Her Career: Getting your fabulously accessorized foot in the door.

Everyone knows the great internship catch-22: "You can't get experience without an internship, and you can't get an internship without experience."

Couldn't resist a lolcatz

In April of my freshman year I was confronted head-on with this issue. Everyone in my major was telling me that internships were key to getting where I need to go. PR agencies want someone with experience as well as an education. So there I was looking at agencies and PR departments in Boston all requesting for and intern that: was Well-Organized (Check), is a Fast-Learner(Check), a Team Player (Check), has previous experience working in PR (womp womp).

I knew that I had the core fundamentals there were looking for but what I didn't have was an impressive of enough resume. While the fact I had planned prom and won leadership awards in High School may have helped me get into college, Burson-Marsteller wasn't going to care if I planned blood drives and starred as Lucy in Dracula. Getting the first internship is always the hardest. I had to work the hardest to land that first PR related experience. But here I am now, on my fifth internship with some great experiences behind me. So I want to share how I got started and worked my way up.

1: Dream Big but Start Small
Yes everyone dreams of being the CEO, VP or President of an agency, department or company. And hey, maybe you will! Never lose sight of your ultimate goal, but you aren't going to get there overnight.
My first job was with the MET school at BU. I was the Administrative Assistant to the Project Manager in the Marketing Department. It wasn't a glamourous job, but I was working in communications and it was the first thing on my resume that connected with my goals.  I did a lot of organizing and documenting, then I got to do some fun stuff life helping with photo shoots and banners. I even got to make my modeling debut!

"I'm ready for my close-up!"

2. Use your connections

How I landed my first job was I used a connection! A lot of people feel too proud to ask their mom to talk to her friend's sister's god daughter who works at Vogue to help you. I understand that completely. But the fact is connections can only get you a meeting, they can't get you the job. My connection was small. I had attended a program at BU when I was younger and I knew the director really well. I asked her about the marketing for the program and she gave me my future boss's e-mail and the rest is history. I still had to prove myself in the interview and in the job, I got my foot in the door, but she helped me first jam my big toe under the doorframe.

3. Don't be too cool for school
Another thing I see people do is they don't get involved in school activities. Just because you want to get a good internship outside of school doesn't mean you shouldn't start there. There are so many clubs and groups with resources you would be coo coo bananas (<---industry term) to not take advantage of them. My sophomore year, I was a trip coordinator for my school's community service center's alternative spring break. I was also on the PR committee and kept a blog of our trip. I helped with social media, wrote a press releases, and collaborated on creative strategy. By the end I had a lot of things for my portfolio and a new item for my resume. And my boss who hired me for my internship sophomore year told me that the main reason they decided to hire me was because of the blog I had kept. They wanted someone with experience in social media and with a fun writing style and she said my blog showed both.

4. Network like a Mutha' Zuckerberg
You are not looking for a job/internship during the high application months. You are ALWAYS networking and searching for your next opportunity. It is so important to just talk to people, you never know who will hire you. And if they really enjoy your personality, they will remember you when they see your resume. The internship I referred to in number 3 was with a PR agency in Boston. I was at a PR event at school and they had a booth set up with a bunch of toys and SNUGGIES! I went over to the table and just chatted with a guy about Snuggies and how I thought they were the bomb.com. Next thing I know he's asking me to give him my e-mail so I can come in for an interview with his PR firm. I wasn't even hounding for a job I was just promoting my personality and it landed me a great internship. So anytime you meet someone in your field always put the best face forward and show how wonderful you are.

So there are my tid-bits. But if anyone else out there has some other great advice, I am all ears... because I still need to find a job (YIKES!)