Department of English

Internships: Information for Students

Why Do I Need an Internship?

  • Explore and clarify your career interests; discover your career likes and dislikes.
  • Receive firsthand knowledge about the particular work environment of your future career.
  • Foster personal and professional growth while developing a career network.
  • Build upon classroom knowledge while improving transferable skills, such as leadership, communication, teamwork, and technology.
  • Increase your odds of getting a job post-graduation; studies show 3 out of 5 college hires had internship experience.
  • Receive pay and/or academic credit for your internship.
  • Learn by doing, not simply studying.

Not yet convinced? Read about previous interns' experiences:

How Do I Find an Internship?

1. Meet with Internship Coordinator

Your internship coordinator in the English Department is Allison Kuehne. She will help you explore your internship options as well as apply for internships and earn internship credits. E-mail her at akuehne@ksu.edu or visit her at 109 English/Counseling Services.

2. Prepare Your Resume

Your resume is typically the first reflection an employer sees of you, so it should be well written and error free. The K-State Career Center here on campus can help you build a strong resume.

3. Evaluate Your Internship Options

  • There is the “visible market” and the “hidden market.” The visible market includes employers actively recruiting employees. View websites dedicated to internship searches. The hidden market includes employers who may not currently have advertised positions but have the potential to hire if you personally contact them. View on-campus and local companies who may offer internship positions.
  • In addition, logging into your Career Center student account will allow you to access Going Global and Internships-USA, two fantastic internship search sites, located under the Resource Library. Also, your Career Center account has a job search function which filters through various on and off-campus jobs according to your preferences.
  • K-State hosts career fairs throughout the year, bringing in employers by specific areas of study.
  • Utilize the professional organizations you belong to in order to find other internship possibilities.
  • Learn about what K-State English B.A.s are doing.
  • Once you located several internships that you are interested in, evaluate them carefully for best fit. Consider whether the job truly interests you and whether the employer seems invested to help you succeed in the internship. Read about what many responsible employers do to help their interns succeed.

4. Network

Talk to your faculty, family, friends, and coworkers to let them know you are seeking an internship. You never know who has connections to a potential job. Provide them with your resume so they can give it to their friends and colleagues.

5. Prepare for an Interview

Some internship sponsors will require candidates to appear for an interview. To prepare, read up on employment interviewing and participate in mock interviews. Your internship coordinator (Dr. Han Yu, hyu1@ksu.edu) is available to help you. The Career Center also has tips for preparation and offers several mock interview options.

6. Draft Internship Proposals (If Taken as a Credit-Bearing Class)

When you received an internship offer and if you intend to use the internship experience as a credit-bearing English class, as soon as possible, contact the internship coordinator (Allison Kuehne, akuehne@ksu.edu) to draft an internship proposal. Once the proposal is approved, you will be able to enroll in an undergraduate or graduate level Internship class.

Guidelines for proposing an internal or external internship.

How Do I Succeed at an Internship?

Once you are hired for an internship, the next step is to build a reputation throughout this career experience that will produce a full-time job offer or an excellent recommendation for your post-graduation career.