6 Tips to Help You Land a Social Media Internship

So you wanna Snapchat for a living. Believe me, I did not think this was a job when I graduated from college. Facebook was the first channel brands started to adopt, and from there social media marketing has been a never ending digital cocktail party. Sorry John Mayer, we can’t stop this train.

There are a few roles that sit under the umbrella of digital marketing. Social media often works closely, or oversees, things like community management, content development, competitor auditing and analytics reporting.

Not only is it some of the most fun you’ll have in an office, its future looks promising. According to Brandwatch, 38% of organizations planned to spend more than 20% of their total advertising budgets on social media channels in 2015, up from 13% the year before.

So charge up that iPhone and start tweeting your way toward a career path that rocks. The first step is to score yourself a social media internship. Insert coffee and high heels emoji.

1. Tour your own social media channels
Browse your own social media channels, and try to look be objective about it – that is, pretend you’re seeing them for the first time as someone who’s never met you. What do you think of yourself?

Would you approve of this if you were your manager? Consider the industries you want to be working in – if MTV is your dream internship, the party shots and cussing won’t matter. If finance is your industry of choice, consider some editing. Insert winky face emoji.

Consider which channels are you favorites and why, in case this comes up as an interview question. And in the interest of thinking like a brand, think first as a consumer – are there any brands you follow whose content you frequently engage with? If so, why?

2. Accio, portfolio!
If you have writing samples, make copies to bring to interviews or scan them so that you can send them digitally. If you don’t have writing experience but would like to get some, head to a site like Ed2010 to find opportunities.

In the meantime, any kind of writing that showcases your creativity works. If you’ve written a short story or a touching essay for a class, submit that – no reason to be ashamed! Everybody starts somewhere.

If you have writing that’s appeared online, add it to your Linkedin profile so it’ll be easy to find for employers who browse your profile.

If you do have a bit of social media experience, spend a few hours taking screenshots of it and making a Tumblr or WIX portfolio. This will give employerers a clear, visual idea of what you’ve done in the past. Beyond your resume.

3. Find your niche
It’s harder to reach a goal if you don’t have one in mind, so get yourself a goal. First, decide what industries you’d most want to work in. Let’s go with the travel industry for this one. If it marries your personal interests, it’s even more of a win.

So with that in mind, let’s say Sarah A. loves the Vegas life. She’s there at least 4x per year and her Instagram is full of photos by Cosmopolitan pool. The social media internship of her dreams is in the travel and hospitality industry.

Sarah follows a few brands in the industry. She loves the Cosmoplitan so she follows their account and its nightclub. She also follows the Wynn and its nightclub as well as its beachclub.

This helps her know what’s trending in Vegas, as well as what kind of content her dream employers are posting, how it’s performing for them, and what she loves the most about it. Business, meet pleasure.

She decides to take it even a step further and run a little Google search to find this article so she can follow a few more cool accounts.

If Sarah scores an interview with Cosmopolitan’s marketing team in the future, her preparation will show through tenfold. If she interviews with the Luxor team first, she’ll know to do her research before showing up – and she’ll have tons of information about their competitors.

4. Show you’re up to date
Read, read, and make it known that your hair is full of secrets. Retweet Digiday. Share Linkedin updates about digital campaigns from Adweek. Share statistics about the #PSL hashtag now that it’s fall. If you can share your favorite recent Snapchat story from the company of your dreams to your future boss, you’ll blow the competition away.

It shows a) that you’re passionate about social media and b) you do your homework. And both of these things make great social media marketers.

5. Volunteer
There’s nothing in the world like solid hands-on experience. That said, it’s not always easy to convince a business owner to turn their account passwords over to a newbie – unless, of course, you’re willing to work for free.

In a perfect world, you’d be compensated for your time, but if you’re just getting started and need some juicy appetizers for your portfolio, volunteering (as tribute, Katniss) is a great foot in the door.

The silver lining is that there are so many opportunities out there, so you shouldn’t have a problem picking an organization with a mission that aligns with your interests. Don’t treat the search for volunteer opportunities the way you would a job hunt – just be bold and ask!

Of course, if your aunt just opened a new restaurant/hair salon/yoga studio, that’s also the perfect opening.

6. Get your network on
As with any job in any industry, you’ll want to reach out to your existing connections…and your parents’ connections…and their aunt’s mother’s friends’ connections. Don’t be shy – everyone was at the beginning of their career once, looking to get a foot in the door.

The principle “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” really, really applies here. So ask away!

See if there’s a Public Relations Society of America, American Marketing Association or Social Media Club chapter near you. Also check out Eventbrite for free networking events that are a great fit for you in other ways – maybe they’re in an industry you love, or you’re a woman and it’s a networking event for female entrepeneurs.

Got the interview? You go, Glen Coco. Here’s how to prep for it.