it and gets the credit. Instead, they’ve had me write news articles for ACT. So not only am I really delving into the issues I care about, but I even get credit for it.

Since starting in January, I’ve written an article for each of the two issues that have been published. My first was on two biological research labs that are opening up inside two of the U.S.’s nuclear weapons labs. While it doesn’t really seem that any biological weapons research is going on, other countries tend not to take you at your word when you say, “Don’t worry about that biological lab inside our nuclear weapons facility… its not making biological weapons.” My second article was written about a new hotline that is being installed between the Chinese and US militaries, and I also did an analysis of the Pentagon’s new 2008 Military Power of China report. So even though I still have to do some of the usual intern activities (stuffing envelopes, anyone?) I’m also getting into some really good, substantive stuff and am getting to produce my own work on it.

Anyway, the point here is just that great internships are few and far between, and youre a lot more likely to snag one for yourself if you are in DC year round and are available for fall and spring internships.

-Jeremy