by Emily McDowell

Created on: April 20, 2010

Nowadays employers are demanding that college grads have “real world” experience before hiring them. An internship is a great tool to get this experience, and it can even help land a job upon completion.

There are several routes that a student who has graduated with a marketing degree can take. Sales, public relations, advertising, customer service, market research, and retail management just to name a few. The first thing to do when considering an internship is to decide what specific area of marketing interests you. Where can you see yourself establishing a career?

Once you have chosen one or two industries that appeal to you, brainstorm about what companies might offer internships in this industry. Since every business employs marketing to some degree or another, think about other interests you hold besides marketing.  Health care? Look into doing a marketing internship in a hospital. Finances? Banks and credit unions rely on marketing to draw new members. Education? Colleges and universities have marketing departments. Some well-known companies offering marketing internships are AT&T, Bank of America, Black & Decker, Coca Cola, FedEx, Polo Ralph Lauren, Proctor & Gamble, Turner Broadcasting Systems and Yahoo!

Which of these places has the best internship program? It really all depends on what industry you would like your future career to be in. Also, are you looking for a paid internship or for an internship that counts for college credit? Usually any internship that offers college credit is unpaid. Another important question to ask yourself is where do you want to live? Is it important for you to be in a big city like New York or Los Angeles, or would you prefer to be in a more rural area, perhaps near family. If your internship leads to a full-time career, then you will more than likely be living in the city where the internship is located for several years. That is, unless it is a big company and has the opportunity to transfer to a different office in another location.

The possibilities are endless for marketing majors to find internships. Pretty much every company requires a marketing department in order to stay successful. The key to finding the ideal marketing internship for you is to recognize your interests and talents and then decide what segment of marketing you would prefer to go into. From there you can research companies that match your interests and skills, and look into whether the company hires interns.

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