Amazing, you’ve scored yourself an internship! We’re sure you’re feeling lots of things right now (hopefully mostly excitement), and are thinking of ways you can get a head start before you start your internship.
There are definitely some ways in which you can prepare yourself before the big event to put your mind at ease and start on a high note.
These are our five things to do before your start your internship:
1.) Sort the basics
Sorting out the foundations – accommodation, travel, and enough resources to cover financial costs (for food and other necessities, for example) – is essential before you start your internship.
If you are looking for accommodation – that is something we at PressPad can help with! We have launched our digital pilot with key media partners. Our hosting platform is available to interns via employer sponsorship with all the relevant policies to ensure a safe stay.
We connect aspiring and new journalists with senior colleagues in the media who have a spare room for affordable, safe and hassle-free accommodation and mentorship during work placements or internship.
Interested? Find out more information here.
2.) Don’t be scared to ask questions ahead of your internship or working conditions
Don’t feel you can’t clarify things or ask for help ahead of your first day. It is fine to ask questions before you begin your internship. In fact, you should. Not only will this help you ensure you have clarified things before you start and come prepared, it will also help you establish your working conditions and schedule.
One thing that will give you peace of mind, for example, is to ask about the logistics of your first day and arrival to the office. What should you wear? When should you arrive? What is the best entrance for you to go to? Where and who do you report to? Should you be bringing anything? Who can you get in touch with should something go wrong? If you have those bases covered ahead of time, you’ll not have to worry as much on the day.
You should be given a contract before your internship, which lays out how much you will be working as well as some of the conditions (these will differ from place to place). If not, ask for one. If your contract states hours without reference to your working schedule, don’t feel scared to establish this before you start. Will you be having set shifts for your internship or rotate? Will you be working evenings? Weekends? Having answers to this, will let you plan your time and will give you in writing what your expected hours are (so that no one can exploit you – it doesn’t happen often, but sadly it can, so it is best to be prepared)
3.) Plan ahead for the things you can – your outfit, journey time
Once you have established the logistics, you can start planning for the start of your internship. You’ve now already asked the question on what to wear, so you can think about what exactly this will be. Dress codes and the interpretation of what ‘smart casual’ (the type of dress code most newsrooms seem to go for) means can differ, but think blouses and jeans or nice trousers, ‘nice’ trainers or work shoes, shirts and trousers, and you’ll likely be on track.
Another very important aspect, if you are office-based, is travel. Before you start your internship, check how to best get to the newsroom and how much time you need. Particularly in big cities you haven’t been to, it can easily happen that you might get on a wrong bus or tube, and it is good to have some wiggle room to not be late for your first day as an intern. Key tip (if you can): Do a test run ahead of the official day!
4.) Start preparing your ‘toolkit’ to be ready to enter the newsroom
A key thing to do before you start your internship is to read the publication ahead of time, take in the house writing style, and try to come up with some story ideas. Showing initiative to contribute from the outset will always put you in a positive light.
In terms of physical items, what is worth bringing – even if you are not explicitly told this – are the bare essentials of any journalist’s toolkit: pens and a notepad. Most offices will provide this, but it’s good to be on the safe side, so you’ll not find yourself caught out, as they are still the key items every journalist needs everyday.
5.) Connect with your host, future colleagues, other interns, and supporting organisations
If you are using our hosting services for accommodation during your internship, a key person to reach out to before you start, will be your PressPad host. Once that is ticked off, you’ll have so much more time and headspace to get prepped for your internship. Plus, it will make your first in-person meeting so much more exciting and valuable, if you have already done all the initial introductions!
You could also try connecting with other interns just like you. You can join our Facebook group for interns across the country here.
Other people you could connect with are the people you will be working with directly. Look up your colleagues and people working for the organisations and follow people on Twitter and/or LinkedIn – maybe even send them a message! These are people you will be working with soon and it is only a good thing to get a head start in introducing yourself.
Finally, it is good to establish a support network before you start your internship. There’s a whole array of supporting organisations and also different unions to choose from. These are only some of the groups that will not only often offer networking opportunities, but will be able to provide you with support, should you ever need it:
- National Union of Journalists (NUJ)
- British Association of Journalists (BAJ)
- Journalists’ Charity
- Journoresources
- The Chartered Institute of Journalists (CIOJ)
- Women in Journalism (WiJ)
- The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
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