Your professor just mentioned the two words that could change your career trajectory: marketing internship. While some classmates were frantically taking notes, you were wondering if this was just another checkbox on your path to graduation. Spoiler alert: it's not. What started as just another class discussion could become the strategic move that launches your marketing career. Today's blog focuses on how internships can help you, where to look for them, and most importantly, how to land one.
Once you started paying attention, you learned that an internship can be paid or unpaid, allowing you to gain experience in a field that intrigues you. A marketing internship, like any internship, is like a job. You have tasks that you’re accountable for, and how well you perform might determine how much you learn before you move on. Whether you’re paid or not might help you take the position more seriously; however, the goal of an internship is to grow your experience, not your bank account.
The point is to learn from professionals who have valuable experience and have established themselves in the business that you want to one day be a part of. If you secure one, you should focus on learning as much as you can to make yourself employable in the future. Earning that experience at a reputable company allows you to list it as work experience on your resume. You can also build your professional network and use the experience to one day be regarded as an asset in the marketing profession.
So, how do you land a marketing internship? Your professor said to look at everything from school resources and online job boards to not-for-profit organizations and volunteering. Have you considered reaching out to your LinkedIn connections who might need volunteers? You could also check your school's job board to see if you qualify for any available positions. Have you considered asking professors you speak to regularly for advice or suggestions?
You never know how a connection might help you in the future. The CMA’s Marketing Job Bank is one place where you can search for all available opportunities, including internships.
The International Business University [1] breaks this down into 6 actionable steps:
Define your career goals first
Ask yourself what you want from the experience.
Use post-secondary career services
Search job boards daily
Job boards are where you want to dedicate some time to your search for internships. The blog suggests:
Network online and in person
According to the IBU blog, roughly 70% of professionals secure jobs through networking. Here’s how you can network more effectively:
Customize every resume submitted
Prepare for interviews & follow up
Be creative and use every opportunity to find a position that feels right and allows you to develop the professional experience you need to differentiate yourself in the market. Polish your resume and start applying – those positions will disappear quickly, as experience is something everyone needs to land a coveted role in any profession, let alone marketing. Every marketing professional you admire started somewhere – some even began with an internship that opened doors they didn't even know existed. As Dennis Brown, the singer, songwriter, and producer, once said, “Every day you learn something new.”
Footnotes
1. “How to Find Internships: Land a Business Student Internship.” International Business University, 4 January 2025, https://ibu.ca/blog/how-to-find-internships/
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While scouring social media sites, job postings and your favourite companies searching for opportunities to get your foot in the door, you kept seeing one constant – required experience. That's something you just don't have. You're trying but you can't seem to get your foot in the door. Either you get no response or the response is that they've decided not to move forward with your application. That sucks.
"The reality is that what matters most is your ability to use those tools or concepts or frameworks to make actual decisions." - Steven Lorini
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