When my daughters were in college, their obsession was resume building by getting internships. But what if you cannot get one? Can you create your own internship? Better yet, can you MAKE MONEY ON YOUR OWN INTERNSHIP?
Hell yea!!
First, let’s look at what an internship is.
Why do employers care about internships? Because unlike college degrees which are just about test taking, in an internship you have to do something. It is not a test it is job experience.
Remember the dilemma, “you need experience to get a job and a job to get experience?”
This is what an internship is.
Indeed: 10 great resume skills.
Some examples of internships.
Both of my daughters had multiple internships, but their colleges sponsored internships. That meant they were paid by the college if the internship was a no compensation deal. (As most are)
My oldest daughter had two, one for signing up bands for a record label and the other organizing and running art gallery events.
These are serious internships and landed her top jobs.
My youngest daughters was a study on health care distribution in Boston that landed her a job in the health care industry.
What can you learn from a Hat Museum? Click here.
Are there other internships?
Yes, and they require you think like an employer. Why would you pick a particular candidate based on an internship?
It is not as complicated as you might think.
I had a friend in college that did his masters thesis in Geology on the Medina Sandstone. The Medina Sandstone is a famous stone mined in western New York and used for many buildings, bridges, and roadways between 1800 and 1940. In fact, it was used in the Erie canal.
But it was also a reservoir rock for the petroleum industry. He was hired by a major oil company to work on reservoirs like the Media.
Now, back to creating your own internship.
What are the advantages to creating an internship?
You can target it to the career you want.
If you looked at my daughters’ internships, their jobs were purely random. Why? Because they chose the internships based on what was available.
If you want to be in creative at an ad agency, why not do your internship on the effect of various graphics on viewer responses?Another take on creating an internship from Interexchange.org.
You can work it into your schedule.
Usually, internship times, dates and deadlines are determined by an employer. These are rarely your best times. Most people have top make a living. College students often cannot take on internships because they have to work.
You can make money on it on your own.
What law says you cannot run your internship as an operating business? If your internship is on creating a selling app, why not sell something? In fact, you would be foolish not to.
I used to be president of a charity that gave scholarships for entrepreneurs in local high schools. Every one we did was an operating business, and these were high school kids. One very successful one sold designer hair ties. Another sold gourmet meals through the internet.
Intern in the USA? Click here.
How do you get started creating your own internship?
Landon Fillmore’s obsession is helping people understand how to get started in a startup business. Starting your own internship is the same as starting a business. There are certain steps.
Step one: Determine what an employer might find valuable.
How do you do this? Simple. Once you have determined which field you want to be in find a company that is in the business and write a letter to their CEO, President, or owner.
You might think this is bold, but it is not. First, CEO’s love mentoring. People at that level know that ½ of getting there is knowing how.
More importantly, these are the people that can help you the most. The decision makers.
Step two: How do find these people?
Click here to learn how to find information on any company.
If you have not already done this, avail yourself of the process below. Build a free company database using Excel and a library card.
There are millions of publicly listed companies, professionals, and charities in the world. I guarantee, one of them is your dream company.
I got my first dream job by mistakenly calling the CEO of a fortune 500 company and asking him to for a job in the Middle East. He said yes. Whoda thunk it.
Step three: design your internship as a business.
We will talk about this later in this post but let me first say that this is one of the most valuable processes you will go through.
The reason is America runs on business. It is not a socialist country. You already run a business and it is called your household.
Like any business you have income and expenses, assets and liabilities. You net worth is what is left over. Understanding this dynamic will wipe out all the misinformation and voodoo you may pick up along the way.
Step four: Communicate with your mentor.
At Landon Fillmore Systems, we write web pages and posts all day long. I hate to admit this because it may seem offensive, but web pages are written at the 7th grade level.
In fact, our pages consistently fail the 7th grade level test for SEO optimization. We refuse to write down to that level.
It is not because people who read web pages are stupid, but because people read web pages differently than letters and books.
If you want your mentor to take you seriously, write letters on paper with plenty of graphs and charts. Do not send them regular mail, but Fedex or UPS. Why? Because all of the important things he gets he gets that way.
How to design your internship as a business?
The easiest way is to go through the posts on the Gig2big website in this order.
How to start a business without starting a business.
How to start a business without starting a business?
Why you do not need money to start a business.
Learn how to start your first business.
How to create a local footprint.
Click to learn how to create a marketing footprint.
How to write search friendly copy.
Click here to read “How to create search friendly copy.”
The Landon Fillmore profit margin calculator.
Click here to read “The Landon Fillmore Profit Margin Calculator.”
The value in these pages is that they are designed to be easily implemented. They are the product of 25 years in finance and marketing for small and medium sized business.
You should think of creating your own internship as your first step in getting rich. Lean on your mentor, but do not ask him questions where the answer can be found somewhere else. You will look like a rookie.
Learn who he or she is and learn their background. Be serious and confident. Do NOT waste their time. Top level CEO’s never waste time. It is typically not in their DNA. They get where they are by being smart, tough, and relevant.
Rarely talk about yourself unless they ask. Talk about your project and how it helps THEM. Do not lie, be political of think you are telling them what they want to hear. They get that all day.
And remember, somebody out there wants you. In fact, hundreds of companies want you. If you are smart and relevant, you won’t have to look for a job. Jobs will look for you.
