How to land a great internship: Advice from an insider

Some internships are mostly about making copies and fetching coffee — others offer actual experience in your dream field. Maryellen Brennan landed the latter kind this summer.

Brennan, a communications major and religion minor entering her senior year at La Salle University, spent the summer working for CCI Communications, a television production company in West Chester.

The company produces “The Charlie Manuel Show,” the Phillies’ post-game show and “Inside Golf.” Brennan has worked on all three shows.

Because CCI is a smaller company, Brennan has been able to get involved in both behind-the-scenes production work and on-air segments. “I still don’t know which side of the camera I want to be on,” she says, “so it’s been amazing to get experience with both.”

She enjoys the pace of sports broadcasting. “While you’re watching a press conference, you’re picking out the important quotes,” she says. “It’s a challenge to make those editorial and production decisions” as events unfold.

3 tips to land that great internship

Brennan offers the following tips for getting — and benefiting from — a great internship:

Network

“A woman from CCI came to speak at an event I worked on at La Salle last year. I introduced myself, then later asked about internships. They weren’t advertising them.”

Be persistent

“You’ve got to follow up — let people know who you are [and] what you have to offer.”

Work hard

“I just got back from a three-day trip to Pebble Beach for ‘Inside Golf.’ Part of the reason I got to go was that I am always available, always ready and willing to do anything that needs to be done — help unload and set up the equipment, then strike everything and put it back on the truck after the shoot.”